Tag: Psychological Harm
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The shift in Northern Territory workers’ compensation—Journey claims and PTSD presumptions
The Northern Territory Parliament has passed a major legislative package that permanently alters the financial exposure of employers regarding commuting risks and mental health claims. Through the formal commencement of the Return to Work Legislation Amendment Act 2020 (NT) in late July 2020, the jurisdiction has reversed several legacy rollbacks that were introduced in 2015.…
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The Rejection of “High Jinks”—South Australia’s First Category 1 Bullying Conviction
Within heavy industrial, trade, and apprentice-heavy environments, front-line supervisors have historically tolerated a culture of rough workplace pranks, hazing rituals, and aggressive teasing. These behaviours were routinely laughed off by middle management as harmless “high jinks,” team-building antics, or an unavoidable aspect of field culture. However, a historic prosecution finalised in South Australia has permanently…
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The judicial pivot on injury valuation—the multi-jurisdictional penalty multiplier
For multi-state operators and corporate insurers, predicting financial exposure following a workplace fatality has historically been handled by localising risk based on state borders. If an incident occurred in Queensland, safety executives reviewed historical Queensland judgments to forecast the likely statutory penalty. This approach assumed that regional legal trends would insulate a business from the…
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The causal connection—how the “but for” test controls psychosocial liability
One of the most complex challenges facing safety practitioners, human resources directors, and corporate insurers is determining legal causation in psychological injury claims. Unlike a physical trauma incident, where a mechanical failure leads directly to a fractured limb, psychosocial injuries frequently involve a complicated mix of workplace stress, managerial oversight, and external personal life events.…
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Boardroom parallels: the FWC expands anti-bullying protections to company directors
Corporate boardrooms have traditionally been viewed as arenas of intense commercial negotiation, strategic conflict, and high-stakes executive decisions. For generations, the legal view of a company director was strictly defined by the principles of corporations law, fiduciary duties, and governance-level oversight. Directors were considered the arbiters of corporate conduct, not subjects of workplace protection frameworks.…
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The Limits of Foresight—Optus Overturns the $3.9 Million Mental Harm Ruling
In March 2015, the safety and legal communities were put on notice by a landmark NSW Supreme Court trial judgment. An employer was ordered to pay $3.9 million in damages after a worker was traumatized by a colleague’s attempted murder on a roof balcony. That initial decision sent shockwaves through human resources and safety departments,…
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Anti-bullying jurisdictional climax: The FWC issues interpersonal exclusion orders
Since the Fair Work Commission (FWC) assumed its anti-bullying jurisdiction on 1 January 2014, safety professionals have closely monitored its rulings to understand the boundaries of its powers. In a landmark development, the tribunal reached a major enforcement milestone, issuing its first comprehensive set of substantive anti-bullying orders to resolve a bitter, long-running industrial relations…
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Tortious Evolution: The Forensic Reclassification of PTSD as a Bodily Injury
For decades, common law legal systems maintained a strict separation between physical trauma and psychological damage. Within personal injury frameworks, workers seeking damages under specialized insurance schemes frequently faced severe legal hurdles if their condition lacked a direct physical injury. A fascinating case handled by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Casey v Pel-Air…
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Rituals and their importance in the workplace
Effective rituals connect our team members to each other, to their leaders, and to our compelling cause. Rituals can be as simple as bringing in doughnuts to celebrate employee birthdays. Rituals have the ability to increase an individuals happiness and can boost productivity.
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The Cost of Confusing Safety Compliance with Insubordination
The line between corporate safety rhetoric and operational reality is often razor-thin. When a business champions a zero-tolerance approach to unsafe practices it must back its words when staff take them literally. A recent federal decision, Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union v Visy Packaging Pty Ltd (No 3) [2013] FCA 525,…