I support the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Standalone Regulator) Bill 2025. In doing so, I direct my remarks mainly to the way the Government has decided to implement the recommendation of the Hon. Robert McDougall, KC. Firstly, I congratulate the Government on introducing the bill. It gives effect to an important commitment made by Labor when in opposition, as we watched the work health and safety regulation being broken up, diluted and hidden within the Better Regulation Division of the Department of Customer Service mega department. It was alarming to say the least to see how diminished the role of workplace safety became. The worst aspect to this was the way in which safety regulation was treated as red tape. I say clearly that workplace safety is not red tape.
From opposition we watched as the SafeWork presence became diminished and largely irrelevant. The current Minister and Treasurer pursued this issue doggedly from opposition. In the dying days of the last Government, they got the Minister at the time to agree to an independent inquiry, to be conducted by the Hon. Robert McDougall, KC. After the Minns Labor Government was elected, in a sign that work health and safety would be central to our Government's work and priorities, the Premier appointed my colleague and good friend the member for Canterbury as the Minister for Work Health and Safety, a title that had not existed in this place for many years. This Government is unwavering in its commitment, as is the good Minister, to ensuring that workers are protected by robust laws and a tough regulator, which is why this bill is before the House.
As has been mentioned by other members, being safe is the absolute right of every person who enters a workplace. Every single person in this State should return home safely at the end of their working day and every employer has a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace. The State's regulator needs to be the tough cop on the beat. Empowered with the responsibility to enforce workplace safety, it needs to be strong and supported by the Government. At the same time as being accountable to the people, it also needs to stand alone. The Hon. Robert McDougall made this recommendation when he handed down his report. The Government carefully considered the model recommended by the review alongside other options to address the core objectives of the reform, including enhancing the identity, independence, accountability and stakeholder representation of SafeWork NSW.
The changes contained in the bill will strengthen the identity of SafeWork NSW and restore public confidence in the State's work health and safety regulator by establishing the SafeWork Commissioner as the regulator under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, which will report directly to the Minister for Work Health and Safety. The SafeWork Commissioner will lead the agency and have clear authority to enforce compliance, promote best practices and engage meaningfully with workers, unions, people with lived experience and businesses across all industries in New South Wales. The bill will also establish the SafeWork Advisory Council to provide advice to both the Minister for Work Health and Safety and SafeWork NSW on how they can best support workers and businesses in creating the safest possible workplaces. The council will be made up of representatives from employer organisations and unions, a member with work health and safety expertise and a member representing the interests of injured workers and their families. It will support decision-making and ensure greater transparency and accountability.
These changes align with the recommendations made in the Hon. Robert McDougall's review to increase the independence of SafeWork NSW and ensure that the agency is guided by a body comprising of key stakeholder representatives. The new structure will provide the necessary separation and governance for SafeWork NSW to effectively carry out its functions free from departmental control. The New South Wales Parliament and the public will also have greater oversight of decision-making, resource use and performance. SafeWork NSW will be established as an executive agency by way of an administrative order, and it will be required to provide annual reports separately to the Department of Customer Service.
To assess whether this new model that makes SafeWork NSW a standalone executive agency is operating effectively and meeting the objectives of the reformed provisions, the bill also requires a statutory review of the legislation after three years of operation. Establishing SafeWork NSW as an executive agency will allow the Government to address the key issues raised in the review with the simplicity of an administrative order made within the existing framework provided by the Government Sector Employment Act 2013. Similarly, the formation of the advisory council responds to the recommendation to establish a governing body but modifies the role to allow the commissioner and Minister to benefit from its advice and expertise.
This composition will still ensure there is a formal mechanism for insights and expertise from key stakeholder groups to inform work health and safety regulation in New South Wales, because the SafeWork Commissioner is required to consider the council's advice when determining the strategic direction and priorities of SafeWork NSW. This bill implements the intent of the recommendations from the independent review in a simple, elegant and effective way. It is fantastic that the Minister is in the Chamber, as she always is, to see through the passage of this important reform. She is interested in what employers and workers from across this State need from us. I commend the bill to the House.
