3. Major new law reforms
Challenging employers fairly
Australia's Work Health and Safety (WHS) system, governed by the WHS Act 2011 and supporting regulations, ensures workplace safety through a clear set of duties for both employers and workers. The system includes national standards and state/territory variations.
A ground breaking suite of recent WHS law reforms spanning sex discrimination, gender equality, racial discrimination, whistleblowing, fair work, wage theft, and work health and safety (WHS) now requires employers to prevent harm, pay for all work performed, and protect people who speak up.
For doctors - particularly those in training - this is not legal jargon. It is urgent and critical that the medical profession and medical employers raise awareness about preventing harm and making medical workplaces fairer and safer through the following transformational WHS law reforms.
1. Sex Discrimination Act (SDA) - the positive duty to prevent hostile workplaces
What changed.
Employers now carry a positive duty to take reasonable and proportionate steps to eliminate, as far as possible: sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, discrimination (including pregnancy-and carer-based discrimination), hostile work environments on the ground of sex, and victimisation. This is not a “nice to have”. It is a proactive obligation, enforceable through investigations, compliance notices and, if necessary, Federal Court orders.
What it means.
Policies and one-off training are no longer sufficient. Employers must demonstrate active, ongoing risk management; provide safe, confidential reporting pathways; train managers and bystanders; and measure trends and outcomes. Pregnancy and carer discrimination must be addressed through safe rostering and genuine access to leave.
Potential employer penalties.
Court-ordered remedies and damages. While the SDA positive duty is civil (not a stand-alone criminal offence), contempt of court for ignoring court orders carries serious consequences.
What doctors can do.
Report SDA issues early and in writing and ask how your workplace is meeting its positive duty (risk assessments, controls, monitoring). For more information, refer to the article entitled “Doctors behaving badly on notice” under Topic 10.
2. Workplace Gender Equality - targets for large employers
What changed.
Organisations with ≥500 employees (including most public and private hospital networks) must set and improve against gender equality targets over a three-year cycle, with public reporting.
What it means.
Expect employer plans addressing equal remuneration, representation at senior levels, safe parental leave and return-to-work arrangements, and transparent promotion pipelines.
Potential employer penalties.
Providing false or misleading data can attract prosecution.
What doctors can do.
Use Workplace Gender Equality Agency (WGEA) obligations to advocate for transparent pay audits by specialty and level, published promotion criteria, and properly resourced parental and carer supports.
3. Racial Discrimination Act (RDA) and the National Anti-Racism Framework
What changed.
The RDA prohibits overt and indirect racial discrimination. The National Anti-Racism Framework raises expectations for culturally safe workplaces, improved data, and systemic reform across sectors - including healthcare.
What it means.
Expect stronger focus on culturally safe services, fair recruitment and promotion, support for international medical graduates, and measurable action to address racialised harms.
Potential employer penalties.
Civil remedies - compensation, injunctions and orders - via the Federal Court following Australian Human Rights Commission processes.
What doctors can do.
Document racialised incidents and ask how your workplace measures and addresses racial inequity. For more information, see the article entitled “A clarion call to action against racism in medicine” under Topic 10.
4. Whistle blower protections (Corporations Act) - retaliation is illegal
What changed.
Victimising a whistle blower or breaching their confidentiality is a criminal and civil offence. Courts are imposing substantial civil penalties, and criminal liability for individuals is increasingly being pursued.
What it means in hospitals.
Company-structured health entities must provide confidential reporting channels independent of the subject of the complaint, protect identities, and prevent detriment. Retaliation - such as roster changes, denial of training, or hostile “performance plans” - creates legal liability.
Potential employer penalties.
Significant civil penalties for corporations; imprisonment may apply for individuals who commit criminal victimisation offences.
What doctors can do.
Ask for your hospital’s whistle blower policy. Use designated channels and keep timelines and copies of communications. If career detriment follows reporting, escalate promptly to the most senior organisational level.
5. Fair Work Act - general protections against adverse action
What changed / clarified.
General protections prohibit employers from taking adverse action (for example, dismissal, demotion, reduced shifts or punitive performance management) because a workplace right was exercised, including making WHS or discrimination complaints.
What it means.
“Performance management” used as retaliation for speaking up is unlawful. Complaint handling and performance processes must be clearly separated and procedurally fair.
Potential employer penalties.
Civil penalties per contravention, compensation, and possible reinstatement.
What doctors can do.
Challenge performance processes initiated soon after speaking up. Seek early legal advice - timing and motive are critical in adverse-action claims.
6. Wage theft - criminal liability for intentional underpayment
What changed.
At the federal level (alongside existing state offences), intentional underpayment is now a crime. This includes systemic underpayment of overtime, on-call work, penalties and leave. Historic reliance on “goodwill hours” is now a legal and reputational risk.
What it means.
Rostering, payroll and supervision must reflect reality: all hours recorded and paid, breaks protected, and training time correctly classified.
Potential employer penalties.
Very large corporate fines and imprisonment (up to 10 years) for individuals responsible for intentional wage theft.
What doctors can do.
Record actual hours and escalate unpaid overtime. Use collective data to expose systemic shortfalls. For more information, see the article entitled “Senior doctors must act on junior doctor wage theft” under Topic 10.
7. WHS - industrial manslaughter and Category 1 offences
What changed.
All Australian jurisdictions now have industrial manslaughter offences, and Category 1 penalties for reckless conduct have increased. WHS law explicitly treats mental injury from psychosocial hazards as seriously as physical injury.
What it means.
Industrial manslaughter is rare but catastrophic - the ultimate sanction for gross negligence or recklessness causing a worker’s death. This may include failures to manage risks such as violence, chronic understaffing, unsafe hours, entrenched bullying, and work-related mental injury including suicide. Early recognition and advocacy can prevent tragedy - for patients, colleagues and workplaces.
Why it matters.
WHS compliance is no longer a bureaucratic checklist. It saves lives.
Potential employer penalties.
multi-million-dollar fines and long prison sentences (up to 25 years in some jurisdictions).
What doctors can do.
Treat psychosocial hazards as well as physical hazards as notifiable WHS risks. Report early and specifically (who, what, where, frequency, impact). Retain incident reports and responses. Doctors are uniquely positioned to identify occupational risks before they escalate. Our responsibility extends beyond treating harm to advocating for safe systems. Senior doctors must model respectful behaviour and accountability. WHS and cultural safety education must become core medical training.
8. The Model Code of Practice - managing psychosocial hazards at work
What changed.
This Code explains how employers must manage psychosocial risks. Relevant hazards include:
A. High job demands (excessive patient–doctor ratios, time pressure, unsafe hours/night shifts, poor recovery)
B. Low job control (little say over rosters, rotation choice, clinical duties)
C. Poor support and supervision (especially nights and high-risk services)
D. Bullying, sexual harassment, discrimination and incivility
E. Occupational violence and aggression (OVA) from patients/visitors
F. Exposure to trauma without effective trauma responses (codes and resuscitations, paediatrics, ED, ICU, psychiatry)
G. Role conflict/ambiguity and poor change management
H. Inadequate staffing/skill mix, chronic vacancies, skeleton staffing levels, and no cover for leave entitlements
I. Remote/after-hours work and unsafe on-call arrangements
What it means. Employers must:
A. Identify hazards comprehensively, unit by unit (ED, ICU, theatres, wards, outpatients, on-call) using incident data, rosters/payroll (overtime patterns), sick leave, workers' compensation claims, exit interviews, security logs and cultural safety surveys.
B. Assess risk by considering duration, frequency and severity, and recognise combined risks (e.g., high demands + low control + trauma).
C. Control risk using an organisational-first approach.
D. Design work safely - safe staffing ratios, maximum hours and night-work limits, protected breaks, escalation protocols and junior–senior coverage standards.
E. Build systems that work - zero-tolerance response to bullying/harassment and OVA; confidential reporting and feedback loops; safe redeployment; and debriefing after traumatic events.
F. Build capability - mandatory manager training on psychosocial risk; lawful, unbiased performance processes; trauma-informed leadership.
G. Improve the environment - security infrastructure (duress alarms, safe rooms) and secure after-hours access.
H. Provide support - confidential medical/psychological care outside line management and safe return-to-work pathways.
I. Consult doctors and HSRs - including trainees, IMGs and locums - in risk assessments, control design and reviews.
J. Inform and train staff about psychosocial hazards, reporting options (including whistleblowing), rights under SDA/RDA/Fair Work/WGEA, and immediate responses to occupational violence.
K. Monitor and review using lead indicators (roster compliance with safe hours, overtime variance, leave denials, time-to-close grievances, code-black events) and lag indicators (injury claims, turnover, sentinel events). Adjust controls and report progress to the board.
Potential employer penalties.
If a hospital cannot prove it has identified psychosocial hazards, assessed them and implemented effective controls, it is exposed to WHS enforcement - up to Category 1 or industrial manslaughter in the worst outcomes.
For more information, refer to Topic 5: Protect mental safety.
9. Criminal exposure
Criminal exposure for employers/officers exists in:
A. Industrial manslaughter (death linked to WHS failings, including unmanaged psychosocial hazards)
B. WHS Category 1 reckless conduct (risk of death or serious injury/illness)
C. Wage theft (intentional underpayment)
D. Whistle blower victimisation (and confidentiality breaches)
Civil exposure (big money + orders) exists in:
E. SDA/RDA discrimination (damages/injunctions)
F. Fair Work general protections (uncapped compensation/reinstatement)
G. WGEA non-compliance (public naming/procurement consequences) and potential prosecution for false reporting
10. What this means for doctors - practical use cases
A. Unsafe hours and chronic understaffing
• Log your actual hours every shift; retain copies of rosters and timesheets.
• Report breaches (e.g., more than X consecutive hours, missed breaks) as WHS hazards, not “personal resilience issues”.
• If no action follows, escalate via the formal WHS reporting system; consider protected disclosures if systemic.
• If you are performance-managed shortly after speaking up, seek advice on adverse action.
B. Bullying, sexual harassment and hostile environments
• Use clear, factual incident notes (date, location, behaviour, witnesses, immediate impact).
• Ask how the hospital is meeting its positive duty: risk assessment, bystander systems, independent complaint pathways and outcome metrics.
• If you experience detriment after reporting, this may engage whistleblower and Fair Work protections.
For more information, refer to the articles on bullying under Topic 10.
C. Racism and culturally unsafe workplaces
• Document patterns (allocation of cases, exclusion from training, derogatory comments).
• Request review of recruitment/promotion data and training access by ethnicity/IMG status.
• Seek culturally safe supervision and escalate to formal processes if required.
For more information, refer to the article on racism under Topic 10.
D. Wage theft and unpaid overtime
• Keep contemporaneous records (screenshots of paging times, scrub-in/out times, activity logs).
• Raise the issue collectively where possible (e.g., cohort patterns) and request a payroll audit.
• Intentional underpayment risks criminal liability for employers/officers - this focuses attention.
• For more information, refer to the article on wage theft under Topic 10.
E. Exposure to trauma and occupational violence
• Report incidents as WHS issues with direct links to staffing, security and supervision.
• Request debriefs, safe redeployment and trauma-informed support.
• For more information, refer to “Every doctor has a right to a safe workplace” under Topic 10.
11. A culture shift - from “be tougher” to “design safer work”
WHS law reforms share a clear theme: prevention by design, with accountability at the top. They move medicine away from “speak up and hope for the best” toward lawful, measurable risk control. Doctors are no longer expected to absorb the harm of poor systems; employers must make work safe. Senior clinicians, as everyday leaders, have unusual leverage: they set rosters, model behaviour, shape training lists and determine whether concerns are heard or ignored. Early-career doctors, meanwhile, have stronger protections than ever before.
The law will not change culture by itself. But it gives doctors and patients reliable levers: protected reporting, enforceable duties, and penalties that bite when leadership fails. Use them. Document hazards. Make specific requests for controls. Escalate when needed. And insist on data - if it isn’t measured, it isn’t being managed.
SafeDr has been created by doctors for doctors to promote prevention and protection - and to reduce employer fines, penalties, litigation and workers’ compensation claims. Safer doctors deliver safer care. This is not a slogan. It is a legal standard employers must meet.
For more information on seeking help, refer to Topic 9, and for popular articles on these topics, refer to Topic 10.
Please note:
While the WHS Act and WHS Regulations are based on a model national framework, each state and territory in Australia administers its own work health and safety laws. Each jurisdiction has its own regulator responsible for WHS enforcement. They ensure compliance with WHS laws, investigate incidents, and provide guidance and resources to businesses. Key regulators include:
WorkSafe Victoria (Vic)
SafeWork NSW (NSW)
WorkSafe Queensland (QLD)
WorkSafe WA (WA)
SafeWork South Australia (SA)
WorkSafe ACT (ACT)
WorkSafe Tasmania (Tas)
Northern Territory WorkSafe (NT)
Safe Work Australia: Safe Work Australia is the national policy body responsible for developing and overseeing WHS policy and legislation. While it doesn't have enforcement powers, it plays a key role in setting national standards, codes of practice, and guidelines.