Restaurants can be loud—very loud. In Victoria and NSW, 85 dBA is the end of the WorkCover safe limit at which workers can complete an eight-hour day without wearing ear protection. Compare this to loud, noisy restaurants where customers and staff are regularly exposed to levels above this limit.

The Telstra "debacle" has put the asbestos debate back into the news with comments by Malcolm Turnbull, the opposition communications spokesperson,and $10.5 million pledged for asbestos protection by the Federal Government as reported in The Age on 19th June.

The WorkHealth grants program has been an exceptional tool to help fund wellbeing activities in the workplace. One study has found that employees who walk 10,000 steps per day and work out in the gym 3 times per week could be worth an extra $2,500 in productivity per year.¹

The dynamic nature of construction sites adds to the challenge of meeting the Model Work Health and Safety Regulations and Code of Practice for Managing Noise and Preventing Hearing Loss at Work which have been adopted in most Australian jurisdictions.

The Model Regulations require employers or “persons conducting a business or undertaking” to meet the noise standard through a “hierarchy” of controls.