Further to last week’s article about occupational health and safety (OHS) in horse racing, Minister Pettersson provided clarification to the ACT Parliament, sort of.
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Category: Leadership
Culture is the New Compliance in Victoria’s Psychological Health Code
The most significant challenges for employers in Victoria’s new OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations, supported by a new Compliance Code, are likely to be fostering a strong workplace safety culture. Occupational health and safety (OHS) advocates have been emphasising the importance of culture for several decades now (Sociologists examined it decades before). It appears that we will be hearing a great deal more about culture for some time to come, but what is expected of employers?
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Polishing What Exists: Making Sense of the New Psych Safety Code
Prominent occupational health and safety (OHS) lawyers Dale McQualter and Catherine Dunlop have just concluded the first of two online seminars about Victoria’s new psychological/psychosocial regulations and compliance code. Many employers will have a lot of work to do to comply, but the overall sense was one of reassurance.
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When Jurisdiction Blocks Safety Justice for Learner Drivers
Australia’s efforts to enhance the health and safety of its workers are hindered by the constitutional framework, which assigns responsibility for occupational health and safety (OHS) to local jurisdictions.
Recent comments by a Federal Minister on sexual harassment illustrate this dilemma, which is not restricted to OHS.
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The ACT’s Evasive Response to Horse Racing Safety Questions
On September 17, 2025, Jo Clay, deputy leader of the ACT Greens, asked the Minister for Skills, Training and Industrial Relations, Michael Pettersson, about workplace deaths in the Australian Capital Territory horse racing industry, pointedly:
“What regulatory action is the government taking to try to make this industry safer?”
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Are the Business Council’s Objections to Working From Home Changes Genuine?
Victoria’s consultation on its work-from-home proposals closes this weekend. The government has claimed over 18,000 submissions and interactions, but none of them are yet publicly available. The Business Council of Australia (BCA) has garnered recent media attention, pre-empting the closure of the consultation. The BCA could have a more mature discussion on the concept and practice of working from home, but perhaps it realises that the argument has already been lost.
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Australian Football Needs Better Workers Compensation
[Guest post by Eric Windholz]
Last week I again had the pleasure to contribute to the Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast, this time talking about recent developments concerning the compensation of athletes (and in particular, AFL (Australian Football League) players) suffering concussion. The key takeaway – the more things change, the more they stay the same.
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