Changes to COVID-19 notification requirements
The Occupational Health and Safety (COVID-19 Incident Notification) Revocation Regulations 2022 revoke regulations that required WorkSafe to be notified if an employee, a contractor or a contractor's employee receives a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis and attended the workplace within the infectious period.
The changes became effective from 14 January.
The regulations requiring notifications commenced in 2020 and were renewed in July last year. As the management of COVID-19 has since changed significantly, notification requirements are no longer considered a necessary measure to manage the health and safety risks of COVID-19 in workplaces.
However, WorkSafe stresses that there are no changes to Victorian employers' duty to take every reasonable step to protect workers from risks to both their physical and mental health, including managing risks associated with COVID-19, and to report notifiable incidents to WorkSafe.
This includes the contraction of COVID-19 at the workplace, where the person requires immediate in-patient care or dies as a result.
Workplaces must also still adhere to the COVID-19 notification requirements set by the Department of Health, where notice must be given to the department when five positive cases have attended the work premises within seven days.
WorkSafe Victoria Awards and presentation dinner
WorkSafe has announced that it will be holding the Awards and presentation dinner on Thursday, 24 February at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne. The WorkSafe Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of Victorian workers and employers in Occupational Health & Safety and return to work.
WorkSafe said, "Despite the challenges of the past two years, Victorian employees continue to demonstrate an unwavering commitment to reducing workplace harm and improving outcomes for injured workers."
Tickets can be purchased from this page for $110 (and includes a three-course meal with beverages). Hurry and secure your seat, as ticket sales close on Friday, 4 February 2022.
National news
National Fatality Statistics 2021
In 2021: 155 Australian worker fatalities were reported to Safe Work Australia. This compares to 194 reported in 2020.
The industries with the highest number of fatalities:
- Transport, postal & warehousing: 52
- Agriculture, forestry & fishing: 35
- Construction: 21
- Manufacturing: 13
For more information on all the fatalities, go to the Safe Work Australia Preliminary worker deaths webpage.