Major Reforms To The Model Work Health And Safety Framework And Incident Notification Duties

On 5 December 2025, Safe Work Australia released significant amendments to the national model Work Health and Safety Act (Model WHS Act), with the major changes relating to the incident notification requirements.

Key amendments include:

• expanding the incident notification obligations for PCBUs by introducing new notification duties for extended absences, violent incidents and work-related suicide and attempted suicide;
• broadening definitions for serious injuries or illnesses and dangerous incidents, covering a wider range of scenarios such as bone fractures and certain head injuries;
• updating licensing conditions for crane operations; and
• clarifying other obligations, including the personal protective equipment requirements.