Amendments to the Model WHS Laws: What Businesses Need to Know Now

Jessica Urquhart
1 day ago
4 min read

Safe Work Australia has released a new update announcing published amendments to the Model WHS Laws.

This is a significant development for businesses across Australia, because even small legislative changes can influence how organisations manage risk, consult with workers, document decisions and demonstrate compliance.

What Has Been Announced?

Safe Work Australia has finalised and published amendments to the Model WHS Act, Model WHS Regulations, and Model Codes of Practice. These updates reflect recommendations from the 2018 WHS Review and ongoing consultation with government, industry and worker representatives.

While the announcement does not automatically change the law in every state and territory, it sets the benchmark that jurisdictions use to update their own WHS legislation.

These changes are designed to strengthen clarity, improve accountability, and close gaps where current WHS laws have not kept pace with modern workplaces.

Incident Notification Amendments

Under the updated model WHS Act, notification duties have been extended to include:

dangerous incidents involving mobile plant and falls
violent incidents, including sexual assault
work-related suicide and attempted suicide, and
extended worker absences (15+ calendar days)

These changes also mark a major turning point in Australia’s approach to psychosocial risk. For the first time, serious psychosocial events such as violent incidents, sexual assault, work-related suicide and attempted suicide must be formally reported. This aligns with the growing legislative focus on psychosocial hazards and creates a clearer picture of how harm occurs in real workplaces. Over time, the data gathered through mandatory notification will significantly improve our understanding of contributing factors, control effectiveness and systemic failures. In practice, this will help regulators, industry and PCBUs identify trends earlier, design stronger controls, and intervene before psychosocial issues escalate into catastrophic outcomes.

Please visit Safe Work Australia to view the factsheet and handbook.

Check out the the updated model WHS Act and explanatory memorandum and visit the incident notification page for more information.

Crane licensing amendments

The model WHS Regulations for high risk work licences have been updated to:

remove encompassment provisions from mobile crane licences, and
introduce a prerequisite dogging qualification for most crane licence classes.

View the explanatory statement.

Miscellaneous amendments

Additional updates to the model WHS Regulations include:

clarifying personal protective equipment (PPE) requirements (regulation 44)
reducing the automatic refusal timeframe for high-risk licence applications from 120 to 60 days (regulation 89), and
streamlining compliance and enforcement for asbestos sample analysis (regulation 423 and 479).

View the explanatory statement.

Why Are These Amendments Happening?

These updates are part of a broader push to ensure Australia’s WHS laws remain fit for purpose.

There are a few likely drivers:

1. Emerging Risks and Modernisation

Workplaces have changed. We now manage risks that were not as recognised when the original Model WHS Laws were introduced. Psychosocial hazards, gig economy risks, complex supply chains and contractor-heavy industries all require clearer, more contemporary regulation.

2. Consistency Across Australia

The 2018 Review found that some areas of the model laws were interpreted differently across jurisdictions, leading to confusion. These amendments work toward greater national consistency so businesses have clearer expectations regardless of where they operate.

3. Improved Accountability and Clarity

Regulators are increasingly focused on:

due diligence
officer competency
effective risk management rather than paperwork
the control of both physical and psychosocial hazards
ensuring PCBUs consult effectively with workers

The amendments reinforce these expectations and help remove ambiguity that often leads to non-compliance.

4. Responding to Serious Incidents and System Failures

Every update of this scale is influenced by real-world incidents. Fatalities, serious injuries, coronial recommendations and regulator findings all highlight where existing systems are not working as intended. Policy change follows to prevent recurrence.

What These Changes Might Mean for Your Organisation

While each amendment will be analysed in detail by WHS professionals, businesses should expect stronger expectations in areas such as:

consultation with workers and other duty holders
risk management processes
managing psychosocial hazards
clarifying PCBU obligations and officer due diligence
training and competency
recordkeeping and evidence of compliance
reviewing WHS systems more frequently

For most organisations, this is the perfect opportunity to review your WHS management system and ensure your processes align with contemporary expectations.

State and Territory Adoption Will Vary

One of the most important points to reinforce is this - model WHS Law amendments are not automatically adopted by every jurisdiction.

Each state and territory will determine:

whether to adopt the amendments
when they will adopt them
whether they will modify the amendments for local legislation

For example:

Victoria does not operate under the Model WHS Laws at all.
Western Australia has historically adopted the model laws with modifications.
New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, the ACT and NT tend to adopt amendments more closely.
South Australia has been working through staged adoption.

Because of this, businesses must check their local WHS regulator for jurisdiction-specific updates, transition periods or new compliance requirements.

This is critical for organisations operating across multiple states, as obligations may not be identical.

What Should Businesses Do Right Now?

Even without full jurisdictional adoption, there are several proactive steps businesses should take.

Review your WHS risk management processes and ensure they reflect current best practice, not just minimum compliance.
Strengthen consultation processes with workers, especially where changes to systems of work occur.
Ensure officers understand and can demonstrate due diligence.
Review your psychosocial hazard management and confirm it meets legislative expectations in your state or territory.
Monitor your regulator’s website regularly for adoption timelines and changes.
Seek advice early if you are unsure how the amendments apply to your business.