Workplace Safety & WHS Rights Australia 2026
Everything you need to understand your work health and safety rights and duties, in one place. Whether you need to report an incident, check a psychosocial hazard, raise a bullying or harassment concern, or work out a compensation claim — the tools and guides below give you the answer in minutes.
Report & comply
Know your duties under the model WHS Act, when an incident must be reported to the regulator, and whether your work needs a Safe Work Method Statement before it starts.
WHS Quick Check
Pick your industry and state to see top hazards, employer (PCBU) and worker duties, notifiable incident triggers, and your regulator.
Notifiable Incident Checker
Work out whether an incident is notifiable, who to call, how fast, and what you must preserve and record.
Do I Need a SWMS?
Check whether your work is high-risk construction work that requires a Safe Work Method Statement before it starts.
Free SWMS Generator
Build a Safe Work Method Statement for high-risk construction work, mapped to the WHS categories, ready to print.
Risk Assessment & Hazard Matrix
Rate hazards by likelihood and consequence to build a risk-rated register with hierarchy-of-controls guidance.
Duties, codes & penalties
Understand whether codes of practice are legally binding where you work, and the maximum penalties — including industrial manslaughter — that apply when a duty holder gets it badly wrong.
Psychosocial & mental health
Employers must manage psychosocial hazards — like high job demands, low control, poor support, bullying and harassment — so far as is reasonably practicable. Check your workplace, whether you are a worker or an employer.
Bullying, harassment & investigations
Work out whether what you are experiencing is bullying or reasonable management action, document it properly, understand your rights in an investigation, and build a complaint letter when you are ready to act.
Bullying or Reasonable Management?
Work out whether the conduct you are experiencing is workplace bullying or reasonable management action.
Privacy-First Incident Logger
Document bullying or harassment incidents privately, before you need them for a complaint or claim.
Workplace Investigation Rights
Know your rights if you are a complainant, respondent or witness in a workplace investigation.
Harassment Compensation Estimator
Estimate the compensation range for a sexual harassment claim based on recent decisions.
Bullying Complaint Letter Builder
Build a clear, factual workplace bullying complaint letter you can send to your employer.
Discrimination Complaint Letter Builder
Build a discrimination complaint letter citing the protected attribute and the conduct involved.
Positive Duty Readiness Self-Audit
For employers: check your organisation against the 7 AHRC positive duty standards to prevent sexual harassment.
Injury & compensation
If you have been injured or made ill at work, you may be entitled to workers compensation. Estimate your weekly payments and entitlements.
Workers Compensation Calculator
Estimate weekly compensation payments and entitlements after a work-related injury or illness.
Workers Comp Claim Navigator
Step-by-step claim guide for your state — what to do, who to notify, weekly payment step-downs and timeframes.
Return to Work Plan Builder
Build a return-to-work plan after a workplace injury — suitable duties, restrictions and review dates.
Guides & Frequently Asked Questions
What is a notifiable incident under the WHS Act?
A notifiable incident is the death of a person, a serious injury or illness (for example one requiring immediate hospital admission), or a dangerous incident such as an uncontrolled escape of a substance, a structure collapse, or an electrical hazard. The PCBU (employer) must notify the regulator immediately and preserve the incident site until told otherwise, unless preservation would risk further injury. Source: model Work Health and Safety Act 2011; Safe Work Australia.
Who do I call to report a safety incident and how fast?
Report notifiable incidents to your state or territory regulator immediately, by phone. The numbers are: SafeWork NSW 13 10 50; WorkSafe Victoria 13 23 60; Workplace Health and Safety Queensland 1300 362 128; SafeWork SA 1800 777 209; WorkSafe WA 1800 678 198; WorkSafe Tasmania 1300 366 322; WorkSafe ACT 13 22 81; NT WorkSafe 1800 019 115; Comcare 1300 366 979. The ACT uses a dedicated form for workplace sexual assault. Source: each regulator's website.
What are the penalties for a serious WHS breach?
Maximum penalties for the most serious WHS offence (a Category 1 offence — reckless conduct exposing a person to a risk of death or serious injury) vary by state and territory and are not uniform. Most states set a fixed maximum of around $3 million for a body corporate — for example Queensland $3 million and Western Australia $3.5 million — with up to 5 years imprisonment for an individual. The Commonwealth (Comcare) and New South Wales set much higher, annually-indexed maximums, into the tens of millions for a body corporate. Lesser offences (Categories 2 and 3) carry lower maximums. Always check your state regulator for the exact current figure. Source: state WHS regulators; Safe Work Australia.
Do Victoria and Western Australia follow the same WHS rules?
Mostly, but not exactly. Victoria operates under its own Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and OHS Regulations 2017 (it uses the terms 'employer' and 'self-employed person' rather than 'PCBU'), and Western Australia has its own Work Health and Safety Act 2020 and regulations. Both are broadly aligned with the harmonised model laws, but penalty levels, some duties, and document-retention rules differ. Always check the WorkSafe Victoria or WorkSafe WA position for your situation. Source: WorkSafe Victoria; WorkSafe WA.
What are my employer's psychosocial safety duties?
PCBUs must manage psychosocial hazards — such as high job demands, low control, poor support, bullying, harassment and exposure to traumatic events — so far as is reasonably practicable, the same way they manage physical risks. Most jurisdictions have adopted the model psychosocial regulations (regs 55A to 55D). From 1 July 2026, section 26A of the WHS Act 2011 (NSW) requires a PCBU to comply with an applicable approved code of practice or manage the risk to an equivalent or higher standard — a 'comply-or-justify' benchmark. Source: Safe Work Australia model Code; legislation.nsw.gov.au s 26A.
Do I need a Safe Work Method Statement (SWMS)?
A SWMS is required before high-risk construction work (HRCW) starts. The model regulations list 18 categories of HRCW — including work where there is a risk of a fall of more than 2 metres and work in or near a trench deeper than 1.5 metres. Victoria's OHS Regulations 2017 list 19 categories (the 19th covers diving). The SWMS must identify the hazards, the control measures, and how they will be implemented, monitored and reviewed. Use the 'Do I Need a SWMS?' tool to check your work. Source: model WHS Regulations reg 291 and 299; WorkSafe Victoria reg 322 and 327.