Recently, I bemoaned the lack of evidence on the occupational health and safety (OHS) benefits of a four-day work week. A reader pointed me to the research of sociologist Wen Fan. The most accessible way to her research is through an episode of the “Psych Health and Safety Podcast” from September 2025....
“[Psychosocial hazards] is not coming, it’s arrived, and prosecutions will happen unless [employers] take serious steps to address the issue.” Recently, I had the opportunity to interview Ian Neil SC on some occupational health and safety (OHS) matters related to psychosocial health....
Australia has held an annual “Go Home on Time Day” for many years, but the amount of unpaid work workers give to their employers and the time their families miss out on remains high. Looking at new data in light of the legislative need for Australian employers to identify and assess psychosocial hazards, there are …
In today’s The Age newspaper is an article about a worker who claimed part of his rent for his home office as a work-related tax deduction (paywalled). The Australian Taxation Office rejected the claim, but it is now being considered by the Federal Court. There is a comment in the article that questions the need …
This weekend, all the talk in Australia has been about the massive and unexpected electoral swing to the Australian Labor Party (ALP) in the federal election. Most pundits were expecting a majority government, at least, but now the ALP has a substantial majority in the House of Representatives. Possible constraints from a new Senate have …
Starting January 1, 2025, Australia will have new laws and penalties for intentional wage theft beginning January 1, 2025. The usual business lobby groups are bleating about the unfair imposition of costs and time on their members. But what about the significant impact on workers’ health, safety and dignity?...
Last week, Maddocks law firm conducted an end-of-year summary of its workplace relations issues and a forecast for 2025. Occupational health and safety (OHS) are almost inseparable from industrial relations (IR), so the overlaps between the four or five topics discussed were enlightening and provided a good contrast to the information from other law sources....
