I support the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Standalone Regulator) Bill 2025, which will amend the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 to establish the SafeWork Commissioner as the regulator under the Work Health and Safety Act and establish a dedicated SafeWork Advisory Council. There have been a couple of independent reviews of SafeWork NSW, one in 2023 by the Hon. Robert McDougall, KC, which is colloquially known as the McDougall review. The review highlighted the need for significant structural and governance reforms to increase public confidence in SafeWork, allow appropriate stakeholder representation and voice, and provide transparency and accountability for the State's work health and safety regulator.
In my opinion, there are not many things more important in the State's jurisdiction than workers' health and safety. I commend the Minister for Industrial Relations, and Minister for Work Health and Safety, who is in the Chamber, for the important work and the amount of work she has been able to get through in just under two years. Labor came to government on a platform of fixing education and health, backing frontline workers and fixing a broken industrial relations system. In two short years, the Government has introduced very significant reforms. Should this bill pass, another significant reform will be established relating to industrial relations and safe work environments in the great State of New South Wales.
The bill will establish a SafeWork Commissioner as the regulator under the Work Health and Safety Act as well as a SafeWork Advisory Council. The bill outlines the functions of the advisory council and the appointment of members, which I will address in more detail later. Effectively, the council will act as a board and provide strategic advice and feedback. The bill also provides for a review of this amending bill in three years from its commencement date to ensure that the new model is operating as intended. It is important to continue to review and reform this important part of industrial relations because we know that the workplace, the nature of work and the nature of work health and safety are changing. One of the primary roles of the advisory council will be to review.
In addition to providing strategic advice and direction to the commissioner, as well as monitoring and advising the commissioner, the council will consider risks and trends in work health and safety. We know the workplace is changing rapidly and is very different from what it was five or 10 years ago, and the workplace of five or 10 years ago is very different from the workplace of 10 or 20 years before that. Some of the issues facing work health and safety are artificial intelligence [AI], automation and related technologies. There have been a lot of bold pronouncements about generative AI, its potential uses and whether it will replace lawyers. I will not comment on whether replacing lawyers is a good or a bad thing, but that is one potential use of AI. Advanced technology imports risks and downsides for workers and safety in the workplace. For example, AI could replace manual tasks and could do away with ailments such as repetitive strain injuries. We also have to monitor for new risks as it becomes more prevalent, such as psychosocial hazards from more complex interpersonal relationships and the like.
Technology also brings new types of work. We see new industries coming up, like delivery riders, which will be a topic for discussion at some point in the next week or two. As new industries arise, new risks arise. For example, we have seen some terrible things, especially in my neck of the woods, with young students from overseas who are doing part-time work as delivery riders being hit and killed in accidents. That is a tragedy both for people here and for their families back home. The advisory council will look at and advise on those trends.
We cannot forget COVID-19 and the rise of hybrid work. I remember when I was working in IT prior to COVID-19 being told that technology to allow people to work from home would be a two-year project and that it would cost millions of dollars. Then, during the pandemic, we saw those same IT departments implement technology in two or three short weeks. That has changed the nature of work. People working from home using their own furniture—their own chairs and desks—means less oversight of ergonomics and increased risk to the employee. Those are the kinds of things that I am hopeful the advisory council will look into and advise the commissioner on.
Labor in opposition fought tooth and nail to change SafeWork. This Government will now follow through and do what is necessary to ensure SafeWork is a strong, effective regulator able to do its important work with a high level of independence and rigour. The outcome will be that every worker in New South Wales has greater security and comfort knowing that they will be looked after. Every worker has a right to return home safely every day. We all have heard stories of friends, family and constituents where that sadly was not the case. We should do everything in our power in this place to prevent workplace injuries and deaths. I hope that members opposite will see the error of what they have done to SafeWork and that they will support the bill. I commend the bill to the House. I commend the Minister for her important work in bringing this legislation to the House.
