In South Australia, psychological safety is now safety law.

The WHS Act 2012 (SA) — and whose neck is on it.

The Act imposes the primary duty of care on the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU): ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers and others at the workplace — safe systems of work, training, supervision, and a workplace free of bullying, harassment and other hazards. Because health is defined to include psychological health, mental wellbeing sits inside the duty, not beside it.

Officers owe a personal due diligence duty: keep up-to-date knowledge of WHS, and ensure appropriate resources and processes for compliance. Workers must take reasonable care for their own and others’ safety. You must also consult workers on WHS matters — through elected Health and Safety Representatives (HSRs) where they exist. HSRs can inspect workplaces, direct unsafe work to cease in immediate danger, and are entitled to an approved 5-day training course on paid time at your cost.

The 2023 regulations made mental health a hazard class.

The Work Health and Safety (Psychosocial Risks) Amendment Regulations 2023 (SA) took effect on 25 December 2023. Duty holders must identify reasonably foreseeable psychosocial hazards, assess the associated risks, and implement control measures to eliminate or minimise them — using the hierarchy of controls, just as for physical hazards. The hazards are broad: high job demands, low job control or support, poor workplace relationships (bullying and harassment), exposure to traumatic events, violence, remote or isolated work, and poor environmental conditions. A Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (developed nationally via Safe Work Australia) supplies the practical benchmark.

The stakes are not abstract: psychological injury claims run a median of around 36 weeks off work, cost more than physical claims, and are rising nationally.

The worst failure is now a 20-year crime.

From 1 July 2024, a PCBU or officer commits industrial manslaughter under the SA WHS Act if they breach their WHS duty through reckless or grossly negligent conduct and cause the death of a person to whom the duty was owed. Maximum penalties: up to 20 years’ imprisonment for individuals, up to $18 million for a body corporate. Unlike other WHS offences, there is no time limit on bringing proceedings. This brings SA into line with QLD, VIC, WA and the ACT, and sits on top of the existing Category 1 offences. The practical consequence: safety governance is board business — build the offence into officer due diligence training and make sure escalation protocols reach the top fast.

When something serious happens, the clock is in hours.

Notifiable incidents — a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident (a near miss that could have caused death or serious harm) — must be reported to SafeWork SA immediately, with a written report within 24 hours (WHS Act s.38). Failure to notify is an offence. The incident site must be preserved, so far as safe, until an inspector arrives or directs otherwise. Separately, notify ReturnToWorkSA within 5 business days of becoming aware of any work-related injury — early notification can earn a premium rebate; late notification can incur a penalty.

The RTW Act turned re-employment into an enforceable duty.

The Return to Work Act 2014 (SA), administered by ReturnToWorkSA (the state insurer, with whom most SA employers must be registered), runs a no-fault scheme: injured workers generally receive up to 52 weeks’ income support at 100% of pre-injury earnings, then 80% for the next 52 weeks, with medical cover up to 12 months beyond income payments. Your side of the bargain: under section 18, provide suitable employment to an injured worker with capacity, so far as reasonably practicable; build a Recovery/Return to Work Plan in consultation with the worker and their treating practitioners; and do not dismiss a worker because of their injury within the prescribed period (generally 12 months).

From 1 December 2024, the amendments bite harder. A worker who requests suitable duties in writing, with medical evidence, must get a written response within 1 month — an offer, or a refusal with reasons. Silence counts as refusal, and the dispute goes to the South Australian Employment Tribunal (SAET), which can now order you to provide specified work (duties, hours, adjustments) and pay the worker lost earnings where it finds work should have been provided. Self-insured groups must look for placements across the corporate group; labour hire hosts must cooperate with the labour hire firm to identify suitable work for injured on-hire workers.

Four dates that decide whether you are current.

The federal system still runs alongside: FWC stop-bullying and stop-sexual-harassment orders reach most SA employers, and the Fair Work framework protects workers who raise safety issues from adverse action. Where the layers overlap, meet the higher standard.