Nicki Milionis

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The NSW Parliament has narrowly passed the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025, introducing the most significant update to the State’s WHS framework in more than a decade. The reforms, an Australian first, respond to the rapid expansion of AI‑enabled management tools, algorithmic scheduling, digital surveillance technologies and automated decision‑making systems…

WARNING: Content that may be distressing

The recent sentencing of a Commonwealth government department (Department) for failing to manage psychosocial risks arising during performance management processes is a defining moment for Australian workplaces. It reinforces a point that regulators have been signalling for some time: management of psychosocial hazards are a core part of an…

The author acknowledges the contribution of Scott Meagher.

Introduction and background

Safe Work Australia (SWA) has published amendments to the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) Act and Regulations which expand incident notification requirements, update licensing arrangements for crane operations and align regulations with current practices. This article focusses on the amendments concerning incident notification.

Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (new Regulations) came into effect on 1 December 2025.

The new Regulations require employers to, so far as is reasonably practicable, identify psychosocial hazards and eliminate any risk associated with a psychosocial hazard. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate a risk associated with a…

This is co-authored by Harry Kinkead.

The Victorian Government is on the brink of finalising new regulations addressing psychological health, which will soon mandate written “prevention plans” for managing psychosocial hazards in workplaces. This development follows a comprehensive four-year process and is likely to take effect on 1 December 2025.

The forthcoming psychological health…

This article was co-authored by Emma Anvari.

A Victorian parliamentary inquiry report published in August 2024 concerning workplace drug testing (the Report) contains key recommendations relating to medicinal cannabis for both the Victorian Government and WorkSafe Victoria.

The terms of reference for the Victorian Legislative Council Legal and Social Issues Committee (Committee) included inquiring into the…

By Nicki Milionis, Isobelle Martin and with thanks to Amy Moore

In July, the Queensland Government announced a “nation-leading” regulatory reform requiring persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) to proactively address workplace sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment.  The first tranche of these changes will take effect from 1 September 2024, following the…