Safe Work Australia requesting feedback on how to improve dispute resolution in accordance with the model WHS legislation

Safe Work Australia is inviting feedback on potential options to enhance dispute resolution under the model work health and safety (WHS) legislation. Comment closes 17 April 2026 at 11.59 pm (AEST), which gives industry a clear window to shape reform before recommendations are finalised.

Consultation at a glance

• Who is consulting: Safe Work Australia, custodian of the model WHS framework.
• What is proposed: a specialist adjudication forum, plus alternative pathways for settling conflict.
• Why it matters: unresolved disagreement can stall safety outcomes and frustrate both sides.
• Who should respond: duty holders, unions, legal advisers and industry associations.
• Closing date: 17 April 2026, 11.59 pm (AEST).

Why Safe Work Australia opened public consultation

“Under the current legislative framework certain WHS disputes can remain unresolved. This can create frustration for the parties involved,” Safe Work Australia stated.

“This consultation paper seeks feedback on a specialist tribunal and alternative dispute resolution approaches.”

Safe Work Australia said your feedback will play a crucial role in influencing its recommendations that will be presented to WHS ministers.

Gaps in the current model WHS act

Disagreement over hazards, control measures or consultation duties can escalate when no clear route to a determination exists. Enforcement agencies sometimes decline to intervene, leaving employees and duty holders waiting months for certainty.

Businesses managing work health and safety duties across several jurisdictions feel that gap most sharply. A single unresolved matter can halt a project, sour bargaining and drain budgets long before anyone reaches a courtroom.

Potential options on the table

Two broad directions are canvassed in the discussion paper:

• A specialist forum: an independent umpire able to hear WHS matters quickly and issue enforceable decisions.
• Alternative pathways: conciliation, expert facilitation and early neutral evaluation ahead of formal proceedings.

What industry should put in a submission

Strong responses do more than register an opinion. Safe Work Australia has released discussion papers before, and the submissions that carry weight usually quantify delay, cost and risk with evidence.

• Set out a number of genuine scenarios where resolution stalled, then explain the consequence.
• Identify which model suits your sector, and why.
• Estimate time and money lost while a matter sat unresolved.
• Flag any unintended effect on existing consultation arrangements.
• Nominate safeguards against tactical or vexatious claims.

Sectors with the most at stake

Construction industry contractors juggle layered principal-and-subcontractor relationships, so accountability for a hazard is rarely obvious. Manufacturing industry operators contend with plant modification, guarding and shift patterns that invite honest disagreement.

Healthcare industry providers add occupational health and safety pressures around fatigue, aggression and infection control. Every industry brings a different tolerance for delay, so varied input produces a stronger framework.

How to lodge your comment

Download the paper from the Safe Work Australia consultation hub, then upload your response before the cut-off. Late material may never reach WHS ministers.

Industry bodies often coordinate joint responses, helping smaller operators contribute without absorbing legal cost. Ask whether your association is preparing one.

Why this reform matters for safety professionals

Clearer escalation routes reduce ambiguity on site. When disagreement is settled early, corrective action happens sooner and confidence in the framework grows across each industry sector.

Recent activity shows how much movement there is: the agency has published updates to the model WHS regulations and examined how WHS outcomes differ across the nation. Industry experience shaped both pieces of work.

Safe Work Australia is consulting on several fronts; views were also sought on strategies to improve its data website. Practitioners throughout industry can therefore influence more than a single reform stream.

Practical steps while reform progresses

Whichever pathway ministers endorse, existing duties still apply today. Robust safety management systems and disciplined record keeping remain your best defence against escalation.

Documented method statements prove hazards were identified and controlled before work began. Our guide on how to write a Safe Work Method Statement walks through each step, while the broader SWMS product range covers high-risk tasks including basic rigging, jigsaw operation and working with LPG cylinders.

Ready-to-edit safety documentation helps industry teams evidence consultation, control selection and sign-off — exactly the records that resolve a disagreement quickly.

Key date

Submissions close 17 April 2026 at 11.59 pm (AEST) — learn more here. Industry input now decides how disagreement gets settled for years to come.