October 2026

Safe Work Australia’s Best Practice Review: What The Latest Recommendations Mean For Australian Workplaces

Posted on 21/10/2026 by Marnie Cruickshank

Australia’s work health and safety (WHS) framework is facing an important opportunity for reform, with Safe Work Australia publishing its Best Practice Review of the model Work Health and Safety laws on 19 October 2026. The review makes 21 recommendations aimed at strengthening worker protections, improving regulatory consistency and ensuring the national WHS framework remains fit for modern workplaces.

For employers, officers, safety professionals and workers, the report is an important signal of the direction of future WHS policy. It reinforces the importance of effective risk management while highlighting areas where Australia’s current approach could be clearer, more consistent and better equipped to address emerging risks.

Why Was The Review Undertaken?

Australia’s model WHS laws were developed to create a nationally consistent framework for workplace safety. The objective is straightforward, workers should receive strong protections regardless of where they work, while businesses operating across state and territory borders should face consistent duties and regulatory expectations.

However, differences between jurisdictions have developed over time. These variations, alongside findings from government reviews and inquiries, prompted WHS ministers to commission a Best Practice Review to identify opportunities to improve the framework while maintaining and strengthening harmonisation.

The review represents the first national review of the model WHS laws since 2018. Its findings are informed by extensive consultation undertaken between September 2025 and March 2026, including more than 1,000 submissions and survey responses and over 100 stakeholder meetings. Participants included employers, unions, regulators, workers, health and safety representatives and other members of the WHS community.

The message emerging from that consultation is significant, there is broad support for harmonisation, but stakeholders want laws that are easier to understand, applied more consistently and responsive to the realities of contemporary work.

The Key Findings: 21 Recommendations For A Stronger WHS Framework

The review sets out 21 recommendations intended to maintain and strengthen harmonisation while addressing gaps in the operation of the model laws. Several themes stand out for organisations preparing for the next phase of WHS reform.

Greater Consistency Across Jurisdictions

A central recommendation is to renew the national commitment to harmonisation and establish clear, transparent processes for managing future variations to the model WHS laws.

The review also recommends a new National Compliance and Enforcement Policy to promote greater consistency and clarity in how WHS requirements are enforced.

Stronger Prevention In High-Risk Industries

The review recommends working directly with high-risk industries and relevant unions to reduce work-related fatalities.

This reinforces the importance of identifying critical risks, implementing effective controls and ensuring that safety systems translate into practical action on the ground.

Better Worker Consultation and Participation

Strengthening consultation, representation and participation arrangements is another key focus.

Employers should view worker consultation as an essential part of effective risk management, rather than simply a procedural requirement. Workers and health and safety representatives can provide valuable insight into hazards, work practices and whether existing controls are effective.

Preparing For Emerging and Evolving Risks

The review recommends national strategies addressing three important areas, artificial intelligence, climate change and harmful workplace behaviours, including work-related violence and harassment.

These areas highlight the need for WHS systems to evolve alongside changing technology, working conditions and the broader understanding of workplace health and safety.

Clearer Guidance and Modernised Regulations

The review also calls for improved WHS knowledge and capability among workers and duty holders, practical industry-based Codes of Practice, and modernised model WHS Regulations.

More accessible, industry-relevant guidance could help organisations better understand their obligations and apply suitable controls to the risks they face.

What Does This Mean For Employers and WHS Professionals?

While the recommendations establish a potential direction for reform, organisations should distinguish between proposed changes to the model laws and requirements that are already legally enforceable.

The publication of the report does not, by itself, mean that all 21 recommendations have become law. The recommendations will progress through Safe Work Australia’s tripartite Member processes, with further consultation and policy development where required. Any legislative changes will depend on the relevant implementation processes in each jurisdiction.

In the meantime, there are several practical steps organisations can take to prepare.

Practical Steps To Take Now

Review Your Current WHS Compliance Arrangements

Confirm that your policies, procedures and risk controls reflect the legislation currently applicable in each jurisdiction where you operate.

Assess High-Consequence Risks

Review critical hazards, incident trends, control effectiveness and any gaps in the management of serious injury and fatality risks.

Strengthen Consultation Processes

Check that workers and health and safety representatives are meaningfully involved in identifying hazards and reviewing control measures.

Review Psychosocial and Emerging Risks

Consider workplace violence and harassment, changing work practices, AI-related impacts and climate-related hazards where relevant.

Monitor Regulatory Developments

Track updates from Safe Work Australia and your state or territory regulator and assess any confirmed changes for their impact on your business.

These steps are useful regardless of the timing of future reforms. They also help organisations demonstrate a proactive approach to identifying hazards, managing risks and reviewing the effectiveness of their WHS systems.

Why Harmonisation Matters For Australian Businesses

Regulatory consistency is particularly important for organisations with operations across multiple states and territories.

Different requirements, regulatory approaches and compliance expectations can increase administrative complexity, create uncertainty and make it harder to maintain consistent safety practices across sites. A more coherent framework could help businesses streamline internal processes while supporting consistent protections for workers.

However, harmonisation should not be viewed solely as a compliance or administrative objective. Its broader purpose is to support effective workplace safety and ensure that workers receive appropriate protections wherever they perform their duties.

For employers, the opportunity is to combine consistent organisational standards with controls tailored to the hazards, activities and operating conditions of each workplace.

Emerging Risks Deserve Greater Attention

One of the most forward-looking aspects of the review is its recognition that workplace hazards continue to evolve.

Three areas warrant particular attention.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation

As organisations introduce AI-enabled systems and new technologies, they should consider how changes to work design, task allocation, monitoring and decision-making may affect worker health and safety.

Climate Change and Extreme Conditions

Heat, severe weather, changing environmental conditions and emergency events can affect working conditions, particularly for outdoor workers and industries with significant physical or environmental exposures.

Harmful Workplace Behaviours

Work-related violence, harassment and other psychosocial hazards require effective prevention strategies, appropriate reporting mechanisms and management commitment.

The recommendations do not mean that every organisation faces identical risks or that a single control will suit all workplaces. Rather, they reinforce the importance of assessing risks in context and keeping WHS arrangements responsive to changing circumstances.

The Role Of Practical Guidance and Safety Culture

Legislation establishes duties, but the effectiveness of a WHS framework also depends on whether organisations can understand and implement those duties in practice.

The review’s focus on industry-based Codes of Practice and improved WHS capability recognises the value of clear, practical guidance. Different industries face different hazards, and accessible guidance can help translate general legal obligations into workable approaches to risk management.

Organisations should also continue to invest in the capabilities that support effective safety outcomes, including:

Training workers and supervisors to recognise and report hazards
Ensuring officers understand their due diligence responsibilities
Providing workers with meaningful opportunities to contribute to safety decisions
Investigating incidents and near misses to identify underlying causes
Regularly reviewing whether risk controls remain effective

A strong safety culture is not achieved simply by updating policies. It requires leadership, consultation, accountability and a sustained focus on preventing harm.

What Happens Next?

Safe Work Australia has confirmed that the recommendations will be progressed through its tripartite Member processes, with additional consultation and policy development where needed. This means further work is required before the full implications of the review can be determined.

Businesses should therefore avoid assuming that every recommendation will be adopted in its current form or on a particular timetable. Instead, they should monitor developments and assess confirmed changes against their existing compliance obligations.

For organisations operating across multiple jurisdictions, this monitoring will be especially important. Any changes to model provisions, regulations or Codes of Practice will need to be considered alongside the legislation and guidance applicable in each location.

The review also provides an opportunity for businesses to reflect on whether their current WHS systems are genuinely effective, rather than simply compliant on paper.

Conclusion: Preparing For The Future Of WHS In Australia

Safe Work Australia’s Best Practice Review is an important milestone in the ongoing development of Australia’s WHS framework. Its 21 recommendations seek to strengthen harmonisation, improve enforcement consistency, support better worker participation, reduce work-related fatalities and prepare the framework for emerging hazards.

For employers and WHS professionals, the key takeaway is clear, now is the time to review existing safety arrangements, strengthen risk management practices and prepare for potential regulatory developments.

Although the recommendations are not automatically changes to the law, their direction highlights the continuing importance of practical, proactive and effective workplace health and safety management.

Organisations that invest in these foundations now will be better positioned to respond to future reforms while maintaining their focus on the most important outcome of all, ensuring workers return home safe and healthy.

Further reading: Read the official Best Practice Review report and Safe Work Australia’s overview of the review and recommendations .

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and is not legal advice. Organisations should consult the WHS legislation and regulator guidance applicable to their jurisdiction.

Let us help your organisation identify hazards, manage risks and review the effectiveness of your WHS system. Get in touch with us and see how Sherm can help to manage and maintain all of your WHS needs.

When Workers Stop Speaking Up: The Hidden Psychosocial Risk in Workplace Culture

Posted on 06/10/2026 by Marnie Cruickshank

A new workplace phrase is attracting attention across Australia: “getting disappeared”.

It describes a situation where an employee raises concerns, challenges a decision or becomes perceived as difficult, and then suddenly leaves the organisation, with colleagues receiving little explanation about what happened.

There may, of course, be entirely legitimate and confidential reasons why an employee leaves a workplace. Employers also have obligations to protect personal information and cannot simply disclose the circumstances surrounding an individual’s employment.

The greater risk arises from what the remaining workforce perceives.

When employees repeatedly see people raise concerns and then disappear from the workplace, they may begin to draw their own conclusions.

And that can create a much bigger organisational problem:

People stop speaking up.

Silence Can Become A Safety Risk

A healthy reporting culture is fundamental to effective work health and safety management.

Workers are often the first people to identify emerging hazards, unsafe practices, ineffective controls, unreasonable workloads, interpersonal problems and weaknesses in organisational systems.

If workers believe raising an issue could negatively affect their employment, reputation or career, an organisation may progressively lose one of its most important sources of risk intelligence.

The absence of reported problems does not necessarily mean the absence of problems.

Sometimes it means people have stopped reporting them.

That distinction matters.

Psychological Safety Is Increasingly A Governance Issue

Australian WHS frameworks now place much greater emphasis on identifying and managing psychosocial hazards.

These hazards can arise from the way work is designed, organised and managed, as well as workplace interactions and behaviours.

Poor organisational justice, poor support, inadequate consultation, conflict, bullying, poor change management and ineffective reporting arrangements can all contribute to psychosocial risk.

For organisations, this means workplace culture cannot simply be treated as an annual employee engagement exercise.

It needs to form part of the organisation’s risk management system.

That includes asking practical questions such as:

Can workers raise concerns without fear of retaliation?
Is there more than one way to report an issue?
Are reports acknowledged and investigated?
Can actions and decisions be demonstrated afterwards?
Are recurring issues being identified?
Are managers accountable for closing actions?
Are workers informed about outcomes where appropriate?
Does leadership receive visibility of emerging trends?

These are management-system questions as much as they are cultural ones.

Reporting A Problem Should Create A Process, Not A Problem For The Person Reporting It

One of the strongest indicators of organisational culture is what happens after someone raises a concern.

Consider two workplaces.

In the first, a worker reports an issue. It is recorded, assessed, assigned to someone, investigated where necessary and followed through to completion. The worker can see that the organisation has responded.

In the second, the concern is raised informally. It moves between emails, conversations and meetings. Responsibility becomes unclear. Nothing appears to happen, or the person raising the concern suddenly finds themselves treated differently.

Even where management believes it has acted appropriately, the experience of the workforce can be very different.

That is why a defensible reporting and action-management process matters.

Poor Organisational Justice Is A Recognised Psychosocial Hazard

Safe Work Australia specifically identifies poor organisational justice as a psychosocial hazard.

Recommended controls include having transparent processes and procedures, providing ways for workers to report concerns or appeal decisions, keeping workers appropriately informed and protecting workers who raise safety concerns from discrimination.

Effective consultation is equally important.

Workers affected by health and safety matters must be given a reasonable opportunity to express their views and raise issues, and those views need to be considered when decisions are made.

For organisations, this moves consultation beyond the occasional toolbox meeting or staff survey.

The objective should be to create a demonstrable feedback loop:

Report → Assess → Act → Communicate → Review

There Is Also An Employment-Law Dimension

Workplace concerns do not exist solely within WHS legislation.

Australia’s Fair Work framework provides general protections relating to workplace rights. Depending on the circumstances, an employee making a complaint or inquiry relating to their employment may be exercising a workplace right.

Corporate whistleblower protections can also apply to eligible disclosures, with protections against certain forms of detriment.

Not every workplace complaint will fall within these protections and not every employee departure following a complaint represents unlawful conduct.

The important governance lesson is simpler:

Organisations should be able to demonstrate that concerns are handled consistently, fairly and through an established process.

The Management-System Test

There is a useful question organisations can ask themselves:

If a worker raised a serious concern today, could we demonstrate six months from now exactly what happened next?

Could the organisation identify:

Who received the concern?
When was it received?
How was the risk assessed?
Who was responsible for responding?
What actions were assigned?
Were those actions completed?
Was the worker consulted?
Was confidentiality appropriately maintained?
Was the effectiveness of the response reviewed?
Were similar reports or trends identified?
Could senior management see the issue if escalation was warranted?

If the answer depends upon searching someone’s inbox or asking people to remember conversations, there is a governance gap.

This Is Where Digital HSEQ Systems Become Important

A digital HSEQ management system should do more than store policies and forms.

It should create organisational memory.

Within Sherm, organisations can bring together the processes that support effective reporting and governance, including incidents, hazards, issues, inspections, corrective actions, documents, training and competency, audits, registers and reporting.

The objective is not simply digitisation.

It is traceability.

When an issue is raised, organisations need visibility of what happened next: the assessment, responsibility, actions, supporting records, communication and eventual close-out.

That creates a very different organisational environment from one where concerns disappear into email chains or informal conversations.

Importantly, technology cannot create psychological safety by itself.

Leadership behaviour, fairness, consultation and trust remain critical.

But the right system can support those behaviours by making responsibilities visible and creating evidence that concerns are being taken seriously.

From “Speak Up” To “We Acted”

Many organisations tell their workers:

“If you see something, say something.”

The more important question is:

What happens after they do?

A mature safety culture is not demonstrated by how few concerns are reported.

It is demonstrated by whether workers are willing to report them, and whether the organisation can show that those concerns are assessed, managed and closed effectively.

Because when workers believe speaking up achieves nothing, or may place them at risk, reporting decreases.

The hazards do not necessarily disappear with it.

They simply become harder for the organisation to see.

Sherm helps organisations create visibility from reporting through to action and close-out, supporting stronger HSEQ governance, consultation and defensible oversight.

Learn more about how Sherm supports hazard, incident, issue and corrective action management, psychosocial risk governance and workforce consultation.