A recent NSW Court of Appeal decision has examined the very interesting (and vexed ) issue of how the actions of a Principal can create liability, by taking over responsibility for a Contractor’s safety system of work.
In Waco Kwikform Ltd v Perigo and Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer [2014] NSWCA 140, the Court found, in part, that by developing a Safety Work Method Statement, Waco had taken primary responsibility for the safe system of work out of the contractor’s hands.
You can see a video presentation about the case by clicking here.
And apologies, but there has been a little bit of a glitch in the sound quality – there is sound but you might need to turn it up.
I also need to let you know that there is a new app available to make watching these video updates easier. You can find it by clicking here.
The app will allow you to watch the presentation, or download it so you can watch it offline later.
Best Regards.
My Safety Thoughts 
Interesting as usual.
It seems that there is no substitute for doing the work upfront as apposed to managing the contract on the fly.
I’ve discussed this with several clients and the response varies from a dumb look to “how dear you tell me how to run my business”.