At this point, we’ve all seen the video where Australia’s Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, attended a factory as part of a media tour, and began to weld a beam after taking his mask off. It was a painful thing for anyone with experience in trades to see; here was the leader of Australia risking serious [...]

The Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS) is a regulatory requirement for high-risk worksites. But there’s a bit of confusion around just what they are, what they do, and why they’re important. Because they are regulatory requirements, many people wonder whether they need to get the professionalsinvolved, or whether simply following a SWMS example template is [...]

It seems that no matter how much work is done to raise awareness, tradies still experience a disproportionately high level of injury risk. Research shows that a full 60 percent of serious injury claims in Australia come from tradies. Businesses might be completing their requires SWMS documents, and the tradies may well be wearing protective [...]

If you have people working from heights, then you need to make sure that your working at heights SWMS is taken with the appropriate seriousness, as a critical component of your overall OH&S obligations. According to Safe Work Australia, falls from heights still account for a massive 13 percent of all fatalities on the worksite, [...]

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for any worksite where hazards are a risk. It’s never the only step in compliance to safety regulations and best practices (the SWMS that you’ll fill out ahead of a project will highlight the full suite of risk mitigation plans), but it’s a critical one.   Employers are obliged [...]

Did you know that electrical workers are still one of the most dangerous jobs in Australia? The fatality rate is 2.0 per 100,000, which doesn’t sound like much, but that’s only counting fatalities, not serious, crippling, or long-term injuries.   This is why it is important to have a robust Safe Work Method Statement template [...]

The focus that is being placed on air conditioning as a health & safety matter has escalated rapidly in the last two years. The COVID-19 pandemic and the need to improve ventilation in many spaces to ward against the disease has meant that air conditioning installations, repairs, and upgrades have been in demand like never [...]

Many business owners are confused about whether they need a SWMS document, and is so, how they go about preparing them. The simple answer is this: if you work in an environment that has the potential to be hazardous, then you need an SWMS document. The good news is that they’re not onerous to create, [...]

As noted by the Asbestos Safety and Eradication Agency, over 4,000 Australian deaths per year are caused by exposure to asbestos. These naturally occurring silicate minerals can cause pleural disease, asbestosis, lung cancer and mesothelioma. Up until being banned in 2003, Australia had one of the highest rates of asbestos usage. As a result, material [...]

Electricians are ten-times more likely to die from asbestos exposure than the normal person. That’s why it is important for every electrical worker to know about the different types of asbestos, the different forms of material the fibrous silicate minerals are found in and where it is commonly located in buildings. There are several different [...]