The Safety Dept.

01/09/2026

If you’ve been meaning to get a better handle on WHS, save these dates.

SafeWork NSW is running free online WHS seminars this September:

📅 9 September — General WHS
📅 17 September — Construction WHS
📅 29 September — General WHS

They cover everyday safety topics such as risk management, training, plant, emergency planning, working at heights and psychological health.

Attendees may be eligible for the $1,000 Small Business Rebate.

Find the links in the comments below.

29/08/2026

Fluorescent hi-vis does nothing after dark.

It runs on daylight. At night, the reflective tape is doing all the
work alone.

24/08/2026

𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝟏 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔.

The important point for NSW operators: a compliant work diary doesn’t automatically mean someone is fit to get behind the wheel.

The changes put clearer focus on fatigue, health and fitness to safely operate a heavy vehicle.

We explain what changed and what your business should be reviewing.

Click the link in the comments to read the full article.

22/08/2026

Australian safety switches are built to trip at just 30 milliamps.

That's roughly what it takes to be fatal. The switch is tuned to your body, not your tools.

21/08/2026

The auger had been used as part of everyday work.

But on one morning, a 17-year-old worker slipped near the infeed hopper and his foot was pulled into the moving machinery.

𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 $𝟔𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞.

What makes this story important isn’t just what happened that morning. It’s what the investigation and prosecution revealed about the controls that were missing beforehand.

Guarding. Training. Supervision. Safe work procedures.

Individually, they can sound like routine safety matters. In this case, their absence had very real consequences.

Read the full article: https://safetydept.com.au/machine-guarding-nsw-auger-injury/

Machine guarding NSW matters wherever workers can reach moving parts. See what an auger injury shows businesses to review across fixed machinery safely.

17/08/2026

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐖𝐇𝐒? 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚 𝐅𝐑𝐄𝐄 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤.

You might have the policies, procedures and paperwork in place, but do they still match what’s actually happening in your business?

When you’re busy running jobs and managing people, things can easily slip through the cracks.

The Safety Dept.’s FREE WHS Self-Assessment gives you a simple way to take a closer look at your current WHS setup and spot areas that may need attention.

No complicated process. Just a practical check of where you’re at.

Take the FREE WHS Self-Assessment:
https://safetydept.com.au/whs-self-assessment/

14/08/2026

Vehicles are involved in more Australian workplace deaths than any other single cause. Not falls. Not machinery.

The most dangerous thing on most job sites has a steering wheel.

14/08/2026

It only takes a moment for a familiar job to go very wrong.

In this NSW case, a worker was seriously injured after being struck by hot bitumen discharged from a vehicle-mounted melter. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 $𝟏𝟐𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎.

But the fine is only the end of the story.

What makes this case worth reading is what it shows about the risks that can become normal when equipment and work processes are used every day.

We’ve looked at what happened and the practical lessons other businesses should take from it.

Read the full article: https://safetydept.com.au/hot-bitumen-safety-nsw-prosecution/

Hot bitumen safety lessons from a NSW prosecution involving a vehicle-mounted melter. Review release points, exposure zones and abnormal conditions.

10/08/2026

A near miss happens. Now what?

Don’t stop at “be more careful next time.”

Use it to test what’s happening in the workplace:

1. Understand what happened
2. Review the work and controls
3. Decide what needs to change
4. Assign the actions
5. Follow up

That last step matters.

A good action sitting unfinished on a list hasn’t improved anything yet.

Near misses can be useful warning signs when they lead to real changes in the way work is managed.

Save this five-step check for the next time something nearly goes wrong.

07/08/2026

When you’re managing crews, sites and the next job, WHS follow-up can quickly become another thing waiting on your list.

Registers need updating. Procedures need reviewing. Responsibilities need to be clear. Corrective actions need to be closed out.

The Safety Dept. helps NSW trade, civil and field-service businesses keep those moving parts organised and followed through.

That includes businesses working in plumbing, carpentry, concreting, excavation, landscaping, plant and field services, maintenance and other site-based work.

𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠. 𝐖𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐇𝐒 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦. 𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 $𝟐𝟐𝟓/𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤.