Thursday 3 April 2025, Canberra
8.00 Registration
8.30 Opening remarks from chair
8.40 Psychosocial hazard regulation with Comcare
This session will outline Comcare’s approach to psychosocial hazard regulation and its spectrum of regulatory activity. It will highlight some of the current challenges, opportunities and outline some of the practical steps organisations can take in managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
Andrew Crane, Director Education Strategic Partnerships and Engagement, Comcare
9.10 Reviewing recent WHS legislation and prosecutions
- Evaluating significant changes over the past year in federal, state, and case law
- Identifying the implications of recent changes for safety professionals
- Integrating regulatory updates into your organisational WHS strategy
- Designing your incident management approach against recent common law
Laura Sowden, Partner, Mills Oakley
9.55 Engaging with your safety regulator to strengthen WHS capabilities
- Outlining current priorities and concerns for regulators in your jurisdiction
- Collaborating with inspectors for positive outcomes in audits and investigations
- Responding effectively to investigation outcomes and improvement notices
- Accessing resources, guidance, and training provided by your regulatory body
Jacqueline Agius, WHS Commissioner, WorkSafe ACT
10.40 Morning Coffee
11.10 Navigating key safety regulations and pitfalls when working with contractors
- Communicating with contractors on record to clarify responsibilities of each party
- Collaborating with contractors to identify key risks and hazards
- Designing appropriate controls for safety hazards facing contracted workers
- Meeting requirements around duty of care and due diligence for contractor safety
- Monitoring and supervising contractor work on an ongoing basis
Shae McCartney, Partner, Clayton Utz
11.55 Utilising defensive reporting and investigation methods around WHS incidents
- Embedding safety incident reporting and documentation processes
- Assessing whether there is cause for immediate action in WHS incidents
- Identifying root causes and duty of care responsibilities of realised risks
- Designing recommendations for the continuous improvement of WHS frameworks
Sinan Alnajjar, Senior Associate, Baker McKenzie
12.40 Lunch
13.40 Case Study:
Implementing appropriate WHS controls in line with evolving regulations in practice
- Leveraging existing safety strategies to meet new obligations
- Ensuring your internal business functions collaborate on safety compliance effectively
- Achieving enthusiastic buy-in for new safety programs from leaders and employees
- Measuring the success of your safety initiatives accurately
- Ensuring you continuously undertake reasonably practicable steps in an evolving WHS law environment
Leonie Graham, Director Wellbeing and Professional Standards, Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet
14.25 Building from case law around workplace psychosocial claims – from reporting to resolution
- Identifying the pinch points which led to commencement of psychosocial claims
- Avoiding confusion around policies and procedures to follow through the claims process
- Outlining points of intervention where claims could be mitigated or avoided
- Exploring outcomes of psychosocial claims, including corrective actions, knowledge sharing and continuous improvement
Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers
15.10 Afternoon Tea
15.40 Applying emergent psychosocial safety laws in practice
- Understanding the place of mental health as a critical workplace safety concern
- Meeting compliance obligations for addressing psychosocial risks at work
- Designing proactive programs which effectively respond to psychosocial wellbeing
- Clarifying the duties of PCBUs and WHS professionals regarding non-workplace risks
John Wilson, Legal Director, BAL Lawyers
16.20 Delivering effective workplace injury management and rehabilitation frameworks
- Implementing a robust and compliant framework for workplace injury management
- Coordinating physical and psychological care for injured workers
- Identifying the cause of injury, including risks of repeated or secondary injury
- Ensuring an injured colleague’s return to work environment is supportive
- Exceeding all obligations around alternative duties
Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers
17.00 End of Conference