Safe Work Australia Corporate Plan 2026-2030
Safe Work Australia was established under the Safe Work Australia Act 2008 (Cth) (the SWA Act) and, as a non-corporate Commonwealth entity, operates in accordance with the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (Cth). However, where the requirements of the two Acts are inconsistent, the SWA Act prevails.
Our Corporate Plan covers a four-year period from 2026-2030 and, consistent with section 27(2) of the
SWA Act, deals only with the outcome to be achieved and the strategies to be followed to achieve that
outcome. Notwithstanding the four-year outlook of the Corporate Plan, the intended outcome and
strategies are reviewed and updated annually.
Safe Work Australia’s outcome
Consistent with our 2026–27 Portfolio Budget Statements, the outcome intended from our Corporate Plan is healthier, safer and more productive workplaces through improvements in Australian work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements.
Strategies to achieve our outcome
The strategies we implement to achieve our outcome are developed in consultation with Safe Work
Australia Members and agreed by work health and safety (WHS) ministers.
Our strategies for 2026–2030:
- support a harmonised approach to the model WHS laws, including through completing the best practice review of the model WHS laws.
- respond to emerging WHS issues as work and workplaces continue to evolve.
- collaborate with the wider work, health and safety and workers’ compensation ecosystem to ensure diverse perspectives form the work we do.
- drive regulatory change and develop guidance and resources to protect workers from exposure to harmful substances, including respirable crystalline silica and asbestos.
- monitor the progress of and support actions in the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023 - 2033.
- monitor the progress of and support actions in the National Return to Work Strategy 2020 - 2030.
- support the collection, analysis and dissemination of national WHS and workers’ compensation data to inform decision-making and strengthen WHS and workers’ compensation outcomes across Australia.
- support our enhanced research capability through implementation of Safe Work Australia’s Research and Evaluation Strategy to ensure our policy advice on WHS and workers’ compensation remains current and can adapt to new technologies, industries, and ways of working.
- deliver national education and communication strategies and initiatives to increase awareness and support improvements in WHS outcomes and workers’ compensation arrangements
The strategies we implement are designed to:
- achieve reductions in the incidence of work-related death, injury and illness
- improve outcomes for injured workers and their employers
- use our collective influence to increase knowledge and awareness of WHS and workers’ compensation, and
- ensure robust and useful WHS and workers’ compensation research, analysis and data.
In developing these strategies, we are guided by Safe Work Australia’s functions conferred by the SWA Act.
These functions include:
- developing, evaluating and, if necessary, revising national WHS and workers’ compensation policies and strategies
- monitoring and improving the model WHS legislative framework and developing supportive WHS materials
- improving consistency in national workers’ compensation arrangements
- collecting, analysing and publishing national data
- conducting and publishing research
- developing national education and communication strategies and initiatives
- working collaboratively with the Commonwealth, states and territories, and other national and international bodies, and
- advising WHS ministers on national WHS and workers’ compensation policy matters.
The strategies we implement are designed to:
- contribute to reductions in the incidence of work-related death, injury and illness
- improve outcomes for injured workers and their employers
- use our collective influence to increase knowledge and awareness of work health and safety and workers’ compensation, and
- ensure robust and useful work health and safety and workers’ compensation research, analysis and data.
i Section 27(1) of the SWA Act outlines the requirement for the CEO to prepare a Corporate Plan under s 35 of the PGPA Act. However, s 27(2) of the SWA Act says that, despite that section, the draft Corporate Plan must deal only with the outcomes to be achieved by Safe Work Australia and the strategies that are to be followed by Safe Work Australia to achieve those outcomes. It follows that the only requirements that may be dealt with in the corporate plan are those outlined in s 27(2) of the SWA Act.