What triggered the review?

The SWA review is in response to growing concern that jurisdiction‑specific amendments and enforcement approaches are leading to increasing divergence between WHS laws. This risks undermining the goal of consistency across Australia and is particularly challenging for employers who operate in multiple jurisdictions. 

The review was also prompted by the changing nature of work and emerging risks, with Ministers seeking to ensure the model laws remain fit‑for‑purpose and capable of responding to contemporary WHS challenges while still maintaining a harmonised national framework.

What is the scope of the review? 

The review’s scope involves SWA: 

• assessing whether the model WHS Act and Regulations incorporate a best practice approach that achieves the model WHS Act's objective of providing a balanced and nationally consistent framework to secure the health and safety of workers and workplaces.
• examining WHS laws across Australia’s states and territories and determining which provisions "significantly depart" from the model Act and Regulations.
• making recommendations about whether to incorporate any of these variations into the model WHS laws.

Who was consulted? 

SWA received 1055 responses and held more than 100 stakeholder meetings, consulting a broad range of individuals, groups and bodies, including:

• Workers
• Health and Safety Representatives
• Unions
• Employers
• Industry associations
• Regulators and government agencies
• WHS professionals and academics
• Community organisations
• Families affected by workplace fatalities or serious injuries

What do we know so far? 

SWA’s consultation summary report indicates strong support for national harmonisation.

The following key issues were identified: 

• Introduction of local amendments without national agreement.
• Re‑prosecution of policy positions already settled at the national level.
• Differences in how regulators enforce the law.
• Enforcement decisions lacking transparency and consistency.
• Model laws are outdated, focus on physical hazards, and primarily address male-dominated industries.

Stakeholders called for:

• Standardised inspector training.
• Consistent sentencing and penalty frameworks.
• Implementation of national consultation requirements and annual revisions to identify best practices in regulation and enforcement.
• Implementation of national WHS databases to enable monitoring and evidence-based policy.
• Practical guidance on how to apply the ‘reasonably practicable’ standard and manage WHS obligations across complex contractual chains.
• Updates to the model laws to better regulate emerging risks, including those related to:
  • psychosocial hazards;
  • sexual and gender‑based harassment;
  • technology; and
  • climate‑related hazards.
• Psychosocial hazards to include discrimination, victimisation and moral injury.
• Industry-specific Codes of Practice.

What's next? 

Consultation outcomes will inform the SWA Best Practice Review final report. The report will be delivered to WHS Ministers in August this year. 

The final report will be made public following approval from the Ministers.