Category: small business

Real Work, Real Talk podcast

Michael Plowright and I enjoyed completing our 4th episode of the “Real Work, Real Talk” podcast. My background is occupational health and safety (OHS); Michael’s is consulting on workplace bullying and some Human Resources issues. These two disciplines need to talk with each other if employers are going to effectively manage psychological safety in their workplaces. We thought we should get things started.

Below is one review we have received:

“Safe Work, Real Talk is a coherent, engaging four-part podcast series that explores psychosocial hazards, leadership, workplace conflict, and organisational responsibility through the combined perspectives of OHS and HR.
While some episodes would benefit from stronger evidence, more workplace examples, and more debate between the hosts, the series succeeds through its authenticity, practical relevance, and willingness to challenge accepted assumptions, earning an overall rating of 8.5/10″

Episodes can be accessed at:

Stream SafetyAtWorkBlog | Listen to podcast episodes online for free on SoundCloud

SafetyAtWorkBlog – Podcast – Apple Podcasts

Safe Work, Real Talk at Working Well Together

Kevin Jones

Useful Seminar but a Couple of Missed Opportunities

Wellbeing programs and resilience training can support employees, but they aren’t a substitute for addressing workplace risks at their source. That was a key message from WorkSafe Victoria’s webinar on psychological health and safety for small and medium businesses.

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WorkSafe Victoria’s Evolving Regulatory Message on Mental Health

Across her 2024 and 2026 appearances at the Psych Health and Safety Conference, WorkSafe Victoria’s Amy Salmon’s message about psychosocial regulation in Victoria has shifted from explaining that psychosocial and psychological obligations exist to showing how compliance works in real life. The shift is subtle but important. In 2024, she was still fighting the battle of psychosocial legitimacy, pushing back against employers waiting for “the regs,” while by 2026 she was focused on operational detail, inspector capability and what reasonable compliance looks like in real workplaces.

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20th Anniversary of Significant Workplace Bullying Fatality

I am old enough to remember the work-related suicide of Brodie Panlock in 2006, meaning this year is the 20th anniversary. Her death, the findings of the Victorian Coroner and the prosecution by WorkSafe Victoria are pivotal to how workplace bullying and mental health at work are seen and managed today. But there is a generation of young workers who may be unaware of her case.

This series of articles trace that failure of prevention across three stages: the immediate OHS significance of the Café Vamp prosecution, the public and legal response through Brodie’s Law and national inquiries, and the continuing relevance of psychosocial hazard prevention under modern OHS duties.

The articles are based on the original SafetyAtWorkBlog articles from 2010 onwards. Today, here is a brief reminder of what Brodie Panlock experienced.

Please note that this article and those following discuss suicide and mental trauma.

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When Productivity Reform Stops at the Easy Bits

Regarding free access to some Australian Standards, an astute reader pointed me to a previous SafetyAtWorkBlog article from March 2023 and connected Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ 2026 Budget papers more closely to the issue of productivity and what was NOT included in the latest Budget – open access to government-funded research. At that time, I wrote:

“On March 17 2023, the Australian government released the Productivity Commission’s latest 5-year Productivity Inquiry report. At well over a thousand pages, few people are going to read it to the level it deserves. Nor will I, but I have dipped into it and found a couple of important comments that relate directly to the management of occupational health and safety (OHS).

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Australian Advice for Eliminating Psychological Harm at Work

It still surprises me that treating work‑related mental harm as something prevented through job design, rather than as a personal failing, is seen as a revelation. Humans are infinitely variable, if not from genetics, then from our socialisation. Humans may still be considered as little more than interchangeable parts in a production process, but only if one denies their humanity.

[Editor’s Note: This article uses blunt language to describe a reality many workers experience but struggle to name. It does not encourage impulsive resignations or dismiss the importance of organisational duty under OHS law. Rather, it recognises that when employers refuse to address psychosocial hazards, workers may be forced to prioritise their own health. Leaving a job should never be the first control considered—but for some, it becomes the only effective one available.]

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Rethinking Workers Compensation for Self-Employed Australians

My small- and micro-business clients have often asked whether they are covered by workers’ compensation insurance even if they do not pay a workers’ compensation premium. The easy answer is, it depends, which is very unhelpful. But there are some answers, sort of, in a way.

At this point, I remind readers that I am not a lawyer and have very little experience in workers’ compensation. The information below is for consideration only.

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