Model WHS Laws

We created the model WHS laws in 2011.

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WHS laws in your jurisdiction

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Data and Research

We collect, analyse and publish data and information on work health and safety and workers' compensation.

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Key work health and safety statistics

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Resources and Publications

We publish a wide range of resources covering many work health and safety topics.

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Read our Codes of Practice

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Safe Work Australia has published new information identifying trends in psychological health in workplaces. 

The Psychological health and safety in the workplace report highlights the changing impact of work-related psychological injuries in Australia. During 2021-22p:

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The February edition of the

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Safe Work Australia has updated the Family and domestic violence at work information sheet to reflect changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 aro

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Safe Work Australia has redesigned the preliminary fatalities dashboard to enable new insights into fatal injuries, and has released the first preliminary fatalities data for 2024.

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Safe Work Australia has developed a new information sheet to assist PCBUs to use the national fire danger rating and warning systems to identify and assess t

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Work Health and Safety Ministers have agreed to an immediate reduction to the workplace exposure standard (WES) for welding fumes (not otherwise classified) has been reduced from an 8-hour time weighted average (TWA) of 5 mg/m

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The return to work planning process can be challenging to navigate for the first time, but there are simple things you can do to improve the outcomes for an injured or ill worker.

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The Australian Public Service (APS) Employee Census (Census) is an annual survey which is used to collect confidential attitude and opinion information from APS employees on issues in the workplace. It is an opportunity for APS employees to share their experiences of working in the APS.

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The Safe Work Australia Agency highlights report contains a summary of our census results on key questions as well as providing a comparison to similar agencies and our past results.

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act.

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Our 2022–23 Annual Report informs Parliament, ministers, governments and the community about our performance in delivering improvements to key work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia. 

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The Hon Tony Burke MP, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, announced the appointment of Ms Marie Boland as the new Chief Executive Officer of Safe Work Australia. Ms Boland’s five-year term will begin on 1 November 2023.

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Agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 are required to make publicly available records of the legal services expenditure each year.

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Were the buildings, structures or plant equipment at your workplace built or installed before 2004, or if in Queensland before 1990? 

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The latest edition of the Safe Work Australia Quarterly Newsletter is now available! 

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act.

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Safe Work Australia has published new resources on managing WHS risks when workers are doing computer-based work from home.  

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Safe Work Australia is seeking feedback on a range of potential options to improve the coverage and operation of the incident notification provisions in the model WHS laws.  

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The Model Work Health and Safety Legislation Amendment (Offences and Penalties) 2023 has been published on the Safe Work Australia website.

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Safe Work Australia has published a new snapshot exploring work health and safety outcomes for apprentices and trainees. 

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All workers have the right to a healthy and safe working environment.

Since 2019, tragically 10 food delivery workers have died at work. This is devastating for workers, their friends and families and the broader community. 

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All workers have the right to a healthy and safe working environment.

Since 2019, tragically 10 food delivery workers have died at work. This is devastating for workers, their friends and families and the broader community. 

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GHS 7 is now the only system to classify newly manufactured and imported hazardous chemicals and prepare their labels and safety data sheets (SDS) across Australia.

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Safe Work Australia has published a model Code of Practice for tower cranes.

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The May edition of the Safe Work Australia Quarterly Newsletter has been published. In this edition, our Agency experts share their insights on a range of WHS and workers’ compensation topics, including: 

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The Summary of workers’ compensation arrangements in Australia and New Zealand 2022 report has been published.
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This summary report outlines recent developments in workers’ compensation schemes in Australia and New Zealand. 

Workers’ compensation schemes continue to evolve to meet emerging trends in relation to the changing nature of work. 

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act. Our Ref: 23-003.

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This document is an indexed list of Safe Work Australia’s files from 1 July 2022 - 31 December 2022.

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The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033 sets an ambitious vision for WHS outcomes in Australia. 

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act. Our Ref: 22-019

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The Safe Work Australia Agency highlights report contains a summary of our census results on key questions as well as providing a comparison to similar agencies and our past results.

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This document is an indexed list of Safe Work Australia’s files from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022.

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Our 2021-22 Annual Report informs Parliament, ministers, governments and the community about our performance in delivering improvements to key work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia. 

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Agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 are required to make publicly available records of the legal services expenditure each year.

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Our 2018-19 annual report informs Parliament, ministers, governments and the community about our performance in delivering improvements to key work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia.

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Our 2019-20 annual report informs Parliament, ministers, governments and the community about our performance in delivering improvements to key work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia.

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Our 2020-21 annual report informs Parliament, ministers, governments and the community about our performance in delivering improvements to key work health and safety and workers' compensation arrangements across Australia.

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act. Our Ref: 22-012

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Table of documents released by Safe Work Australia under the Freedom of Information Act. Our Ref: 22-011

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This document is an indexed list of Safe Work Australia’s files from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2021.

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The SWA 2025 Census Highlights Report is now available. This year SWA had an agency response rate of 90 per cent, which is a positive result and indicates a highly engaged workforce. SWA gains insights from the census results and is committed to taking action to embed in our working environment.

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Agencies subject to the Financial Management and Accountability Act 1997 are required to make publicly available records of the legal services expenditure each year. 

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