Legislation has been introduced into the Federal Parliament to establish a new national independent body to lead and improve OH&S and workers’ compensation in Australia, to be know as ‘Safe Work Australia’.

It is intended that Safe Work Australia will standardise and improve OH&S outcomes and workers’ compensation arrangements.

Safe Work Australia will be an independent statutory authority with an independent chair and will comprise representatives of the Commonwealth, each state and territory, employers and unions.

One of Safe Work Australia’s key functions will be to develop model OH&S legislation for adoption by all jurisdictions, delivering on the Australian Government’s commitment to working cooperatively with states and territories to harmonise OH&S laws.

The announcement of the new body follows the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), historic signing of an Intergovernmental Agreement for Regulatory and Operational Reform in Occupational Health and Safety, on 3 July 2008

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) has unanimously approved the layout and design for a universal sign indicating the presence of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).
 

The AED sign is intended to indicate the presence of an AED for public use or to indicate the direction to move in  order to reach an AED. It should assist in rapidly identifying the AED in a public  place for immediate use in a victim of cardiac arrest.

It is ILCOR’s intention that this sign is adopted worldwide by the national councils that  together form each ILCOR member council. The sign should also be adopted by all AED manufacturers for use with their products and by  manufacturers of signage.

The International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) was founded in 1992 and currently includes representatives from the American Heart Association (AHA), the European Resuscitation Council (ERC), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (HSFC), the Australian and New Zealand Committee on Resuscitation (ANZCOR), Resuscitation Council of Southern Africa (RCSA), the Inter-American Heart Foundation (IAHF), and the Resuscitation Council of Asia (RCA). Its mission is to identify and review international science and knowledge relevant to cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency cardiovascular care (ECC) and when there is consensus to offer treatment recommendations.

Australian risk management practices have been recognised as international with significant inclusion and reference to AS/NZS 4360:2004 in the draft "ISO31000 Risk Management - Principles and Guidelines on Implementation".

In 2005, ISO initiated a New Work Item Proposal (NWIP) to look at developing a guidance standard on Risk Management. All ISO members approved this NWIP and an ISO working group was established with nominated experts from Member Bodies. Work commenced on the standard in 2006 and the document had now progressed to a Committee Draft: ISO CD31000.

Section 3 of ISO31000 is based on AS/NZS 4360:2004, to the extent that even the same diagram will be used as appears in 4360.

ISO 31000 is a generic standard intended to provide a common approach in support of standards dealing with specific risks and/or sectors and is intended to compliment as opposed to replace standards such as AS/NZS 4360:2004.

Following the review period ISO31000 is expected to be released early to mid 2009.

High levels of methane gas migrated from a closed landfill into a neighbouring housing estate at Cranbourne, south-east of Melbourne.

Dangerous levels of gas were detected in separate homes in confined areas such a wall cavity and under a kitchen sink. Concentrations of methane were also detected in confined spaces such as pipes and stormwater pits surrounding the estate.

C.F.A. Assistant Chief Fire Officer Stephen Warrington warned of a "very real risk" of explosion. Warrington was quoted as saying the situation was “quite unique for Australia and most of the world. We don't know the ramifications of it".

Some residents claimed they experienced headaches after entering their homes without ventilating the area continuously.

Whilst the gas has been reported as methane, workers and residents in the effected area would be well advised to check for contamination from volatile organic compounds, (VOC’S). Methane, whilst flammable and explosive, is a colourless odourless, non toxic gas. VOC’s on the other hand, can be flammable and explosive, toxic in extremely low concentrations, and more likely to produce the signs and symptoms experienced by residents such as headaches etc. VOC's are not typically detected by the common monitoring systems on the market.

In addition to the health and safety risks concerning residents, this event highlights the importance for workers in confined spaces to be diligent and to never drop their guard to the risks of gases. It also highlights the importance of correct environmental monitoring practices - even in passive areas such as storm water drains or pits.