News
Comcare has released two new online learning courses for the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act (SRC Act).
The Bureau of Meteorology recently declared a La Niña, the climate driver typically associated with wet conditions for eastern, northern and central parts of Australia over summer.
A summary report has been released today with key findings and recommendations from the Collaborative Partnership’s national cross-sector workshop series held earlier this year.
As part of Comcare’s ongoing partnership with Driving Health, the research team led by Monash University has developed the Driving Health Allocator Training Program (DHAT) for truck driver allocators, supervisors and line managers.
The Comcare National Conference is back in 2022 on 7 and 8 June at the National Convention Centre in Canberra.
Comcare has a plan to improve its service options and how it interacts with employees, employers and other people working in the Comcare scheme.
More than 1,000 people attended the two-day forum on 11-12 November, delivered by Comcare as part of the Australian Government’s response to the Respect@Work national inquiry into workplace sexual harassment.
Comcare has released new scheme guidance to assist claims managers in applying the provisions of the Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the SRC Act).
The Australian Bureau of Statistics has published new Life Tables, States, Territories and Australia 2018 - 2020. The Life Tables are applied to calculate redemption lump sum amounts under section 137 of the SRC Act.
A national forum will be held on 11-12 November 2021 as part of the Australian Government’s response to the landmark Respect@Work Sexual Harassment National Inquiry Report to raise awareness about work health and safety (WHS) risks, management and prevention.
By way of Legislative Instrument F2021L01440, the Commonwealth Attorney-General and Minister for Industrial Relations has declared ACT COVID-19 emergency volunteers to be employees for the purposes of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.
Comcare’s expansion of an early intervention mental health program across Commonwealth workplaces is delivering strong recovery and productivity outcomes, an independent evaluation has found.
A recent trial to support injured workers exiting the Victorian Workers’ Compensation system has helped participants build confidence, independence and job readiness. The aim of the trial was to facilitate a ‘soft landing’ that helped injured workers exiting the system become job ready.
Key findings from Australia’s largest national research project to improve the health and wellbeing of truck drivers will be shared as part of a new webinar series to be held throughout this month.
The Department of Defence has been convicted and fined $1 million under federal work health and safety laws over the death of a soldier during a training exercise in the Northern Territory.
The penalty is the largest recorded for the Commonwealth WHS jurisdiction.
Comcare recently invited stakeholders to make a submission on the proposed removal of the imposed condition on all plant registrations that ‘a registration holder must notify Comcare annually of any maintenance, repair, inspection or testing of an item of plant’.
Preventing workplace sexual harassment and strengthening responses to it will be the focus of a Comcare webinar this month.
This research will enable an understanding of the use and practices of cross-sector services. It will help identify areas of duplication and provide insights into the best opportunities for alignment across services, sectors and systems.
The Royal Australian Mint has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws after a three-tonne coin press almost fell on a worker in Canberra.
Efforts to keep a large APS workforce COVID-safe, innovations in handling Defence Force explosives, and a program to reduce recovery times for long-term injuries are among the winners of the 2021 Comcare National Work Health and Safety Awards.
Comcare proposes removing its imposed condition on duty holders to submit annual notifications of any maintenance, repair, inspection or testing of an item of plant, which includes high-risk machinery such as cranes, vehicles, forklifts, lifts, boilers, gas cylinders and amusement rides and devices.
Professor Niki Ellis, Expert Adviser to the Collaborative Partnership to improve work participation, is presenting at the 2021 All-Actuaries Virtual Summit as part of a plenary session with the theme ‘Disability, Support, Services and Income’.
Public consultation is now open for the National Disability Employment Strategy, an important initiative from the Department of Social Services (DSS) – a partner in the Comcare led Collaborative Partnership to improve work participation.
International Labour Organization (ILO) has highlighted the importance of creating and investing in resilient workplace health and safety (WHS) systems as the focus of World Day for Safety and Health at Work 2021.
Comcare has established a specialist team of inspectors to focus on work health and safety risks at major infrastructure projects across Australia.
Comcare has released guidance to help employers, managers and supervisors and workers prevent and respond to workplace sexual harassment and comply with their duties under the Work Health Safety Act 2011.
Discussing the implementation phase of Australia’s first set of principles for General Practitioners (GPs) in supporting work participation is the focus of a new workshop series hosted by the Collaborative Partnership.
The Department of Defence has been convicted and fined $350,000 under federal work health and safety laws after a worker was critically injured during a maintenance operation in Queensland.
CSIRO will spend $1.5 million on workplace health and safety improvements that will also benefit the broader research community under a commitment endorsed by Comcare.
The Department of Home Affairs and its healthcare provider International Health and Medical Services (IHMS) have been charged with breaching Commonwealth work health and safety laws over the death of a man in immigration detention.
Australia’s only validated psychosocial risk assessment tool, People at Work, is up and running on a new free, digital platform thanks to work health and safety regulators and leading researchers.
Construction company John Holland has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws over a dangerous incident at a prison development in northern NSW.
Employers and managers can help transition their workers back to the usual workplace as COVID19-restrictions ease with Comcare’s new course.
Comcare is pleased to launch four new scheme guidance publications to assist claims managers in applying the provisions of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the SRC Act).
Everyone has a role to play in creating a mentally healthy workplace, which starts with a shared understanding about mental health.
A national transport and logistics company has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws over an incident that severely injured a worker in Adelaide.
Comcare has a continued focus on mental health safety and wellbeing by promoting the health benefits of good work.
The 2019–20 Annual Reports for Comcare, the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission and the Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority (Seacare) are now available.
As COVID-19 restrictions ease across Australia, Comcare has developed guidance to help employers support workers as they transition back to usual workplaces.
Australia will begin a two-year transition to the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals Revision 7 (GHS 7) from 1 January 2021.
Nominations are now open for the 2021 Comcare National Work Health and Safety Awards. The awards recognise and reward excellence in workplace health and safety, and recovery at and return to work achieved by employers and individuals operating across Comcare’s scheme.
A new mandatory safety standard for quad bikes comes into effect nationally in October 2020.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) says quad bike-related fatalities have almost doubled this year - 14 people, including three children, compared with eight deaths in the whole of 2019.
Construction company John Holland has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws over an incident that severely injured a worker on the Sydney Metro rail project.
The Minister has now made the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Specified Laws) Amendment Declaration 2020 (the Amendment Declaration) updating the list of specified State and Territory laws under section 119 of the SRC Act.
Comcare has released eight new scheme guidance publications to assist claims managers in applying the provisions of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.
The workplace exposure standard (WES) for respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is being reduced in the Comcare jurisdiction.
Comcare is supporting Day of the Seafarer on 25 June – an international awareness day to highlight the importance of this critical industry sector and its workforce.
While our face-to-face training is currently suspended due to COVID-19, ensure you keep developing your work health and safety capability through Comcare LMS, our secure learning management system.
We have a new website which provides an updated interface, a brand-new look and navigation designed to streamline how you engage, find and access our content.
This resource provides an understanding of the role of the GP in supporting work participation across systems that provide benefit or income support to people with a health condition or disability.
The Department of Defence has been convicted and fined $300,000 after a Sydney high school student was seriously injured during an army cadet camp
We need feedback on guidelines for giving a WHS undertaking under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
We need your help testing the Beta website, to ensure the new Comcare website does as we intend.
A project to improve work participation by empowering people to participate in their recovery and management of their health condition or disability.
We need to forge powerful research partners that help us understand and anticipate future challenges.
Natalie Bekis, Comcare’s GM Strategic Partnerships and Engagement is presenting at the Actuaries Institute of Australia’s Injury & Disability Schemes Seminar
Safe Work Australia have published "Labour hire: duties of persons conducting a business or undertaking".
Comcare's trial of NewAccess has achieved a 78% recovery rate.
Update on the case of a defence contractor convicted and fined $200,000 over an incident that severely injured a worker at a Brisbane Army barracks
Key decision makers discuss the future of Comcare's Collaborative Partnership.
Prosecutors have filed federal work health and safety charges against the Department of Defence after a worker suffered critical injuries during a maintenance operation.
Three companies have been charged over two separate incidents that caused injuries to workers during the redevelopment of Perth’s Campbell Barracks.
CSIRO has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws over an explosion at a Melbourne research facility.
Comcare welcomes the ACT Government’s decision to remain in the federal workers’ compensation scheme.
The Department of Defence has been charged with breaching Commonwealth work health and safety laws over the death of a soldier during a training exercise.
Construction company John Holland and two contractors are facing federal work health and safety charges over an incident that injured a worker at Perth’s NorthLink road project.
Federal prosecutors have laid charges against the Department of Defence after a Sydney high school student suffered serious injuries during an army cadet camp.
The winners of the 2018 Comcare Work Health and Safety Awards.
The Department of Defence has been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws after two army recruits suffered severe electric shocks during a training exercise in Victoria.
New research estimates the scale and cost of health-related work incapacity in Australia and considers a fresh approach to improving it.
Nominations are open for the 2018 Comcare Work Health and Safety Awards.
A unique initiative is driving new approaches to improving participation for Australians with health conditions that affect their ability to work.
The Department of the Environment and Energy and a helicopter contractor have been charged with breaching federal work health and safety laws in relation to a fatality in Antarctica.
The Awards were presented last night in Canberra as part of Comcare’s 2016 National Conference.
Update on charges against waste management company Cleanaway over a fatal incident involving a recycling truck in Melbourne.
Two Department of Defence contractors are facing multiple work health and safety charges over an incident in which a worker was almost crushed by an army vehicle.
The Comcare workers’ compensation scheme is fully funded for the first time since 2010, three years ahead of the 2020 target for scheme recovery.
John Holland has been fined $281,250 over an incident in which a worker narrowly escaped being crushed at an Adelaide construction site.
Comcare will not have to accept previously denied claims in the matter of Lim v Comcare.
Waste management company Cleanaway has been convicted and fined $650,000 over a chemical fire in Adelaide that injured an employee.
Federal work health and safety regulator Comcare today began legal proceedings against national waste management company Cleanaway over a truck crash that killed two people in Adelaide.
Construction company John Holland has been convicted and fined $130,000 over an incident that endangered the lives of two Adelaide motorists.
A fatal accident at Brisbane’s Airport Link project has cost construction company John Holland a $170,000 fine for breaching Commonwealth work health and safety laws.
Airservices Australia has been fined $160,000 for breaching federal work health and safety laws over a fatal crash involving an airport firefighting truck.
Nominations are now open for the 2016 Comcare Work Health and Safety Awards
A new international system of chemical labelling and classification will be a focus of forums being held across Australia by Comcare.
The Australian Defence Force has been fined $220,000 for breaching federal workplace health and safety laws over the fatal shooting of a soldier in a training exercise.
The Australian Lawyers Alliance's latest criticism of Comcare's work health and safety regulation is disappointing and incorrect.
Waste management company Transpacific Industries Pty Ltd has been fined $363,000 for breaching federal work health and safety laws over a fatal accident in Perth.
Construction company John Holland has been fined $110,000 for breaching federal occupational health and safety laws over an injury to one of its workers.
Two new executive appointments will strengthen Comcare's workers' compensation insurance and claims management operations.
Comcare welcomes the Federal Court's decision to fine Linfox Australia following a forklift incident in which an employee suffered serious head and facial injuries
Comcare welcomes the Federal Court in Adelaide's decision to fine Transpacific Industries following an incident involving an employee being exposed to hazardous chemicals
Comcare welcomes the Federal Court’s decision to fine two John Holland entities a total of $360 000 following a fatal incident at the Perth City Link Rail Project.
Organisations and individuals operating within the Comcare and Seacare schemes were recognised for their achievements in workplace health and safety, rehabilitation and return to work.