SafeWork issues 500 non-compliance notices in regulatory blitz
More than 500 non-compliance notices have been issued across NSW within a span of 4 days after SafeWork became a standalone regulator under a new commissioner.
Nearly 400 high-risk workplaces and industries were targeted by unannounced inspections. Of the 506 notices given for non-compliance, 435 were improvement notices, 61 were prohibition notices, and 10 were fines worth nearly $50,000.
SafeWork has five regulatory priorities that pose the greatest risk to workers, including psychosocial risks. A psychosocial risk is a risk to the health and safety of a worker or other person arising from a psychosocial hazard. Psychosocial risks include workplace stress, bullying, fatigue and violence, whilst psychosocial hazards include role overload, exposure to traumatic events and harassment.
Employers have a legal responsibility to manage psychosocial hazards and risks in the workplace.
Employer age bias hinders workforce productivity
New research shows that almost a quarter of HR professionals now classify workers aged 51–55 as ‘older’, suggesting that many employers are sidelining experienced professionals.
Just 56% of respondents stated they are open to hiring workers aged 50–64 ‘to a large extent’. This drops to 28% for those 65 and over, and 18% say they won’t hire this age group. At the other end of the spectrum, just 41% were open to recruiting jobseekers aged 15 to 24 ‘to a large extent’.
The Age Discrimination Commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald, noted that this bias undermines diversity of thought and productivity and has urged employers to support inclusive workplaces and provide equal opportunity for people of all ages.
Disconnection between leaders and employees over psychological safety
A new report has found that there is a growing disconnect between senior leaders and employees when it comes to psychological safety.
According to the poll, 92% of leaders feel safe to make mistakes at work, much higher than the 80% of middle-management employees. Leaders are also more likely to feel valued at work (80%), whilst only 67% of middle-management felt the same way.
Additionally, the report found that more than half of employees suffer from psychological safety risks, including not feeling a sense of belonging (55%) and not feeling genuinely valued (60%). Almost 65% also said they experienced customer aggression at work, including 24% who experience it once a week. Despite the prevalence, 31% of employees who experienced customer aggression said they did not get any support.
Employers must manage psychosocial risks in the workplace, both for compliance reasons and to ensure employees remain engaged.
Workplace bullying hidden in plain sight
Employment lawyer Lyndon Burke has shared his tell-tale signs of workplace bullying which is often hidden in plain sight and more common than formal complaints suggest.
Safe Work Australia’s 2023 data on psychosocial hazards found that bullying, harassment and other interpersonal conflict remain major drivers of psychological harm, with bullying cited in approximately 33% of serious mental health compensation claims.
According to Burke, the following signs may indicate unlawful workplace bullying:
- Repeated actions targeting the same person.
- Isolation tactics such as being left out of meetings, team events or decisions.
- Undermining work, having it unfairly criticised or reassigned, overloading work or removing work and giving it to other employees without explanation.
- Anxiety, sleep issues and dread around work.
- Power imbalance – bullying often hides behind hierarchy.
For employers, Burke emphasises that tough cultures do not build resilience, they build risks. Employers can prevent bullying by implementing training and delivering swift, impartial responses to complaints. Employers must address psychosocial hazards or could face serious penalties.
EEO Specialists works with organisations to enable safe and respectful workplaces. We offer a range of in-person workshops as well as online courses. If you would like to have a confidential discussion about workplace behaviour and compliance, please or email franca@equalopportunitytraining.com.au
Melbourne GP suspended over derogatory social media posts
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) has upheld the suspension of a Melbourne GP after finding that his conduct on social media amounted to professional misconduct.
The tribunal found that the posts, published over an 11-year period, demeaned fellow medical professionals, vilified minority groups, and disseminated misleading information about public health. The GP was first suspended in August 2019 following complaints to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency about his social media activity.
The VCAT found that posts disparaging doctors who treat gender dysphoria and provide abortions were demeaning to medical practitioners in those fields. The tribunal rejected the GP’s defence relating to free speech, finding that the nature of the misconduct outweighed those considerations.
Neurosurgeon accused of sexist and unprofessional behaviour
A neurosurgeon has been accused of sexist and inappropriate behaviour at Epworth private hospital in Melbourne after a video went viral of him tearing down a female politician’s campaign corflute and talking about ‘burying the body under concrete’.
Multiple nurses said the neurosurgeon often made staff uncomfortable with crass comments about women. Other staff said that he made them feel intimated, scared, stressed and embarrassed due to his aggressive behaviour.
The neurosurgeon resigned from Epworth following the video and has since been terminated from a second hospital following a Four Corners Investigation into his behaviour.
Another neurosurgeon commented generally about the ‘sexist’ culture that exists in the field of neurosurgery. One nurse stated that “in that culture, it’s expected that you are going to get treated not well at times” including being yelled at and spoken down to by surgeons. Of the approximately 300 neurosurgeons in Australia, only 16% are women. All the 25 neurosurgeons at Epworth where Malham worked are men.
The Royal Australasian College of Surgeons has written to its members to affirm that discrimination and harassment have no place in surgery.
Unfair dismissal claim declined by FWC
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently examined an unfair dismissal claim involving a long-serving government employee who was terminated after failing to meet performance standards.
The worker’s manager implemented an ‘informal support plan’ in January 2024, which the worker was unable to meet. She was subsequently placed on a ‘back on track plan’ with reduced goals but continued making mistakes. The worker was finally placed on a ‘formal performance counselling plan’ with a warning that failure could result in termination. The agency assessed that the worker had not met any of the goals set by the plan and recommended her termination.
The FWC found that the performance critique was ‘sound and well-founded,’ noting that the worker was unable to meet standards across three successive performance plans over a year. The Commission dismissed the application, finding that the worker’s almost 30 years of service did not outweigh the other factors justifying the decision.
Workplace retaliation fear deters racism reporting
Researchers from Victoria University have found that fear of workplace retaliation remains a key barrier to reporting incidents of racism.
According to the study, 56.5% of respondents who experienced racism in the past year encountered it at work or while seeking work. Despite these figures, only 15.5% of individuals who experienced racism reported the incident.
The low reporting rate is attributed to several factors – one being possible negative consequences if the incident was reported. Some respondents said that reporting racism at work would:
- Make them a ‘target’.
- Lead to the risk of a bad performance review.
- Result in less shifts.
For those who did report racism, the respondents found that the action taken was disappointing or insufficient.
Local government CEOs experience detrimental psychological health
A recent study from UWA has found that local government CEOs experience workplace rudeness that has detrimental effects on their psychological health.
Local government CEOs reported experiencing constant low-level disrespect, social undermining and rudeness during council meetings, conversations and via email, behaviour which is often masked as normal workplace behaviour. Such behaviour often came from within local government, including council members and staff, as well as members of the public and the media.
This behaviour was detrimental to their psychological wellbeing, raising questions as to the psychosocial safety of local government workplaces.
Professor who criticised activists sues for discrimination
A law professor who wrote an email saying the institution was dictated to by “Blak activists” is suing the University of Melbourne for discrimination.
Last month, a 2023 email written by the professor to the head of the Melbourne Law School (MLS) was posted around the university’s campus. In the email, in response to the announcement of a cultural safety review at the university, the professor said MLS was “celebrating the ‘noble savage’” and likened it to an “ideological re-education camp”.
The professor has now filed an application in relation to discrimination under the Fair Work Act in the Federal Court. It is related to section 351 of the act which stipulates an employer must not take adverse action against an employee because of attributes, including a person’s race, colour, sex and sexual orientation.
The university did not comment on whether there had been disciplinary action in response to the email. The matter is to return for a hearing in September, with the University agreeing not to terminate the professor until then.
Law firm defends pregnant associate’s dismissal
The law firm that allegedly terminated a lawyer because of her pregnancy has defended her claim in the Federal Court.
The lawyer claims that she was fired from employment law firm TDL Law because of her pregnancy in November 2024. She is seeking approximately $230,000 in loss and damages for economic loss, loss of eligibility to receive government-paid parental leave, and hurt, humiliation, and distress.
The directors of the firm allege that the lawyer was unable to work collaboratively, was too inexperienced to work without supervision, failed to follow directions, and was “rude” to supervisors and colleagues. A meeting was held with her where the directors discussed possible redundancy, following which they sent a letter to her indicating that they were considering terminating her on the grounds of serious misconduct because of alleged publications she made about the redundancy being linked to her pregnancy.
A mediation of the matter has been set down for October.
Caravan park director charged over alleged sexual harassment
Beechworth Holiday Park and its sole director have been charged by WorkSafe Victoria over allegations of sexual harassment towards a female worker.
The company faces a charge for ‘failing to provide and maintain a workplace that was safe and without risks to health’, whilst the director faces a charge for ‘failing to ensure a workplace under their control was safe and without risks to health’, both under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
It is alleged that the company lacked the requisite policies on inappropriate workplace behaviour, leading to an increased chance of psychological injury. Sexual harassment can cause psychological and physical harm, which employers should have systems in place to prevent. Worksafe Victoria called on employers to:
- Set clear standards of which behaviours through training and role modelling.
- Have policies and procedures to prevent, respond to, and report workplace bullying and harassment.
- Encourage reporting.
- Ensure that information about workplace bullying and harassment is part of supervisor training and new employee inductions.
- Carry out regular checks of the workplace to identify hazards and risks.
The matters are listed for a mention at Wodonga Magistrates’ Court on 2 September 2025.