Space Shuttle Columbia launches on mission STS-107 from Kennedy Space Center on 16 Jan 03. Image credit: NASA. On 16 Jan 03, Space Shuttle Columbia launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on mission STS-107. Approximately 82 seconds after launch, a section of insulating foam separated from the shuttle’s external fuel tank and struck the reinforced carbon-carbon panels protecting the leading edge of its left wing. The foam strike was captured by launch cameras, but

Two Queensland prosecutions released in Jul 26 provide useful lessons about how organisations manage work outside their normal operations and how they respond when an existing control system has already failed. One involved an apprentice losing an eye during an unfamiliar ancillary task, while the other involved a dozer operator spending approximately eight hours trapped upside down beneath a coal stockpile. The industries, work and legislation were different, but the underly

Officer due diligence is one of the more misunderstood parts of Australian WHS law, which is impressive given safety legislation already contains enough plain English avoidance to power a small Canberra department. At its core, due diligence means an officer must take reasonable, active and informed steps to ensure the organisation complies with its health and safety duties. It is not the same as doing every safety task personally, and it is not satisfied by hiring a safety m

A worker is dead, a company has been fined $472,500, and another Australian prosecution has landed squarely on the same recurring issue seen across heavy industry for decades, hazardous plant interacting with inadequate systems of work. This time it involved a green waste grinder in New South Wales. The underlying failures were neither novel nor technically complex. That is what makes these incidents so frustrating from a safety perspective. According to SafeWork NSW, Northwe

I'll never forget the footage of a fire inside an aged care facility, in an area where some of the highest care was required. Fortunately, everyone got out, but it was too close for comfort. I was involved, in my former role as an inspector, in responding to an aged care facility fire in Victoria. I will not identify the facility, the organisations involved or the individuals connected to the matter, because the lesson is broader than one incident and the people involved are

A Victorian residential builder has been convicted and fined after WorkSafe found contractors working more than three metres above ground level without fall protection. Desbo Industries Pty Ltd was sentenced in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court on 05 Mar 26 after pleading guilty to failing to ensure a workplace under its management and control was safe and without risks to health. The company was fined $40,000 and ordered to pay $4,422 in costs. The facts are not complex, which

On 18 Jan 26, two aerial firefighting aircraft operating west of Mount Hotham, Victoria came significantly closer than intended during active fire suppression operations. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has now released its findings into the occurrence involving Bell 212 helicopter Helitak 368 and fixed wing fire bomber Bomber 359, identifying breakdowns in communication, situational awareness and supervisory coordination as central contributing factors. The incident d

The Human And Financial Cost Of Reactive Safety Management Photo by Joe Dudeck on Unsplash An allegation is made against a worker. The allegation is investigated, the available evidence is considered and the finding is that it cannot be substantiated on the balance of probabilities. That should establish the position unless credible new evidence emerges. Instead, a customer or senior manager rejects the outcome, demands that somebody be punished and starts applying commercial

WorkSafe ACT’s enforcement and psychosocial safety focus are evolving rapidly and are likely to shape inspector expectations and compliance obligations across ACT workplaces. WorkSafe ACT has recently secured substantial penalties in multiple safety prosecutions and is embedding the national Managing Psychosocial Hazards Code into local practice. Inspectors are increasingly looking beyond physical hazards and will expect well‑organised documentation across asbestos, planned r

Tasmania’s regulator now expects psychosocial risk management to sit in documented risk registers with real consultation records, not just policies on a shelf. The Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice took effect in Tasmania on 4 Jan 23 following national model WHS amendments and is now the practical foundation for how you must identify, assess and control psychosocial risks such as bullying, excessive workload, violence and poor work design. It sits under

WorkSafe WA’s approach to psychosocial hazards is evolving fast and showing how regulators are starting to treat psychological risk as a core safety duty. WorkSafe WA has an up‑to‑date Code of Practice on Psychosocial Hazards that sets out how workplaces should identify and control things like stress, fatigue, harassment, bullying and other psychosocial risks. This code is practical and ties into the regulator’s duties under the Work Health and Safety Act. There is jurisdic

Queensland regulators are now making psychosocial risk management a core part of workplace safety obligations, and inspectors are paying attention to how duty holders document and act on these risks. Workplace Health & Safety Queensland has published updated practical guidance on managing workplace psychosocial risks aimed at helping PCBUs take a structured approach to identifying, assessing, controlling and monitoring hazards that could harm psychological health. The update