- many fines go unpaid, particularly for companies that have been deregistered;
- sentencing outcomes other than fines are rarely
Significant changes to sentencing of OHS offences recommended
Upcoming Mandatory Psychosocial Hazard Prevention Plans for Victorian Workplaces
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
The Australian Psychosocial Risk Perspective on Gender Diversity
There is much speculation as to the future of diversity, equity and inclusion programs in Australian businesses given recent political and workplace discussions at home and abroad.
While much of the speculation about Australian businesses appears to be focussing on political values and the “business case” for or against diversity programs, it is critical
Global WHS trends
Introduction
In this article we explore four of the key issues and trends affecting organisations globally from a work health and safety perspective, both now and in the future: global WHS regulation; the rise of technology; changing workforce populations and structures; and psychosocial hazards and risks.
In examining these trends, we have been struck by
New Commonwealth Code of Practice – Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (2024)
The Australian Government has recently approved a new Code of Practice – Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). The new Code is largely based on Safe Work Australia’s model code of practice of the same name, but there are some important differences.
A summary
New government, new safety rules
Queensland’s new state government has moved urgently to make changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) (WHS Act). We set out below a summary of the changes which were passed by Parliament late on Thursday 28 November 2024 and commenced on Friday 29 November 2024.
1 Cease Work Notices
Only a few
Victorian Inquiry into workplace drug testing
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
New regulations addressing sexual harassment and sex or gender-based discrimination in Queensland: What employers need to know
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
Upcoming Changes to WHS Incident Notification for psychosocial hazards
By Nicki Milionis and Yasmine Sahihi
On 2 August 2024, Safe Work Australia announced that the Work Health and Safety (WHS) ministers had accepted recommendations to revise the incident reporting framework of the model WHS Act, including in relation to notification of psychosocial hazards and psychological harm.[1] At the time of writing, the relevant
An officer’s duty to exercise due diligence: A clarification?
Authors: Katherine Morris, Michael McCrea
Introduction
A recent decision of the District Court of New South Wales has clarified the content, nature and extent of an officer’s duty to exercise due diligence in relation to safety matters under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS Act).
Persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU)