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Employment & Safety - Occupational Health & Safety
In the current dynamic and changing occupational health and safety (OH&S) environment, it is more important than ever for businesses to ensure that their people are safe. Managing OH&S risks and meeting relevant legal obligations requires a strong commitment to the development, implementation, evaluation and maintenance of effective OH&S management strategies such as:
- incident and risk management protocols;
- contractor management systems; and
- continual learning and development for workers.
Our OH&S team has extensive legal expertise in all aspects of OH&S including:
- advising clients on the impact of changes to OH&S and related legislation across all jurisdictions and assisting clients in drafting submissions on proposed legislation;
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management of an incident including:
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advising on notification obligations;
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liaising with regulators, police, emergency services and the coroner;
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advising on the various regulators’ powers;
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assisting to ensure safety following an incident, whilst also legally protecting the business; and
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providing information on legal rights for individuals in the business, such as managers and supervisors;
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advising on improvement, prohibition and provisional improvement notices and applications for review to the regulator and various courts and tribunals;
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advising on compliance obligations and legal rights of individuals generally;
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advising on potential liability following an incident and making recommendations on legal compliance;
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advising on employment considerations arising out of OH&S related issues, such as claims of discrimination and disciplinary action (including termination of employment following safety breaches);
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management of prosecutions, including plea negotiation and conduct of court hearings;
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representation at coronial inquests;
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assisting in the development and review of safety systems from a legal compliance perspective, such as contractor safety management and incident management protocols;
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advising on general compliance with OH&S and related legislation across all jurisdictions; and
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developing and delivering OH&S training and education to assist in achieving compliance and safety culture objectives across various industries for a range workers, from the boardroom to the factory floor.
Our team
Our OH&S team has extensive experience in criminal and employment law, offering clients a unique insight into OH&S matters, which generally overlap both criminal and employment jurisdictions.
The team is led by Penny Stevens. Penny has been practising law for over 16 years and draws on her experience in criminal law and her work with various government bodies to advise clients on a national basis. Penny is supported by a team of highly skilled senior and junior lawyers including Nicole Fauvrelle.
Our team understands the importance of getting to know your business and its operations to enable us to provide tailored and effective advice which meets the commercial and safety needs of your business.
To discuss your OH&S needs further, please contact a member of our team:
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