WHS And OHS Regulatory Update: June 2026

Summary

• Australian businesses face heightened WHS obligations following a record $1.1 million federal penalty, expanded South Australian labour hire licensing, and new Safe Work Australia guidance on psychosocial risks in construction.
• Organisations must ensure competency management, worker integration, and psychosocial risk controls extend beyond documentation to verified, practical implementation across all worker types.
• SafeWork NSW’s 100th enforceable undertaking signals regulators increasingly favour sustained safety improvement commitments over purely punitive enforcement.
• This article explains key WHS legal developments for Australian business owners and officers, covering legislative changes, enforcement trends, and emerging risk areas across multiple jurisdictions.
• It is produced by LegalVision, a commercial law firm that specialises in advising clients on workplace health and safety law.

Tips for Businesses

Review labour hire and volunteer arrangements against your WHS framework. Ensure competency assessments reflect actual tasks, not just qualifications held. Address psychosocial risks through structural controls rather than policies alone. If an incident occurs, consider whether an enforceable undertaking may be appropriate.

Officers must continually ensure their organisations stay compliant and remain informed about work health and safety issues. This WHS update highlights recent developments, regulatory changes and enforcement actions to support officers in meeting their obligations and staying up to date with emerging WHS risks.

Legislative Updates

Labour Hire Licensing Expansion in South Australia

Labour hire providers are reminded that changes to South Australia’s labour hire licensing laws commenced on 29 January 2026.

Previously, the scheme applied only to providers operating in the: 

• horticulture; 
• meat and seafood processing; 
• cleaning; and 
• trolley collection industries. 

Many businesses underestimate how broadly labour hire licensing requirements apply under the expanded definition. Existing arrangements are clearly allocated between host employers and labour hire providers and should be reviewed to ensure responsibilities for: 

• induction; 
• supervision; 
• consultation; and 
• risk management. 

Critically, these allocations are actively implemented and verified in practice, not merely documented in contracts.

Volunteers Continue to Require Full WHS Protection

Similarly, National Volunteer Week this month served as a timely reminder that WHS obligations extend beyond an organisation’s direct employees. As highlighted by the expanded labour hire licensing regime, regulators are increasingly focused on ensuring that all workers are appropriately integrated into workplace health and safety systems, including: 

• volunteers; 
• labour hire workers; 
• contractors; and 
• other temporary personnel.

Many organisations rely heavily on volunteers to deliver essential services and community programs. However, volunteer status does not diminish an organisation’s WHS obligations. 

Importantly, volunteers can face many of the same challenges as labour hire and other non-traditional workers, including: 

• unfamiliarity with workplace hazards; 
• limited exposure to organisational processes; and 
• reduced opportunities for consultation if not properly integrated into workplace systems.

Accordingly, organisations should regularly review whether volunteers are adequately incorporated into existing WHS frameworks rather than operating separately from established safety processes. 

Managing Gender Based Violence Risks in Construction

Safe Work Australia has recently expanded its focus on psychosocial hazards by releasing targeted resources addressing gender-based violence within the construction sector. The resources include: 

• practical case studies; 
• posters; and 
• infographics designed for use on construction worksites.

Construction remains one of Australia’s most male dominated industries, with workplace characteristics such as: 

• transient workforces; 
• isolated worksites; and
• high-pressure environments; and 
• limited supervision potentially increasing the risk of inappropriate behaviour. 

The new resources are intended to help employers recognise these risk factors and implement practical measures to reduce exposure.

Psychosocial risk assessments should look at both how people behave at work and the wider workplace conditions that might make those behaviours worse. Controls should focus on preventing problems and improving workplace culture, not just responding after something goes wrong.

SafeWork NSW Reaches Major Enforceable Undertaking Milestone

SafeWork NSW has now accepted more than 100 enforceable undertakings since the program began. This shows that the regulator prefers to focus on lasting safety improvements across industries rather than simply punishing businesses.

Enforceable undertakings allow organisations accused of WHS contraventions to invest in meaningful safety initiatives that generate broader benefits for workers and industry. These initiatives often include: 

• safety education programs; 
• industry research; 
• training resources; and 
• infrastructure improvements that extend well beyond the individual workplace involved in the incident. 

The significant financial investment generated through these undertakings demonstrates the regulator’s focus on creating measurable and sustainable safety outcomes.