Workplace Health and Safety Queensland recently issued a safety alert after a worker died from injuries sustained while he was using a 9-inch (230mm) angle grinder to cut the base of a structural steel member at a commercial construction site in Brisbane.

It appears a small metal shard was violently ejected from the cutting work and struck his neck. No guarding was fitted to the angle grinder at the time.

While findings are not yet confirmed and investigations are continuing into the exact cause, the safety alert said angle grinders have been involved in many serious incidents before this one, including fatalities.

Common injuries are amputated fingers, severed tendons and deep cuts to the face, upper body or legs. Incidents involving angle grinders can occur in all industry sectors.

The increased power and size of a 9-inch angle grinder can cause more severe kickback and gyroscopic effect as the grinder is more difficult to control than smaller grinders. It’s important to note that a risk assessment to identify alternative methods and tools should be carried out prior to selecting a larger angle grinder.

The alert said to use the hierarchy of controls to help decide how to eliminate and reduce risks in your place of work. The hierarchy of controls ranks types of control methods from the highest level of protection and reliability to the lowest.

The alert also suggested a number of possible control measures to prevent similar incidents, and said employers and self-employed people must control the risk associated with power tools, including 9-inch angle grinders.

Before operating larger angle grinders, you must ensure:

PCBUs must first consider controls that most effectively eliminate the risk or, where not reasonably practicable, that minimise the risks. Hazards such as the ejection of metal may be minimised by implementing engineering controls such as guarding.

Guards should be used on all angle grinders due to the risks associated with grinding debris and sparks and the disc disintegrating and being ejected or cutting the worker. AS 1788, Abrasive Wheels, provides guidance on guarding abrasive wheels while AS/NZS 60745 Hand-held motor-operated Electric Tools – Safety (series), includes requirements specifically for grinders, polishers and disc-type sanders.

Administrative controls are a lower order control and can be used in conjunction with higher-order controls to minimise the risks associated with angle grinders.

Administrative control measures and PPE rely on human behaviour and supervision, and are used on their own, tend to be least effective in minimising risks. The alert said the control measures you put in place should be reviewed regularly to make sure they work as planned.

This article was brought to you by Australian Institute of Health & Safety.

WorkSafe Victoria recently issued a call to employers to manage the risks of working from height after one death and a spike in serious incidents.

A 23-year-old carpenter died in hospital after suffering critical head injuries in a suspected three-metre fall at a Moonee Ponds construction site on 2 August.

The incident follows 11 serious incidents involving falls from height since 24 July, including:

Some incidents have also involved children, including a toddler who suffered head injuries after falling from a scissor lift.

Falls from height were preventable yet remained one of the biggest causes of death and serious injuries in Victorian workplaces, said WorkSafe Victoria acting executive director of health and safety Andrew Keen.

“The tragic death of this young carpenter and the many recent incidents highlight the very real risk of falls and the heartbreaking and life-changing consequences,” Keen said.

“We want every workplace to reassess the effectiveness of their fall prevention measures and don’t assume that just because you haven’t had an incident that your business is operating safely.”

Lagondar Nominees Pty Ltd and director Emil Lagondar were recently convicted and fined a combined $375,000 after a worker fell to his death from an unsecured cage elevated by a forklift at a Clayton warehouse in 2019.

In June, painter and decorator Adam Nelson was convicted and fined $40,000 after a sub-contractor was seriously injured after falling through a skylight on a property at Strathmerton in 2018.

In February, roof truss manufacturer Melbourne Truss Pty Ltd was convicted and fined $45,000 for a lack of fall prevention at a Cranbourne North building site in 2018.

To prevent falls from height, WorkSafe Victoria said employers can:

The NSW Government has announced a number of major changes for the construction industry. These changes will take effect at 12.01am on Wednesday 11 August 2021. (Public Health Order to be gazetted early next week). Notice from the MBA.

All sites in Greater Sydney can reopen:

• This includes sites within the eight affected Local Government Areas (LGA’s): Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta.
• Construction sites (unoccupied) will be capped at 50% of their maximum daily project workforce to reduce contacts and mobility.
• It will be up to principal contractors and / or site owners to determine how that 50% is allocated between different types of personnel and workers. This recognises that worksites have different needs depending on the stage of construction.
• Sites are still required to have a COVID-19 safety plan in place.
• These initiatives complement the COVID safe measures already put in place right across Greater Sydney.

Construction workers on unoccupied sites will be added to the authorised worker list:

• This means construction workers from the eight affected LGA’s of concern (identified above) can work on unoccupied sites within their LGA, or leave their LGA for work, but they must meet vaccination conditions.
• The Public Health Order only allows the workers to leave for the purposes of work. That means when they are not working, stay at home restrictions still apply.
• Workers from the affected LGA’s who do not meet the vaccination conditions may not attend a construction site for work, including a construction site in the LGA of their residence.
• Workers outside the affected LGA’s may travel into the LGA’s for work and are not subject to vaccination requirements.

Vaccination requirements:

Super Sunday vaccination clinic:

Over the last ten days industry has held daily meetings with various Government and industry representatives, to arrive at the latest changes to enable a further re-opening of the industry.

To ensure that the industry can continue to operate, it is critical that it complies with the COVID-19 safety plan and associated protocols.

Please review the FIA news pages for further details of COVID safety plans and other useful information on managing your business through these times.

Released by: Deputy Premier, Treasurer NSW Government.

Construction will resume in Greater Sydney including the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour this week with new COVID protocols to be introduced to keep workers and worksites safe.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro today outlined the roadmap forward and said the NSW Government had worked closely with industry to plan this reopening, creating the construction COVID-19 safety plan, and he commends the industry’s ongoing commitment to tackling the virus.

“Construction will resume on Saturday 31 July, with safety measures such as controls on movements between sites, reduced contact between workers within sites, improved tracing capability and a focus on encouraging workers to get vaccinated,” Mr Barilaro said.

“Works in occupied premises including residential homes can also resume from this Saturday where there is zero contact between workers and residents. There will be a limit of up to two workers for indoor services and five workers for outdoor services, and works will only be possible where it is feasible for residents to vacate the area. If contactless arrangements are not possible, work cannot go ahead.

“Unfortunately, construction will not resume in the eight LGAs of concern – Fairfield, Blacktown, Cumberland, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Parramatta and Georges River Local Government Areas.

“However, businesses in those LGAs which are part of the construction supply chain will be permitted to operate. Construction supply chain workers will be added to the authorised workers list and will be allowed to leave their local area for work, subject to meeting COVID-19 surveillance testing requirements. This includes workers engaged in manufacturing of construction materials, plant and components.

“I can also announce that as part of our plan to reopen construction, worksites will be able to operate on Sundays and public holidays for the remainder of the year, up until Christmas, to make up for any time lost.”

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the construction industry was vital to the State’s economy and reopening the industry safely was crucial to keeping hundreds of thousands of people in jobs.

“Getting workers back on the tools as soon as possible has always been our priority, but we need to ensure it is done as safely as possible to protect both workers and the community,” Mr Perrottet said.

“The construction COVID-19 safety plan builds on the COVID safe measures already in place at many worksites, but we’re now applying that consistently right across the sector.

“We have worked with the industry over the past two weeks to get the right outcome and I would like to thank the sector for their constructive engagement. I would also like to acknowledge the willingness of the industry to take the lead in trials in the application of Rapid Antigen Testing and local vaccination services at sites, consistent with guidance from NSW Health.”

A defined list of preparatory works may commence on worksites from tomorrow to enable sites to reopen safely, with limited workforces on site to ensure COVID safe measures are in place, that equipment and plant can be restarted safely and that all utilities are in order.

The FIA Board welcome our members feedback on this announcement and how it will affect your businesses. Without this feedback we can not advocate on your behalf. Please contact our CEO Michael Sugg in confidence with your feedback so we can feed this back to government and influence future decisions.

In separate press conferences yesterday (28 July) the NSW and Federal Governments have announced additional support for those impacted by the recent COVID-19 lockdown. Our Business Advisory 7 Finance Partners HLB Mann Judd share important information.

Following the announcement of the lockdown being extended to 28 August 2021, it was also shared that substantial increases in payments would be distributed via the existing government frameworks.
 
What employers need to know - JobSaver

Turnover Threshold Increased – From 18 July 2021 businesses with a turnover between $75,000 and $250m (increased from $50m) for the 30 June 2020 year will now have access to JobSaver. Businesses can now apply and receive payments from 18 July 2021. 

Maximum Payment Increased – From 2 August 2021 the maximum payment will increase from $10,000 to $100,000 per week.

Business that were already eligible for JobSaver will receive a maximum of $10,000 per week from 18 July 2021, but from 2 August 2021 payments could increase to a maximum of $100,000 per week.

The payment available to non-employing businesses has remained unchanged at $1k per week.

There are also no changes to other eligibility criteria or the method of calculations, being 40% of payroll for work performed in NSW.

Applications are open and can be lodged here

 
What employees need to know

Increased Payments – From 2 August 2021 those who have lost 20 or more hours of work will receive an increase from $600 to $750 per week. Those who have lost less than 20 hours will received an increase from $375 to $450.

Although payments will not be backdated, those who are already enrolled will see an automatic increase for the week starting 2 August 2021.

No other changes to eligibility criteria have been announced.

Instructions on how to claim can be found here

Eased restrictions for Building & Construction

The NSW Government has also eased restriction for the Building and Construction industry. Namely in respect of home renovations and outside of the 8 LGAs of concern being Fairfield, Blacktown, Cumberland, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Parramatta and Georges River.

From Saturday, 31 July 2021 “non occupied construction” can recommence with the primary condition being workers cannot be in contact with home occupants. It is expected that those occupants are away from the property whilst the works are underway. There will a maximum cap of 2 tradespeople internally and 5 externally.

Preparatory works, such as deliveries and safety preparation, are also allowed to commence from tomorrow 29 July 2021.

Worksites are also allowed to remain open on Sundays and public holidays up until Christmas as to make up for lost time.

Other Changes (Individuals)

Individuals currently receiving Federal Social Security payments will also be able to apply for a $200 per week increase as of 3 August 2021. Applicants must show they’ve lost at least 8 hours of work. This is designed to bridge the gap in amounts received from the COVID-19 Disaster Payment and pre-existing social security measures.

If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact me or your HLB advisor.

Kim Kelloway
Head of Clients & Markets
T: +61 2 9020 4285
E: kkelloway@hlbnsw.com.au

Over the weekend Services NSW released eligibility details and opened applications for the JobSaver program. FIA Business Advisory & Finance Partner HLB Mann Judd, provide an update.

JobSaver is the Government’s primary answer to much needed funding for small and medium-sized enterprises during the recently mandated lockdowns.

Payments of $1,000 to $10,000 per week are available to eligible businesses.

The payments are a supplement to the one-off COVID-19 Business Grant, further information on this grant can be found here. Therefore, JobSaver is designed to support business expenditure via regular payments from 18 July 2021.

Businesses eligible for the COVID-19 Business Grant will be eligible for the JobSaver however will still need to complete a separate application.

Click here for eligibility criteria and to apply

JobSaver Payment

Payments will be made fortnightly during the lockdown period, back dated to 18 July 2021.

The amounts available are:

Sole-traders are unable to receive both a Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment and the JobSaver Payment.

*“Payroll means the Australian Tax Office (ATO) concept of total salary, wages and other payments, as declared at W1 in a Business Activity Statement (BAS) with respect to the payments made for employees that usually worked, or were based, in New South Wales.” - JobSaver Guidelines

JobSaver Eligibility

There is also list of ineligible businesses which can be found here and includes entities that primarily earns passive income.

How to Test the 30% Decline in Turnover

The opening of applications for JobSaver brought clarification on some matters which business owners had been waiting for. Primarily this was regarding the decline in turnover test.

It has now been confirmed that eligible decline in turnover is:

Still to Come

There is still clarification required regarding the alternative circumstances, for example new businesses, and what information might be needed to support this claim.

HLB Mann Judd will be working with clients and Service NSW to identify, on a case by case basis, what will be required of certain businesses.

If you require assistance regarding alternative circumstances or have any other questions regarding the JobSaver payments, please contact your HLB Adviser, or me directly.

Kim Kelloway
Head of Clients & Markets
T: +61 2 9020 4285
E: kkelloway@hlbnsw.com.au

NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler has confirmed that 20 per cent of developers are currently underperforming—and that they’re up for review. (An original article by Urban Developer)

Newly-enacted legislation has helped push NSW ahead of other states in the race to beef up regulation of an industry notorious for poor oversight.

The laws follow a key recommendation of the 2018 Building Confidence Report commissioned by the country’s building ministers, for state governments to take back authority to step on to building sites and intervene where necessary.

In this TUD+ Briefing, NSW building commissioner David Chandler discusses his sweeping new powers to withhold occupation certificates for apartment and other buildings, the powerful data allowing him to identify “dodgy” developers and the broader cultural shift towards compliance.

“I don’t think the ‘risky’ players have left town or changed their ways,” Chandler told The Urban Developer.

“Let’s say there’s about 20 per cent of those ‘casual players’, who aren’t protecting a brand or long-term public value proposition, we can now find them through a wide network of data and we are landing very effectively.

“We are now saying ‘developers, you make the big decisions, you appoint the designers, you appoint the builders, you appoint the certifiers and you need to make good decisions because there will now be consequences for bad ones’.”

Chandler said the “legislation-light” approach focused instead on leadership, and used all the levers of the sector, including the financiers and the insurers, as much as legislation, to drive lasting change.

“We have seen too many jobs out there where there has been a shortcut on the design, construction contracts awarded to builders at the lowest possible price and missing details on jobs in fundamental areas like waterproofing.

“That lack of clear design has created this cancer that has eaten away at the brand of our industry.”

Chandler’s initial two-year appointment has been extended a year until September 2022 and by then he will have delivered a business case for a “modern” building regulator to the state government.

Since late last year, the commissioner has conducted 56 audits including 45 pre-occupation certificate audits.

In that time, five apartment projects have had prohibition orders slapped on them, barring people who have purchased dwellings in the buildings from moving in.

On 20 July 2021 new regulations, known as the Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Infringements and Miscellaneous Matters) Regulations 2021 (Vic), were made to establish a safety infringement notice scheme in Victoria (Scheme). FIA Legal Partner, Kingston Reid share more information.

Under the Scheme, which commences on 31 July 2021, WorkSafe inspectors will have the power to issue “on-the-spot” fines to employers and other duty holders, including workers, who are found to be in breach of particular provisions of the OHS Act and the OHS Regulations.

The Scheme permits WorkSafe inspectors to issue infringement notices in respect of 54 prescribed offences, such as:

For an individual, the fine will be up to $363.48. For a company, the fine can be up to $1,817.40.

The intent behind the Scheme appears to be to use infringement notices to punish offences where the contraventions are clear and do not need to be established through a detailed investigation process.

WorkSafe is not precluded from taking other remedial action against a person simply because an inspector issues them with an infringement notice. For example, it will remain open to the inspector to issue an improvement or prohibition notice to the recipient of an infringement notice. However, the intention appears to be that if an infringement notice is issued, it is unlikely that a prosecution for the same offence will follow.

It will be important for anyone who receives an infringement notice to ensure that it has been validly issued and seek advice about whether it is susceptible to challenge.

If you have any questions about the Scheme, please contact us.

There was never a time more important than this for you to review and familiarise yourself with the protections and rights afforded to you by your construction contract, and to make sure you act immediately to maximise your protection.

By now, we’ve all heard that the latest round of Health Orders have closed Construction Sites in the Greater Sydney Area for Building and Construction Businesses. A ‘construction site’ means a place at which work, including related excavation, is being carried out to erect, demolish, extend or alter a building or structure, or at which civil works are being carried out.

Importantly, there is an exemption for works to ensure the safety or security of the construction site, and to manage environmental risks. That means that you should be at the site today and/or tomorrow, checking that everything is properly braced and secured, weathertight, ensuring that all edge and penetration protection is in place, and checking sediment barriers and controls.

Once you’ve made sure the site is safe, then you need to head back to the home office to make sure you’re safe, and by ‘safe’, we mean contractually safe. Pull out your contracts and check for the following clauses.

1. Extensions of time clauses

Most contracts require extensions of time to be notified within strictly short time frames of the contractor first becoming aware of delays. That means you should be giving a notice of delay to the property owner or Head Contractor and applying immediately for an associated extension of time for practical completion.

2. Contract price adjustment clauses

For many building contracts and, in particular, the main standard form residential building contracts, the implementation of the latest Health Orders will trigger the need for additional works giving rise to an automatic contract price adjustment, which will be due and payable with the next progress payment. Things to consider include the costs of making safe the works, implementing additional environmental controls, temporary works, weather protection, and additional hire costs including for plant that is on site but that cannot be off hired.

Are additional security patrols necessary? Are there additional costs from mobilisation or demobilisation? Are there any materials that will deteriorate, or any works which will require redoing? Do any expected deliveries need to be stored elsewhere during the shutdown, and what are the costs associated with that?

3. Variation clauses

If your contract doesn’t include provision for Contract Price Adjustment, consider applying for a Variation. Most standard form contracts restrict a property owner from refusing variations for works which are required to comply with the law. Refer to the considerations listed above in the contract price adjustment suggestions. Don’t forget that if your works are Residential Building Works within the meaning of the Home Building Act 1989 all variations must be in writing and signed by both parties to be enforceable.

4. Payment Rights

Also, don’t forget to stop and consider your client’s business or employment situation. Is their ability to work also hampered by the Health Orders too? If so, does your contract allow you to request written evidence of their capacity to pay, or even better, to deposit part of the contract price to you in advance? Most of the standard form residential contracts do, and you should strongly consider your rights in that regard.

5. Standard Terms

Lastly, check the standard terms in any hire agreements or delivery dockets for hired plant or equipment. If you can off hire, off hire now and if not, consider whether you are able to suspend the hire agreement. If you can’t do either of those things you are probably entitled to a contract price adjustment or variation in your contract with the property owner of Head Contractor.

There was never a time more important than this for you to review and familiarise yourself with the protections and rights afforded to you by your construction contract, and to make sure you act immediately to maximise your protection.

Republished with kind permission from Roberts Legal.

Free Case Evaluation for Building and Construction Businesses

At Roberts Legal we’re experts in construction and we’re here to help. We can assist with reviewing contracts to advise how to best proactively protect your rights and minimise the commercial impacts of COVID-19, and to answer any questions that you might have.

If you need an answer fast, contact us for a free case evaluation on 1300 553 343.

By Ned Mortensen,
Principal, Senior Solicitor

FREE CASE EVALUATION

WorkSafe Victoria is issuing a reminder to the construction industry about the risks involved with lifting and loading formwork and construction materials onto formwork decks.

Background

In 2019, a formwork deck in Melbourne collapsed as two packs of form ply were being loaded onto a formwork deck under construction, seriously injuring a worker standing underneath the deck.

Our Inspectors have identified a serious trend in heavy materials being landed atop of incomplete formwork decks on recent construction site visits.

This creates a significant danger of formwork failing under load and collapsing that risks injuring and even killing workers working on or under the incomplete decks.

Safety issues

Formworker's are often under pressure to erect formwork decks quickly to meet building cycles in mid and high-rise construction. This requires construction materials to be stacked onto the deck progressively so they can be used within the deck.

Heavy construction materials such as form ply, timber beams, post-tension cable coils, precast concrete elements and reinforcement are commonly stacked on formwork decks.

Factors that can cause a deck to collapse can include:

Control measures

Duties

21 Duties of employers to employees
(2) (a) Employees must provide or maintain plant or systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health;
&
31 Duties of persons installing, erecting or commissioning plant 
(1) A person who installs, erects or commissions plant who knows, or ought reasonably to know, that the plant is to be used at a workplace must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that nothing about the way in which the plant is installed, erected or commissioned makes its use unsafe or a risk to health.

Guidance

• AS 3610-1995: Formwork for concrete