The Minns Government has passed major reforms that establish anti-bullying and s-xual harassment jurisdictions in the IRC and allow workers to seek preventative orders and up to $100,000 in damages, while also significantly lifting the small claims cap.
The NSW Government has scrapped contentious proposals in a workers compensation bill to be introduced today requiring employees to secure an IRC ruling before claiming for harassment-related psychological injuries, while adding "excessive work demands" as a new compensable cause.
The nurses union says NSW health workers and women will be most disadvantaged by proposed workers compensation changes making it "almost impossible" to claim for psychological injuries, while the NSW Bar Association is urging parliamentarians to reject it and demand a "substantive review".
A government agency has been scolded for failing to pay travel allowances after admitting that it slipped its notice that the claims had been processed manually by two firefighters, one of whom retired while the other went on extended leave.
A tribunal has pilloried a government department's efforts to fill a vacancy after observing that a senior nurse encouraged to apply had the role plucked away from her following the "catastrophic collision" of three internal processes.
Queensland Health has been ordered to backpay a nurse for an unpaid suspension imposed while investigating a complaint that he "grabbed" a patient's t-sticles in an attempt to revive them after they fainted while showering, a tribunal finding it failed to inform him that it took into account previous allegations of inappropriate behaviour.
The NSW IRC has affirmed its ability to dictate the terms of a corrective Facebook post it forced the HSU to publish and has dismissed a claim that in heading off paramedics' industrial action, a senior tribunal member approached it on the basis that State IR laws don't "tolerate" it during conciliation.
A tribunal has rejected a bid by the NSW Department of Education to block SafeWork from cross-examining a witness and from relying on previously redacted evidence on the basis of public interest immunity.
Using suspension powers to compel a clinical nurse with a career spanning 60 years to work day shifts was unfair and unreasonable as it conflicted with her caring duties, while also being unintentionally "quite cruel", Queensland's IRC has found.
