SafeWork NSW's regulatory enforcement priorities for 2026-27

SafeWork NSW has released its Regulatory Statement for 2026-2027, outlining the key work health and safety (WHS) risks, industries and behaviours that will be the focus of regulatory activity over the next 12 months. The 2026-27 priorities continue SafeWork NSW's focus on common areas of injury for workers in NSW.

For persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) in New South Wales, the Statement provides an indication of where SafeWork NSW intends to direct its resources and focus for the next 12 months. The Regulator's key priority areas include falls from heights, psychosocial risks, hazardous substances and mobile plant, vehicle, and fixed machinery. This is consistent with the Regulator's priorities over the past two years.

Practical Tips for PCBUs operating in NSW:

• PCBUs should conduct detailed reviews of their safety management systems to ensure that all relevant safety systems are appropriately documented and align with those contained within any relevant approved Code of Practice. If safety systems do not align with the applicable Code of Practice, PCBUs should ensure they can document that their safety system is of an equivalent or higher standard. This will be of increased importance for PCBUs that have workers engaged in activities that may involve risks of falling from heights, exposure to hazardous substances or use/interaction with mobile plant, vehicles and/or fixed machinery.

• Psychosocial risk management remains an area of heightened regulatory focus. Organisations should ensure they have appropriate and documented systems in place to identify, prevent, manage and respond to any psychosocial hazards in alignment with the standards set out in the now enforceable Code of Practice for managing psychosocial hazards at work.

• PCBUs that have workers engaged in high risk crystalline silica processing work should ensure strict compliance with the notification requirements associated with the Silica Worker Register.

• SafeWork NSW's emphasis on worker consultation and protections for vulnerable work groups (including young, migrant, and culturally and linguistically diverse workers) means that PCBUs should ensure they can demonstrate appropriate consultation processes and risk-management approaches for these specific groups, as well as any other vulnerable work groups, in relation to workplace health and safety matters. This may include ensuring that any consultation, guidance or training delivered is simple, short, practical and easy to understand, especially for workers who speak English as an additional language. 

The Four Regulatory Priorities

The 2026-27 Statement identifies four priority areas, each supported by specific compliance objectives.

Falls from heights: SafeWork NSW will continue to focus on preventing falls from heights, with particular attention given to residential construction and other high-risk workplaces. The regulator will also target duty holders across the construction supply chain to ensure compliance with work health and safety (WHS) obligations and work with businesses to support WHS management capability building for officers, principal contractors, and supervisors. The emphasis of this priority is based on over 600 incidents and five fatalities that have been reported to SafeWork NSW in the past 12 months relating to falls from heights.

Psychosocial risk: The regulator will focus on risk factors leading to harm or harmful behaviours, including bullying and harassment, and will support a whole of government approach to preventing psychological harm to workers. Emphasis will be placed on high-risk workplaces and occupations. Preventing violence and aggression towards frontline and customer service workers is another specific sub-priority that has been flagged in the Statement. The inclusion of psychosocial risks as a priority for SafeWork NSW this year follows its receipt of more than 2,200 requests for service and notification of over 190 workplace incidents relating to psychosocial hazards.

Hazardous substances: SafeWork NSW will prioritise preventing exposure to hazardous substances, with a particular focus on crystalline silica in tunnelling and infrastructure projects, and asbestos in construction. The regulator will seek to increase awareness and compliance with legislative changes, including the use of the Silica Worker Register that was introduced on 1 October 2025 to monitor and track the health of workers exposed to crystalline silica. In the past 12 months, SafeWork NSW Inspectors issued more than 145 silica-related notices and received over 45 reports of silicosis cases.  

Mobile Plant, vehicles, and fixed machinery: Preventing injury from being hit by mobile plant, vehicle rollover or access to moving parts of machinery remains a priority for SafeWork NSW, with a particular focus on the agriculture, construction, and manufacturing industries. This issue remains a priority for the regulator in the context of it being notified of over 500 incidents and eight fatalities related to mobile plant in the past year.

Cross-cutting obligations

Across all priority areas, the Statement reinforces three key expectations that apply to all duty holders as being a core focus for its regulatory activities in the coming year:

• appropriate consultation with workers about WHS risks and actions that may impact on them;

• WHS initiatives being appropriate for groups at a higher risk of harm at work. This may include apprentices, young workers, migrant workers, and culturally and linguistically diverse workers; and

• compliance with new enforceable WHS Codes of Practice in line with the amendments to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) that came into effect on 1 July 2026, giving legal force to approved Codes of Practice.

Strengthened Regulatory Toolkit

The Statement outlines SafeWork NSW's "integrated action" model, which relies on a combination of regulatory tools and actions to enable healthy and safe work across each of the 2026-27 regulatory priorities. This will include:

• raising awareness through targeted campaigns;

• educating and building skills on WHS responsibilities and risk management, including by providing training, guidance, and resources on how to manage risks and prevent harm;

• checking and enforcing compliance with:

  • increased regulator action such as inspector visits, verifications, checks, and audits;

  • compliance action, such as investigations, prosecutions and enforceable undertakings;

  • a high-risk workplaces and repeat offenders' program; and

  • a focus on the high-risk workplaces; and

• partnering and collaborating to share evidence and insights for greater reach and impact.