Recent decisions handed down by the Queensland Industrial Magistrates Court and the New South Wales Industrial Court are a timely reminder for all employers. These cases show that employers who fail to provide employees who work at heights with sufficient safety training or fall protection equipment risk conviction for breaches of occupational health and safety legislation, significant fines, and having to pay investigation and legal costs where workplace falls result in personal injuries. Employers can avoid or minimise these risks by understanding what their obligations are, implementing measures to ensure compliance with these obligations and acting quickly when incidents occur.

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Last August, a single member of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission ruled, in a private arbitration, that oral fluid (saliva) drug testing was a better method of testing for impairment than urine drug testing. The employer involved, Shell Refining (Australia) Pty Ltd, sought a review of this decision. The review panel, made up of three members of the Commission, upheld the decision in late May 2009. The panel found that an employee returning a positive oral fluid test is more likely to be impaired at the time of the test than an employee returning a positive urine test.

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A recent decision by Queensland’s Industrial Relations Commission is a reminder to all employers to put concrete measures in place for the responsible service of alcohol at work functions. In Fraser Coast Free Range Pty Ltd & Q-Comp, an employee suffered personal injuries after she consumed too much alcohol at her work Christmas function and became involved in a fight with another guest. The Commission found that she was entitled to compensation.

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