SafeWork NSW increases work safety breach enforcement after $128m budget boost

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After a $128 million boost in this year's budget, SafeWork NSW is aiming to ramp up enforcement across the state.

Included in this approach is the hiring of 50 new inspectors, including 25 roles focused on psychological hazards.

According to SafeWork NSW's executive director, more resources mean the regulator can hold more employers to account.

He was the man Linda Moussa thought she would grow old with.

"Like many Brazilians, he loved parties, and he loved music, and he loved soccer," Ms Moussa said.

But on October 25, 2016, Iremar Da Silva left for work and never came home.

"He was the love of my life and my son's dad. It's really difficult to continue and actually fully understand that all the dreams that you had would never come true," Ms Moussa said.

A skilled carpenter with an eye for detail, Mr Da Silva was working on a construction site for a block of units in Ryde, in Sydney's north-west, when he fell from the first floor. There were no safety barriers.

Just weeks earlier, the Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union (CFMEU) had visited the site and made a list of safety recommendations.

"That's really tragic, because had they paid attention to that advice, then maybe he would have been with us." Ms Moussa said.

An investigation by the state's workplace health and safety regulator, SafeWork NSW, established that Mr Da Silva's death was caused by negligence.

The regulator took the two companies responsible to court, and both were fined about $500,000 each.

More employers breaking safety laws are facing a greater risk of being taken to court, with SafeWork NSW planning to ramp up enforcement after receiving a $128 million funding boost in the state budget.

Ramp up including 50 new inspectors

According to data from the regulator, one person a week dies from workplace-related injuries in NSW.

SafeWork NSW executive director Petrina Casey said the regulator was now able to launch more prosecutions.

"The intent is that we have more resources to hold employers to account," Ms Casey said.

Work Health and Safety Minister Sophie Cotsis said more than 50 new inspectors would be recruited.

There are already 370 inspectors on the beat, policing workplaces across the state including building sites.

The inspectors have the power to seize evidence, order work to stop on dangerous sites, and issue on-the-spot fines for safety breaches.

Among the new roles being created are 25 positions focused on psychological hazards, as the government comes under pressure over a plan to cut back on compensation for mental injuries.

A bill that would make it much harder for workers with psychological injuries to claim long-term support has been blocked in the upper house.

Ms Costas told the ABC that the government takes psychological injury as "seriously as physical injury".

"We've seen an increase, and we're trying to manage that increase at the front end as well, at the preventative," she said.

Ms Casey said the regulator would sharpen its focus on psychological harms, including sexual harassment and bullying.

"Traditionally [bullying] is where we're seeing a lot of the psychosocial claims come from," she said.

As the regulator steps up enforcement, it is launching an advertising blitz to promote safer workplaces, scheduled to launch on Sunday.

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SafeWork NSW increases work safety breach enforcement after $128m budget boost - ABC, June 2025