Weekly WHS Round-Up  

National Safe Work Month Week 4,  Regulation Changes & Key Enforcement Actions

Date Range: 20 October – 28 October 2025

Below is your comprehensive update on Australian WHS developments over the past week. This longer format will provide more context, insight, and actionable takeaways. Use it for team briefings, board reports or safety committee reviews.

Victoria

• (No regulator media/alerts clearly dated 20–28 Oct found this cycle.) Keep monitoring WorkSafe Victoria’s “News” and “Enforcement” feeds.

New South Wales

• National Safe Work Month – Week 4 focus (Review controls) (NSW amplifying NSWM theme). Action: tie toolbox talks this week to reviewing existing controls and recent incidents. ABC

Queensland

• Incident Alert – Serious injury during unloading of materials (packs of aluminium ~2 t) — 22 Oct 2025. Worker crushed by toppled load during forklift-assisted unloading; investigation ongoing. Who: warehousing, fabrication, logistics, construction.

  Action (urgent controls): review loading/unloading risk assessments, dolly/stack stability, exclusion zones; reinforce “no manual stopping of runaway loads”; verify supervision. WorkSafe Queensland

Western Australia

• Urgent – Fatality: quad bike incident near Collie — 20 Oct 2025. WorkSafe WA investigating death of a 35-year-old farmhand reportedly thrown from a quad bike while rounding up cattle. Who: agriculture, pastoral operations, contractors.

  Action (immediate): suspend non-essential quad/AG bike tasks until helmet use, operator training, speed/terrain limits and OPD/ROPS policies are verified; re-brief all riders. WorkSafe

• Guidance – Car stackers information sheet (updated) — 22 Oct 2025. Updated duties and risk controls for car-stacker owners/operators, suppliers and maintenance providers. Who: property, FM, automotive.

  Action: check contractor SWMS and lock-out procedures; confirm maintenance intervals and emergency procedures are current. WorkSafe

• Announcement – Transition period extended for WA mines statutory positions — (posted in Oct; confirm date on page). Transition to 30 Mar 2026 to obtain certification; added risk-management certification for surveyors. Who: mining.

  Action: update site competency matrices; book exams/assessments. WorkSafe

South Australia

• Media – Asbestos warning to DIY renovators (school holidays) — 20 Oct 2025. Reminder of licencing/notification and risks; drive public awareness. Who: construction, residential maintenance, councils; PCBUs engaging domestic works.

  Action: ensure asbestos surveys before domestic works; brief subcontractors on notification and disposal. SafeWork SA

• Prosecution – Dept for Education fined $225k (swing failure causing serious injury) — 16 Oct 2025 (outside window but relevant context for maintenance).

  Action: accelerate playground/plant inspection backlogs; verify bolt/wear inspections. SafeWork SA

Australian Capital Territory

• NSWM 2025 page and weekly focuses (incl. Review controls) — Ongoing promotions relevant to all workplaces.

  Action: cascade week-4 review themes to sites; ensure reminders on preserving incident sites and electrical risks are current. worksafe.act.gov.au

Tasmania

• WorkSafe Month in-person sessions (Hobart/Launceston) — 27–29 Oct 2025 program (fatigue & sleep; electrical compliance; silica safety; HSR conferences). Who: all industries.

  Action: circulate session links to TAS clients; align toolbox topics locally. worksafe.tas.gov.au

Northern Territory

• NSWM activities (heat stress visits, webinars) — Throughout Oct; HSR webinar 29 Oct 2025. Who: all industries.

  Action: push heat-stress controls ahead of build-up season; schedule People at Work assessments where applicable. WorkSafe NT

Standards (AS/NZS/ISO) — items relevant to WHS practice

• AS/NZS 2210.1:2025 (Safety & occupational footwear — selection, care and use) — Published 27 Jun 2025 (still current; note uptick in 2025 updates). Who: all sectors specifying PPE.

  Action: update PPE selection policies and procurement specs; re-train supervisors on category markings and features. Standards Australia Store

• AS ISO 22915.1:2025 (Industrial trucks—stability verification, Part 1) — 26 Sep 2025 (near-term adoption). Who: warehousing, manufacturing, construction.

  Action: confirm contractor documentation reflects new edition when testing/verifying stability. Standards Australia Store

National / All

• National Safe Work Month (Week 4: Review controls) — w/c 27 Oct 2025. Leverage final-week prompt to reassess existing controls against recent incidents (materials handling, vehicles/plant, quad bikes).

  Action: run rapid “Are our controls still working?” checks at each site; close any recurring actions. ABC

What you should do this week

1. Run a 30-minute “Review Controls” huddle at each site: pick one high-risk task and verify controls are in place and working. ABC

2. Materials handling: re-brief teams on unloading procedures; enforce exclusion zones and no manual interception of moving loads. WorkSafe Queensland

3. Quad/AG bikes: verify helmet compliance, training records and OPD/ROPS policy before use; reassess speed/terrain rules. WorkSafe

4. PPE: align footwear procurement and site posters to AS/NZS 2210.1:2025 categories. Standards Australia Store

5. WA sites with car stackers: confirm lock-out procedures and maintenance schedules match the updated guidance. WorkSafe

Compiled by: Work Safety Hub – Helping organisations build safer, stronger workplaces.
🔗 worksafetyhub.com.au