Griffiths v Qld

[2011] QCA 57

Queensland Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Statutes
2. › Acts of Parliament
3. › Statutory Powers and Duties
4. › Exercise
5. › Liability
6. › Breach of Statutory Duty
7. › Employer's obligation to ensure workplace health and safety
8. › Whether employer discharged obligation under code of practice
9. › Whether employer identified and assessed risk as prescribed by Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2000
10. › Whether employer exercised proper diligence and took reasonable precautions
11. › Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (Qld), ss 26, 28, 37
1. Employment Law
2. › Workplace Health and Safety
3. › Manual tasks
4. › Risk management process
5. › Identification of problem tasks
6. › Assessment of risks
7. › Consultation with workers
8. › Training
9. › Whether informal workplace discussions constituted consultation within meaning of code of practice
10. › Manual Tasks Code of Practice 2000 (Qld)
1. Appeal
2. › General civil appeal
3. › Findings of fact
4. › Whether primary judge's findings supported by evidence
5. › Whether primary judge applied correct legal test under statutory defence provisions

Quick Take

An employer cannot discharge its obligation under s 26(3)(a) of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (Qld) merely by having a supervisor form a subjective view that a task poses no 'great risk'; the Code requires a systematic process of risk identification, and where staff have expressed concerns about the awkwardness of a manual task, the employer must identify it as a problem task and assess the associated risks. Informal workplace discussions about the difficulty of a task do not constitute 'consultation' within the meaning of the Code unless they have the purpose or effect of identifying, assessing or controlling risks.