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Agenda

 

 

 
Day One: Thursday 29th July 2010
| Day One | Day Two |
8:30
Registration & welcome coffee
8:55
Opening remarks from the Chair
Associate Prof Mac Collings, Associate Head of School (Teaching and Learning), University of Western Sydney Law School
OPENING ADDRESS
9:00
Harmonising work health and safety (WHS) laws
  • The key elements of the Model Work Health and Safety Act
  • The process to developing the remaining elements of the new laws
  • How the new laws will affect businesses and individuals
Julia Collins, Director Model Legislation, Safe Work Australia
NATIONAL GOVERNANCE OF OHS
9:40
Going beyond legislation and policy to develop a safety focused culture
  • Ways of managing and implementing changes in OHS law
  • How OHS laws have improved workplaces so far
  • Impact of recent changes and harmonisation of OHS laws
Jenny Thomas, Director Industry Relations Group, OHS Division, WorkCover NSW
10:15
Morning tea
CASE STUDY
10:30
Using health and safety as a tool to increase business success – the case of Australia air Express
Dominic Andreacchio, General Manager, Human Resources, Australia air Express
Winner 2009 Comcare Award for ‘Best Solution to an Identified Workplace Health & Safety Issue
UNION PERSPECTIVES
11:15
Safety and policy in the construction industry
  • The hidden dangers in the construction workplace
  • Benefits of regular representation from unions
  • Impact of recent changes and harmonisation of OHS laws
  • How can safety continue to be improved?
Andrew Ferguson, State Secretary, CFMEU
11:50
The pros and cons of changes to the model OHS Act that is supposed to harmonise legislation on a national level
  • How have the rights of workers to be represented been affected by the OHS changes?
  • How the rights of unions will be affected by OHS reform
  • The benefits of unions being allowed to enter workplaces in investigate suspected safety breaches
  • The rights of employees and unions to initiate prosecutions and to have OHS disputes conciliated and arbitrated where the relevant authorities have failed to act
Margot Hoyte, OHS/Workers Compensation Officer, Australian Council of Trade Unions
12:30
Lunch and networking
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
1:30
The Motor Traders Association perspective
  • Increased safety aspects of the motor trade industry
  • How does the industry differ from others in terms of risk/hazards?
  • Ensuring clients maintain their OHS policies
James McCall, CEO, Motor Traders Association
2:10
National consistency in electrical safety legislation
  • The existing legislative framework for the electrical industry is contained in a diversity of treatments across Australia
  • WHS harmonisation provides a welcome opportunity to achieve a new level of national consistency for the electrical industry
  • There are significant potential benefits, even for small businesses
  • There are challenges and we will identify and review some of the options and possible outcomes
Philip Green, CEO, NECA Victoria
2:45
Afternoon tea
3:00
Managing and mitigating risk
  • Managing health and injury incidents in remote and rural workplaces
  • Enabling continuing and quality access to medical care
  • Monitoring progress and enabling rehabilitation
  • Reducing cost of claims and managing RTW
Dr Andrew Jeremijenko, Chief Medical Officer, Tele Dr
3:40
Managing the 'H' in OH&S - the effective management of health risks can be disconnected from the management of safety risks
  • Key health risks which have manifested into catastrophic safety risks (including case studies)
  • The benefits of managing health risks
  • Emerging legal compliance issues
  • Good practices and guidelines in response to this issue
Paul Cutrone, Partner, Work Health and Safety, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
4:15
Mental health at work
Christina Bolger, Director Work Health, Comcare
4:45
Closing remarks from the Chair
4:50
End of day one
 
Day Two: Friday 30th July 2010
| Day One | Day Two |
8:30
Welcome coffee
9:00
Opening remarks from the Chair
Siobhan Flores-Walsh, Partner, Australian Business Lawyers
9:05
Trends and developments in workplace stress
  • Emerging thinking about stress, health and the workplace
  • Stress and productivity
  • Stress, workplace culture and implications for employers
  • Preventing, identifying and minimizing the impact and cost of stress in the workplace
Abby Bloom, Adjunct Professor, Sydney Medical School, Menzies Centre for Health Policy, and Director, Recovre Pty Ltd
9:45
The impact of reform on the NSW OHS regulations
  • What are the central principles for nationally harmonised OHS laws?
  • How are these going to affect each state’s powers?
  • What are going to be the main challenges?
  • The significance of the Kirk High Court decision for national harmonisation
Ken Phillips, Director Workplace Reform Unit, Institute of Public Affairs
10:25
Morning tea
10:40
A practical guide to meeting officers due diligence obligations under the Model OHS Act
  • An outline of the personal due diligence obligations of officers under the Model OHS Act
  • The challenge in discharging these obligations
  • Practical advice on how to discharge these obligations
  • The argument for better guidance from the regulator on how officers should discharge their due diligence obligations
Cormack Dunn, Senior Associate, Employee Relations, Freehills
11:15
CRC are national competencies for supervisors in the Construction Industry
  • Achieving Certificate IV in OHS to provide a nationally accredited qualification
  • Methods and strategies that businesses have used to implement these competencies
  • Creating a consistent safety culture in an environment that sees a high turnover of sub-contractors
Robyn Delander, Director, CEO, Health & Safety Advisory Service, and Kurt Clark, HSE Manager, United Group Ltd
11:50
Lunch
PANEL DISCUSSION
1:00
The difficulties that different jurisdictions face in the harmonisation process
Steve Kibble, Deputy CEO, Comcare
Greg Pattison, GM Workplace Solutions, NSW Business Chamber
1:45
Real workplace problems and real workplace strategies for employers to set in place as we move toward 2020 and beyond
  • An ageing population and the 7 key challenges this dynamic poses for employers
  • Goals for employers to set now regarding education, risk assessments and training of older employees
  • More clever risk management strategies employers should set in place now in the face of the new challenges
Ray Schaffer, Principle Consultant, R.M.H. Schaffer & Co
2:30
Afternoon tea
EMPLOYEE RESPONSIBILITY & BEHAVIOUR
2:45
Using the right equipment and supplying the right information
  • Embedding the safety culture that ensure consistent use of safety equipment
  • How some employees and employers can take shortcuts that will ultimately compromise safety
  • Why prevention is always better than the cure
  • Case studies to illustrate the dangers of failing to correctly utilise safety equipment
Gordon Cadzow, Secretary, Fall Protection Manufacturers of Australia Limited
3:25
Bullying – the hidden cost
  • What is bullying?
  • The health effects
  • Impact of absenteeism/presenteeism
  • Early intervention
  • Preventative measures
Michelle Burgess, Director, Workers Health Centre
4:00
Building blocks for fair, safe and decent workplaces
  • Preservation and extension of workers, health and safety representatives and unions
  • Consultation and representation in workplace safety planning
  • Access to independent training and trade unions
Deborah Vallance, National OHS Coordinator, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union
4:40
Closing remarks from the Chair
4:45
End of conference

 

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