Further change may be on the horizon for Western Australia’s safety laws, following the outcome of the 2025 WA state election. With rising risks associated with climate change, changing work demands, and a focus on gender-based safety, employers face increasing pressure to adapt safety practices. Regulatory reform, tougher enforcement and higher expectations for proactive risk management may well be in the pipeline for safety in WA.

Strengthening safety protections for a changing climate

Climate change has been acknowledged as, not only an environmental and economic challenge, but also as a work, health and safety (WHS) hazard. Heading into the 2025 WA state election, WA Labor indicated a commitment to review and modernise Western Australia’s WHS laws to address the increasing risks associated with climate change, particularly for workers exposed to extreme weather conditions.

This approach reflects an understanding that climate impacts, such as prolonged heatwaves, more frequent bushfires, and severe storms, are increasingly affecting industries like construction, mining, agriculture, and emergency services. WA Labor’s position is that climate-resilient safety regulations should be considered in legislation.

We could expect to see legislative and regulatory action on climate as a safety issue by the introduction of enhanced legislation and codes of practice that:

• establish clear temperature thresholds at which certain outdoor work must cease;
• mandate access to shade, water, and adequate rest in extreme heat conditions;
• enhance training and emergency response procedures for weather-related incidents; and
• require employers to conduct climate risk assessments as part of their duty of care.

Balancing productivity and well-being

WA Labor has also foreshadowed continued support of fair and flexible working arrangements, consistent with statutory provisions, that limit standard full-time hours to 38 per week and permit flexible working arrangements. This policy position reflects a broader objective of promoting productivity and employee well-being and is consistent with WorkSafe WA’s focus on managing fatigue as a critical WHS risk.

There is growing recognition that many workers are now required to work longer hours, hold multiple jobs, or undertake roles of increasing intensity, which may increase safety risks, particularly in high-risk industries. It is anticipated that there may be additional regulatory guidance on fatigue management, and that further legislative measures may be introduced to limit reasonable overtime and maximum working hours. These changes could present practical and legal complexities for employers and workers when considered in conjunction with reasonable additional hours under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

An increased focus on the safety of women at work

Safety of women in the workplace is a WA Labour policy priority, with a particular focus on addressing sexual harassment, gender-based violence, and broader cultural safety concerns that affect women in workplaces. These issues are increasingly being treated as WHS matters rather than solely human resources or conduct issues. This shift has potential implications for employers under the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA) (WHS Act), particularly in relation to employer provided accommodation, remote or isolated work, and ensuring protection from inappropriate or offensive conduct of a sexual nature from customers and clients.

It is anticipated that the WA state government will continue to introduce and support regulatory and policy measures aimed at improving workplace safety for women, as part of a broader agenda to promote the broader WA Labor aims of gender equity and economic participation.

Recent prosecutions in WA

As the first prosecutions are being decided under the WHS Act, it is clear that WA courts are continuing to take safety breaches seriously and that penalties will continue to rise for deterrence purposes.

In the first fatality case under the harmonised WHS Act, a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) pleaded guilty to a Category 1 offence that resulted in the death of a machine operator and was fined $875,000. In this case, workers resorted to shortcuts to keep operations moving which resulted in a worker being caught in the moving parts of an unguarded salt pit conveyor. The shortcuts were known to management. The penalty imposed fell just short of WA’s highest ever workplace safety penalty, demonstrating the courts’ position on deterrence in cases involving loss of life.

In another recent WA decision, a PCBU pleaded guilty to a Category 1 offence and was fined $595,000 after a worker was seriously injured when his leg became trapped in a moving conveyor belt. In this decision, the PCBU failed to act on an external safety consultant’s recommendation regarding the risks posed by an unguarded area around the conveyor belt until after the accident had occurred.

In both cases, the risks were known, the incidents were preventable, and corrective actions were only taken after the harm had occurred.

These cases highlight that WA courts are strictly enforcing WHS obligations and expect proactive risk management from duty holders. These cases also demonstrate that courts will impose significant penalties where known risks are disregarded, reflecting social expectations that every worker should be safe at work.

So, where to for Safety Laws in WA?

There is increasing pressure on workplaces to adapt to evolving WHS challenges. While it remains to be seen how the WA Labor government will respond to these evolving challenges, it is clear that the courts are taking workplace safety issues very seriously. In the interim, employers must be able to demonstrate that they are taking proactive steps to identify and manage risks, to comply with their duties under the WHS Act.

This article was written by Danielle Flint, Partner and Shanay Fairbairn, Law Graduate.