The NSW government wants to re-establish the NSW Industrial Court with judges specialised in workplace health and safety (WHS) matters claiming doing so will make workplaces safer as well as making it easier to seek workplace justice.
The NSW government introduced a bill to change to State Labor laws, restore the Industrial Relations Commission, and create a specialised court for workplace issues, criticising NSW's previous Coalition Government for dismantling the Industrial Court, which weakened safety laws.
The new bill aims to remove wage caps for public sector workers, introduce new bargaining approaches, and establish a dedicated court for workplace matters, ensuring fair resolution without deterring people from seeking justice. The goal is to create a more accessible system for resolving workplace disputes.
The bill also plans to change the way serious safety offenses are prosecuted, allowing these cases to be heard by specialized courts, intending to improve safety for workers across NSW.
Source: OHS Alert, 24 November
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bill/files/18539/First%20Print.pdf
