QT Hotel Canberra, Tuesday 9 April 2024
8.30 Registration
9.00 Opening remarks from Chair
9.10 Evaluating updated case law and legislation in WHS
- Reviewing changes to WHS regulation, including harmonisation of model act
- Engaging recent attempts at prosecution in WHS law
- Preparing your organisation for anticipated changes and amendments
- Building organisational resilience for potential safety incidents
Lauren Armstrong, Senior Associate, Sparke Helmore
9.55 Developing a compliant approach to psychosocial risk management
- Navigating expectations for monitoring of worker wellbeing
- Assessing your workplace for potential psychosocial hazards
- Initiating conversations and check-ins with your employees
- Reviewing successful prosecutions within psychosocial WHS law
- Evaluating current and incoming law around psychological injury
Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers
10.40 Morning Coffee
11.10 Ensuring your officers meet their WHS duty of care
- Establishing the key differences between director and officer duties
- Updating your whole-of-business safety policy around new WHS laws
- Ensuring director and officers are aware of their obligations
- Involving leaders in safe job design and training
Kirsty Easdale, Senior Associate, MinterEllison
11.55 Working effectively with contractors within WHS regulations
- Communicating clear expectations and agreements on the record
- Assessing historic incidents and prosecutions within contractor management
- Identifying the share and transferability of duties between contractors and organisations
- Navigating your unavoidable safety obligations when engaging a contractor
Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers
12.40 Lunch
13.40 Case Study: Implementing WHS law standards and regulations in practice
- Updating your organisational approach in line with WHS regulations
- Building a comprehensive whole-of-organisation strategy as a safety professional
- Consulting with internal and external stakeholders for effective implementation
- Engaging with experts when required to ensure you are compliant
Jessica Reynolds, Director AAD and PAD WHS, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water
14.25 Mitigating the safety risk of bullying and harassment in the workplace
- Evaluating changes in WHS law including the Respect at Work legislation
- Reviewing recent WHS incidents and prosecutions in bullying and harrassment
- Understanding your obligations to ensure a safe and preventative culture
- Detecting and eliminating unsafe and disrespectful behaviour
Ben Burke, Partner, Baker McKenzie
15.10 Afternoon Tea
15.40 Comcare’s approach to WHS Regulation – utilising risk to inform targeted interventions.
- Introduction on Comcare
- Understanding the role of state and federal regulators in WHS
- A systems-based approach to risk management
- Applying this approach to psychosocial risks
- Comcare’s psychosocial pilot – early findings
- Comcare’s approach to WHS investigations
- Working with the WHS investigator
- Support for regulated entities
Justin Napier, General Manager Regulatory Operations, Comcare
16.20 Meeting best practice expectations for internal and external incident reporting
- Understanding the external reporting obligations within your jurisdiction
- Evidencing your own actions and interventions effectively
- Utilising best-practice reporting for compliant prevention strategies
- Creating an efficient flow of information to your safety team
William Ward, Partner, Mills Oakley
17.00 Closing remarks from the chair and end of conference