ACT Prosecutions Highlight Asbestos and Psychosocial Focus

WorkSafe ACT’s enforcement and psychosocial safety focus are evolving rapidly and are likely to shape inspector expectations and compliance obligations across ACT workplaces.

WorkSafe ACT has recently secured substantial penalties in multiple safety prosecutions and is embedding the national Managing Psychosocial Hazards Code into local practice. Inspectors are increasingly looking beyond physical hazards and will expect well‑organised documentation across asbestos, planned removals, contractor licences, consultation records, safe work method statements and psychosocial risk systems when they visit.

Recent High Value Prosecutions in the ACT

On 08 Dec 25 the ACT Industrial Magistrates Court handed down three sentences with total fines exceeding $800,000, including a $750,000 penalty against a structural design company over unsafe design collapse risk.

In July 25 a residential renovation matter resulted in a $400,000 Category 2 asbestos offence fine for failing to safely manage and remove asbestos, reflecting the regulator’s prioritisation of hazardous substance compliance and duty‑holder accountability.

These outcomes signal that WorkSafe ACT is prepared to pursue serious charges where PCBUs fail to control risks that lead to physical harm or exposure to carcinogenic hazards such as asbestos.

Psychosocial Hazards Now Central to WHS Expectations

WorkSafe ACT’s Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice took effect in November 2023 and provides practical guidance on identifying and managing risks arising from work design, management practices and harmful behaviours that can cause psychological and physical harm. Common psychosocial hazards include job demands, poor support, low role clarity, conflict and violence or aggression at work.

Inspectors in the ACT now routinely scrutinise psychosocial risk planning and controls as part of compliance interactions, consistent with the national Code principles that require elimination or minimisation of psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable.

What Inspectors Are Likely to Ask For

To meet both traditional WHS duties and psychosocial expectations, have ready for inspection:

• Asbestos management plans, removal records and licensed contractor evidence.

• Consultation and health and safety representative (HSR) engagement files.

• Safe work method statements (SWMS) relevant to high-risk work.

• Psychosocial risk registers, assessment and review records demonstrating hazard identification and control measures.

These documents demonstrate that both physical and psychosocial risks are being actively identified, controlled and reviewed as part of a systematic WHS approach.