In Short
- From 1 January 2026, NSW employers must provide baseline hearing tests within three months for workers exposed to high noise, with follow-ups every two years.
- Victoria’s new OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations take effect from 1 December 2025. Employers must identify and eliminate or manage psychosocial hazards.
- A national best-practice review of the model WHS laws is underway and open for business input until 30 November 2025.
Tips for Businesses
Audit your work systems to spot psychological risks, such as unclear roles and poor relationships, and take meaningful action beyond just training. Stay informed about law reform in WHS and engage early if consultation opportunities arise.
Officers have an ongoing duty to ensure their organisations remain compliant and stay informed about work health and safety matters. This update covers recent developments to help officers meet their obligations and stay current with WHS changes.
Legislative Updates
Safe Work Australia Best Practice Review
Safe Work Australia is undertaking a best practice review of the model Work Health and Safety Act and model Work Health and Safety Regulations. Employers can complete a survey to share how current WHS laws affect its operations. The closing date for the survey is 30 November 2025.
This is a systematic process of evaluating the current practice against existing standards to improve its performance and effectiveness. LegalVision will keep businesses updated on any changes stemming from this review.
New Hearing Test Requirements for NSW Employers
From 1 January 2026, NSW employers must provide audiometric testing (hearing tests) to workers who frequently use hearing protection to control noise exceeding the exposure standard.
Employers must arrange:
- a baseline hearing test within 3 months of a worker starting employment; and
- follow-up tests at least every 2 years.
NDAs in Sexual Harassment Matters in Victoria
The Restricting Non-Disclosure Agreements (Sexual Harassment at Work) Bill 2025 was introduced to the Victorian Parliament on 29 October 2025. The Bill seeks to regulate the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in workplace sexual harassment matters by placing clear restrictions on when such agreements may be entered into.
The key features of the Bill are:
- Complainants must first voluntarily ask for an NDA, be given a written information statement and have at least 21 days to review the NDA (this can only be shortened if the complainant specifically requests it).
- Employers, respondents or their representatives cannot pressure or influence the complainant into signing the NDA.
- NDAs must be written in simple, clear language, and a signed copy must be given to the complainant.
- Certain disclosures are allowed to trusted parties, such as legal professionals, financial advisors or relevant authorities, for legal, professional or personal support.
- Complainants have the right to cancel the NDA 12 months after signing it.
We will continue to monitor and report on any updates in relation to this Bill.
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations in Victoria
Victoria’s new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations (‘Regulations’) come into effect from 1 December 2025.
Employers will have a duty under the Regulations to identify psychosocial hazards in the workplace and eliminate psychosocial risks where reasonably practicable. If elimination is not reasonably practicable, employers must take reasonable steps to reduce the risks by altering:
- the management of work;
- the plant;
- systems of work;
- work design; or
- the workplace environment.
Information, instruction and/or training will not be “sufficient” control measures unless the measures outlined above are not reasonably practicable. This represents a significant shift in approach, requiring businesses to implement substantive organisational changes rather than relying primarily on training-based solutions.
To comply with these new requirements, businesses should review existing internal materials such as:
- organisational structures;
- employee feedback;
- productivity reports;
- absenteeism records;
- safety incident reports; and
- workers compensation claims to identify potential psychosocial hazards.
Regular review of control measures will be essential, particularly before making changes to systems of work, when new information about hazards becomes available, following reports of psychological injury, or on request from health and safety representatives.
The Victorian government has also released a complementary compliance code, which provides further practical guidance. Businesses should familiarise themselves with this code before the Regulations come into force on 1 December 2025.
Learn how to manage employment disputes and effectively protect your business from legal action. This guide delves into the most common employment disputes.
Cases and Incidents
A recent decision of the New South Wales District Court has reinforced that businesses must take proactive steps to ensure worker safety, even when they do not have direct day-to-day control over those workers, to ensure compliance under WHS laws.
1. What Happened?
A labour hire company was prosecuted following an incident where one of its workers suffered a serious crush injury while operating an electric pallet rider at the premises of a host employer.
The labour hire company had placed 28 workers at the host employer’s warehouse over a nine-month period. While the host employer was responsible for day-to-day supervision, the labour hire company had various systems in place, including:
- employment agreements requiring workers to contact the company if their duties changed;
- policies requiring workers not to operate machinery without adequate training;
- workplace health and safety site inspections;
- regular check-in calls with workers; and
- communication with the host employer about worker performance.
2. What Was the Outcome?
The Court found the labour hire company guilty of breaching its work health and safety duty. Despite having policies and systems in place, the company failed to take reasonably practicable steps to ensure the health and safety of its workers.
Specifically, the Court found that the labour hire company:
- failed to obtain adequate information about the actual work being performed;
- did not make meaningful enquiries of workers during check-in calls about the tasks they were performing, what equipment they were using, or what training they had received;
- did not verify that workers had received adequate induction training from the host employer; and
- failed to enforce its own policies.
Importantly, the Court rejected the labour hire company’s defence that it was not aware that workers were operating pallet riders. The Court held that the labour hire company should have known through proper enquiries and inspections, and that its lack of knowledge resulted from its own failures to gather necessary information.
3. Key Takeaways
This case serves as an important reminder that if your business places workers on outside premises, you must take active steps to protect those workers. To ensure compliance, your business should:
- gather detailed information about the work and workplace;
- make structured and proactive enquiries;
- conduct site inspection, where you reasonably can; and
- have verification systems for induction and training materials.
Questions?
Your business is a client of LegalVision. If you have any questions about your workplace health and safety obligations, including officers’ duties or business obligations, you can book an appointment with us to discuss your requirements.
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