In Short
- Work health and safety duties now extend to psychosocial risks and the use of digital and AI systems at work.
- Employers must manage risks from performance management, monitoring practices and machinery, not just physical hazards.
- Recent cases show regulators will act where employers fail to manage mental health or unsafe work practices.
Tips for Businesses
Review how digital tools, AI and monitoring systems affect workloads, privacy and stress. Train managers to spot and respond to psychosocial risks. Check that safety policies match what happens in practice. Regularly assess plant and equipment risks, and consult workers about safety concerns and changes to work systems.
Summary
This update explains recent WHS developments for Australian business owners, including proposed NSW laws on digital work systems, new safety guidance and lessons from recent cases. It is prepared by LegalVision’s business lawyers, and LegalVision, a commercial law firm, specialises in advising clients on workplace health and safety compliance.
Work health and safety obligations continue to evolve, particularly as workplaces adopt digital systems and face increasing focus on psychosocial risks. This update highlights proposed WHS reforms on digital and AI systems, new regulator guidance, and recent cases involving psychosocial hazards and machinery safety to help employers understand current expectations and manage risk.
Legislative Update
Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025
The NSW Parliament is considering the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025 (NSW) (Bill), which would introduce specific WHS duties for AI and digital work systems. If passed, it would make NSW the first Australian jurisdiction to expressly regulate health and safety risks from digital and AI-driven:
- work allocation;
- monitoring; and
- decision-making within the workplace.
The Bill would require PCBUs to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that digital work systems do not create health and safety risks. This includes risks from:
- excessive workloads;
- unfair performance metrics;
- intrusive monitoring; or
- discrimination, such as where AI tools allocate work unevenly, ignore fatigue, or make opaque decisions.
The Bill also defines a ‘digital work system’ as an algorithm, AI, automation, or online platform, but excludes email and other messaging software.
Employers should therefore consider taking proactive steps now rather than waiting for legislative change, such as:
- undertaking risk assessments of AI and digital platforms;
- reviewing their monitoring practices;
- implementing surveillance policies; and
- consulting workers.
New Code of Practice
Safe Work Australia has introduced a new Model Code of Practice to address risks associated with elevating work platforms (EWPs).
Ensure your workplace is meeting its psychosocial legal obligations with this free guide, offering practical steps, legal insights, and effective risk management strategies.
Cases and Incidents
Continue reading this article below the formPsychosocial Hazards and Performance Management
What Happened?
A worker serving as a Royal Australian Air Force technician took his own life while on duty at a New South Wales air base in July 2020. In the months leading up to his death, the 34-year-old had been placed on repeated performance management arrangements. During this period, his mental and physical well-being visibly deteriorated.
Although Defence had systems to manage employee safety and well-being, supervisors were not properly trained to recognise or respond to psychological harm linked to performance management.
What Was the Outcome?
After a Comcare investigation, a court found the Department of Defence had breached the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and imposed a $188,000 fine. This was the first time a Commonwealth employer had been penalised for failing to address psychosocial hazards. The decision also included an order requiring the department to publicly acknowledge the breach and its consequences.
Key Takeaways
Although this case involves federal laws, it shows that performance management can create psychosocial hazards. Employers must treat psychological risks as seriously as physical ones.
Managers and supervisors play a key role in protecting mental health and must be properly trained and supported to identify and respond to psychosocial risks. Training should include:
- understanding the impact of workplace pressures;
- identifying behaviours that indicate distress; and
- knowing how to provide appropriate interventions, such as workload adjustments, counselling referrals, or directing staff to employee assistance programs.
Potato Slicing Machine Accident
What Happened?
In September 2022, a warehouse worker was seriously injured while standing on an active potato slicing machine and using a broom to guide potatoes towards the blades. During this task, the worker’s foot slipped and became entangled in the spinning blades.
Even after the supervisor pressed the emergency stop, the worker remained trapped, resulting in the partial severing of his foot. Emergency services freed him and took him to the hospital, but the injury led to a below-knee amputation.
What Was the Outcome?
The company admitted to failing to provide a safe system of work and was fined $95,000, plus $10,913.68 in court costs. WorkSafe’s investigation found that the injury could have been prevented through reasonable safety measures, such as:
- fitting protective guards or barriers around the machine’s blades;
- introducing proper lock-out tag-out procedures; and
- placing emergency stop controls within easy reach of workers.
Key Takeaways
Having workplace policies does not absolve an employer of liability. Even if policies are well-written, they offer no protection if unsafe behaviours are tolerated or ignored. This case illustrates that when unsafe methods become routine, formal policies alone cannot prevent injury.
Courts and regulators will look beyond formal documentation to assess what actually occurs in practice, and employers will remain liable where they have allowed conduct that exposes workers to harm.
Questions?
If you need legal assistance with a WHS matter or need help identifying an officer, book a consultation call on Prism. As a member, you can request unlimited legal advice consultations.
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