New data on falls, psychosocial harm and hazardous substances signals SafeWork NSW's enforcement priorities for the year ahead
SafeWork NSW has released its 2026–27 Regulatory Statement, confirming that falls from height, psychosocial risks, hazardous substances, and mobile plant, vehicles and fixed machinery will remain its four compliance and enforcement priorities for the coming financial year.
The statement comes with data the regulator says should concern every New South Wales employer: more than 600 falls-from-height incidents – including five fatalities – and more than 2,200 requests for service linked to psychosocial hazards were reported to SafeWork NSW over the past 12 months.
For Tracey Broers, group general manager risk at SKG Services in Australia, the statement is less a surprise than a confirmation of where the regulator's attention has already been heading.
"It's an indicator of where SafeWork New South Wales is going to be applying their attention and enforcement resources over the next year or so," she said.
A shift from compliance to demonstrated risk management
Broers, who has more than 22 years' experience in risk management, governance and compliance across the cleaning and facilities sector, said the statement reflects a broader regulatory shift away from box-ticking.
"You actually have to visibly demonstrate effective risk management," she said. "These days we're expected to proactively identify risks, engage our workers, implement controls and continually improve our processes."
Psychosocial hazards move from stigma to standard practice
Psychosocial risk is one of the four areas SafeWork NSW says will draw sustained enforcement attention, a trend HRD has tracked as regulators across Australia expand psychosocial risk duties.
Broers said SKG Services has built psychosocial hazards into its incident reporting, grievance processes and executive training.
"Psychosocial needs to have the same level of discipline within the workplace as other physical injuries do," she said, describing it as "an invisible illness" that cannot always be diagnosed the way a physical injury can, but still needs to be managed like any other workplace hazard.
Leadership buy-in is central to that approach, she said. "We embed that safety culture right from the top and make sure that it flows right through to all of our workers. It's a workplace culture then, rather than just a rule or a policy."
That message echoes broader industry commentary on why psychosocial law alone won't protect a business from harm without a genuine cultural shift behind it.
Building proactive systems ahead of increased scrutiny
Broers pointed to several mechanisms SKG Services uses to stay ahead of regulatory change, including a confidential "voice of the worker" reporting portal accessed via QR code, at least four toolbox talks a month, and an integrated business management system aligned to ISO standards and the NSW Work Health and Safety Act.
"Education and communication are the keys to getting messages across to your workers," she said.
She also stressed that responsibility for safety sits across the whole organisation, not just management. A person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) is responsible for establishing systems, management for training staff to follow them, and workers for reporting issues – with the same protections extended to contractors and visitors.
"It's a holistic view of the workplace," Broers said. "Everyone has a part to play in workplace safety."
What businesses should review now
SafeWork NSW Commissioner Janet Schorer said the continuity in this year's priorities – largely unchanged from 2025–26 – should not be read as a reason for complacency, urging businesses in the four priority areas to assess what is working and what needs improvement.
Broers' view aligns with that message: annual policy reviews, audited legislative compliance, and board-level reporting on safety trends are, she said, what allow an organisation to demonstrate a genuine safety culture rather than "a policy document sitting on a shelf."
For further context on how organisations are being asked to rethink manager-level accountability for psychosocial harm, HRD has also examined how systemic pressures on managers are creating psychosocial risk.
