Make a commitment to health and safety in National Safe Work Month this October

1 October 2026
Make a commitment to health and safety in National Safe Work Month this October

October is National Safe Work Month, serving as an important reminder of the shared legal responsibilities providers and hosts have when it comes to workplace health and safety.

While ensuring a healthy and safe workplace should be part of your everyday operations, National Safe Work Month, recognised annually in October, gives employers an opportunity to commit to building better workplaces.

Safe Work Australia data shows that in 2024, 188 workers in Australia were fatally injured at work and there were more than 400 serious workers’ compensation claims a day across Australia.

The use of labour hire in high-risk industries, such as construction, security, horticulture and meat processing, increases the likelihood of injury or involvement in workplace accidents for labour hire workers.

Migrant workers can face heightened risks owing to a number of factors, including language barriers and a lack of familiarity with local laws and standards.

Hosts and providers must maintain a safe environment where all workers are free from physical and psychological harm, helping to minimise the impact and frequency of work-related injuries or illnesses.

The Labour Hire Authority (LHA) works with WorkSafe and other regulators to ensure employers are providing a safe workplace, including undertaking unannounced site visits and hosting information sessions to educate providers and hosts on their health and safety obligations.

LHA has refused, cancelled or imposed conditions on licences where it has identified significant health and safety concerns, including where businesses had:

  • insufficient health and safety plans, processes and systems, such as a health and safety register
  • not resolved previous compliance issues identified by WorkSafe
  • forced workers to pay for their own personal protective equipment (PPE).

LHA will continue to use prior OHS compliance as a basis for licensing decisions, especially with additional construction activities in specific contexts anticipated to come into scope of labour hire licensing law later in October.

Occupational health and safety obligations in labour hire

Under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act), hosts have the same occupational health and safety duties to labour hire workers as to any other worker.

Labour hire providers and hosts have shared responsibilities for worker health and safety, including:

  • providing and maintaining a safe working environment
  • training
  • assessing risks
  • monitoring the health of workers
  • monitoring conditions at the workplace.

They must also ensure the worker is capable and provided with everything they need to do the job safely.

These legal obligations are shared between hosts and providers, and under the OHS Act they must consult, cooperate and coordinate with one another as much as reasonably practicable, to ensure all duties to labour hire workers are met.

Labour hire providers and hosts also cannot pass their duties onto one another through a contract.

For providers operating in industries with higher risks of worker exploitation and unlawful conduct, LHA applies standard conditions to all new licences, and progressively to existing licences.

These conditions respond to the significant risks of worker harm and clarify expectations on occupational health and safety.

Under the standard licence conditions licence holders must:

  • supply all PPE, without charge, to workers to minimise exposure to any workplace hazards
  • reimburse workers for any PPE purchased by workers specifically for work for the provider
  • cooperate with hosts to ensure workers are provided with information, training, and instruction on the proper use, wearing, storage and maintenance of PPE.
  • ensure that all used PPE has been decontaminated, is clean and in good condition if it is to be reused.

For more information and guidance:

National Safe Work Month

Each October, National Safe Work Month encourages workplaces around Australia to prioritise workplace health and safety and take action to reduce the number of work-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities.

While injury and fatality rates have fallen over the last decade, the people and the stories behind these numbers serve as a reminder against complacency. No job should be unsafe, and no workplace death or injury is acceptable.

This year’s theme is Safe work is for life, reminding us that work health and safety is about protecting people’s lives, health and future.

This also reflects the importance of having effective health and safety processes and systems in place to prevent and mitigate health and safety issues before they occur.

It is crucial for businesses to be proactive, rather than reactive, to the health and safety needs of their workplace to ensure continued protection of their workers.

Every worker deserves to return home safely, and every workplace can make a meaningful difference through genuine consultation, proactive risk management, and sustained long-term commitment.

In October, WorkSafe are hosting a range of in-person and online events to inform conversations about workplace safety.

Sessions are free to attend and will provide employers, workers, health and safety representatives and industry stakeholders with expert advice on current trends and issues.

For more information or to register, visit the WorkSafe website.

For National Safe Work Month information and resources, visit the Safe Work Australia website.

More information on OHS obligations is also available on the WorkSafe Victoria website for: