Following the release of the Best Practice Review of the model Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws, Safe Work Australia has announced the development of a national strategy on the WHS impacts of climate change.
Chief Executive Officer Marie Boland announced the strategy today at the Safe Work Australia Research Connect Forum in Brisbane, where leading researchers, government, unions and employers came together to explore how we can better protect workers' health and safety in a changing climate.
The strategy will guide a coordinated national approach to the WHS impacts of climate change, including strengthening the model WHS framework and supporting further research and collaboration across governments and the broader community.
Development of the strategy was recommended by Safe Work Australia's 2026 Best Practice Review of the model WHS laws, which found that climate change is intensifying existing workplace hazards and creating significant strategic challenges for Australia's WHS system.
The Review found that the impacts are complex and will vary across industries, workplaces and workers. It identified rising temperatures and more frequent heatwaves as the most immediate WHS risks associated with a changing climate.
Workers also face increased exposure to floods, bushfires, poor air quality, communicable diseases, UV radiation and agrochemicals associated with increased pesticide use.
The new national strategy will provide a framework for turning this evidence into practical action, informing policy, regulation and workplace practice and supporting a coordinated national approach to protecting workers' health and safety as the climate changes.
Quotes attributable to Marie Boland, Safe Work Australia CEO
"Climate-related hazards are already affecting the health and safety of workers across a range of industries.
"Climate risk cannot remain a future or environmental issue. It is an immediate WHS issue, and it must be incorporated into present-day hazard identification and, risk management and injury prevention.
"Today, I'm pleased to announce that Safe Work Australia will develop a national strategy on the WHS impacts of climate change.
"The strategy will strengthen the research, evidence and data needed to inform policy and practice, and consider how the model WHS framework can continue to protect workers as our climate changes.
"Responding to climate-related WHS risks requires a coordinated national effort. The strategy will support collaboration across governments and the broader community and help ensure WHS is central to Australia's response to climate change.
"Our vision is for Australia's WHS framework is to provide nationally consistent protections for workers from the risks of climate change.
"That means supporting employers to effectively manage these risks, supporting a nationally consistent enforcement approach by regulators, and ensuring WHS is considered in broader national climate change planning."
