workplace safety is non-negotiable

Macpherson Kelley acted for a large local government entity and led a team of lawyers, engineers and safety consultants to undertake a top to bottom audit and gap analysis under legal professional privilege of the organisation’s health and safety management system (SHMS) and its associated legal and safety risk profile. We designed and implemented the audit strategy and developed a report identifying legal liability risks, gaps in existing SHMS and made recommendations for minimising risks that were adopted.

Macpherson Kelley acted for a large waste management company which was subject to an improvement notice applicable to its operations throughout one state, although it had been based upon issues arising out of only one incident. Our lawyers were able to have the improvement notice reviewed internally under the procedures available within the state based regulator and were successful in having the improvement notice withdrawn because there was not a proper basis for its very wide scope of application. This outcome enabled our client to deal with the safety implications of the incident for its operations within a manageable timeframe and cost, subject to ongoing liaison and cooperation with the regulator.

Macpherson Kelley advised an event management company who were seeking clarification for its employees and senior managers on when they were required to notify injuries to the regulator. Our advice resulted in the development of a series of practical guidelines which employees could access to assess their notification obligations in urgent situations and act consistently with the obligations.