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Executive summary

The Work Health and Safety (WHS) Radar has synthesised the latest data on pertinent issues, trends and insights related to the current state of play regarding WHS in and outside of Australia, as well as potential WHS issues in the future world of work.

Insights from the current iteration of the WHS Radar are derived from:

• the analysis of existing databases (Australian Business Register), social media data and data reports (Australian Bureau of Statistics),
• a review of the international grey and academic literature, and
• consultations with Australian workers (the Australian WHS Survey, January 2023), with senior WHS professionals (the Australian Institute of Health & Safety’s College of Fellows) and WHS inspectors (from Australian regulators associated with the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities).

The following insights are of particular importance.

Continued financial pressures are influencing attitudes towards safety

As geopolitical and economic pressures continue, such as inflation, labour shortage and supply chain disruption, Australian industries are predicted to respond with improved efficiency and productivity measures, both of which will challenge the priority placed on health, safety and worker wellbeing. Consultations with Australian workers, WHS professionals and inspectors indicate the emergence of complacency and acceptance of unsafe practices, particularly in the face of increasing work demands and financial pressure. The WHS inspectors reported persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) lacking understanding and commitment around WHS, with some suggesting that the financial strain of establishing good WHS practice may be influencing the reluctance. The inspectors shared the view that it is more affordable for some PCBUs to be fined than to put safe systems in place, that staff shortages make it more difficult for PCBUs to discipline staff, that there are insufficient inspectors “on the ground” to uphold compliance, and that COVID-19 has affected work ethics and behaviours, where cost and shortcuts are now more common. The WHS professionals similarly reported issues with workplace culture and provided examples where executives deliberately try to avoid their obligations. While research suggests that the perceived lack of trust in management to address working conditions is fuelling increased worker activism and public speaking-up against poor practices, the financial pressures are also causing many to stay in their jobs despite experiencing WHS harm, such as burnout.

Workers continue to experience psychosocial harm, including burnout and harassment

Australian employee engagement and job satisfaction is at an all-time low. The Australian WHS Survey that we conducted in January 2023 shows that nearly two-thirds of workers are feeling burnt out. For the Healthcare and Social Assistance workers, the proportion is closer to three-quarters. Similarly, WHS professionals reported feeling “burnt out” by the lack of support to manage and keep up with changing WHS legislative requirements. Australian WHS inspectors report an increase in bullying, harassment, violence, and aggression within workplaces, highlighting that these behaviours are quickly escalating due to increased fatigue and stress. Recent research has shown that such harm is particularly prominent among migrant workers, with more than half of those consulted reporting feeling unsafe at work. Experiences of discrimination, verbal abuse, bullying, and pressure to perform jobs when either untrained or unsafe to do so has been strongly correlated to precarious employment. Poor management practices are now also known to drive workplace bullying rather than personality conflicts, placing further responsibility on business leaders to nurture safe and inclusive workplace cultures.

Flexible working is supporting mental health but can be isolating

The gig economy has boomed over the past year and in a future economic downturn, it may be that the gig economy will continue to grow as workers seek additional income. Research shows that almost half of young workers have a side hustle in addition to their main occupation. Australian WHS inspectors report the gig economy as an industry of concern, commenting that workers may be unlicensed or untrained to safely perform the contracted work. Moreover, inspectors reported difficulties in properly identifying and inspecting the practices of sole traders in the gig economy due to the limited details provided. The flexible characteristics of gig work as well as hybrid working (i.e., mixing home and office work) have shown to have a positive impact on mental health, serving as a protective factor against burnout. The isolated environment, having limited contact with other workers and managers, is however the most common concern around flexible working. Particularly, middle managers report feeling the pressure, having to bridge the communication gap between workers and the leadership team while often not receiving as much support as workers within this new way of working.

Australian regulators are strengthening action to address WHS concerns

The new Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2023-2033 emphasises priority issues around managing psychosocial risk, worker empowerment, and supporting small businesses. It also highlights emerging WHS challenges in AI, complex supply chains, flexible working, gig work, worker demographic shifts and climate change while setting ambitious goals, including a 30% reduction in fatalities and no new cases of silicosis by 2033. Supporting the strong stance on silica is the establishment of a National Occupational Respiratory Disease Registry and the instruction from unions to their members to refuse unsafe work with engineered stone, starting mid-2024. The approach to WHS enforcement is also strengthening as industrial manslaughter laws spread further across Australian jurisdictions and recent prosecutions highlight the seriousness of recklessness, the breach of right-of-entry laws and the chain of responsibility. Moreover, the New South Wales (NSW) Government has recently passed laws making assault of frontline health or emergency services a harsher criminal act, attracting a sentence of up to 14 years in jail. At the federal level, the Prime Minister has committed to ratifying the ILO convention on Eliminating Violence and Harassment in the World of Work.

New areas of regulatory disruption: AI, electric vehicles and professional athletes

While our consultation with workers and inspectors indicate that new technology has the potential to prevent harm, such as apps, wearables, real-time reporting, and AI, it also highlighted that introduced technologies and systems were often not fit for purpose or poorly implemented with limited WHS consideration. This included poor change management, risk assessment and training. The difficulty of implementation is important to consider moving forward as the Federal Government continue to support the development of Australian industries. The National Reconstruction Fund, for example, aims to strengthen manufacturing capabilities in Australia through loans, guarantees and equity, which will undoubtedly include the development of new technology. With tools such as ChatGPT, text-to-image and text-to-video emerging, experts estimate that between 15 to 70% of work done in front of a computer today can now be automated by AI, including traditionally white-collar work. Regulation in this space needs to keep up and be flexible enough to encompass new developments. For example, our Google Trends analysis shows a higher than global search interest for electric vehicles in Australia in the last five years. However, the storage and use of electric batteries and hydrogen are poorly regulated. Similarly, best practice for first responders responding to lithium battery fires remains under debate. Other areas developing within the WHS regulatory space include supporting workplaces through natural disasters which are becoming more common due to climate change. Moreover, submissions to the current inquiry into concussions and repeated head trauma in contact sport support further review of WHS frameworks and of the exemption of paid professional athletes from current workers compensation schemes.

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