Portfolio: Employment and Workplace Relations
http://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au
$27M
2026-27 Budget (Budget Paper No. 4)$25M
2024-25 Total Revenue110
Headcount (2024-25)VSLConnect Project
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Total Budget
$41.8M
Digital Budget
$33.2M
July 2023 — December 2025
This project is enabling the Australian Government to better realise the benefits of the VET Student Loans (VSL) program and minimise the risk of occurrences such as the recent historical student debt issue. It will have a stronger focus on compliance and automation, and deliver a system that is flexible, scalable and stable, with a greatly enhanced data collection, integration and analytics capability.
Digital Transformation Program (Strengthening Integrity of the VET sector)
Australian Skills Quality Authority
Total Budget
$24.8M
Digital Budget
$24.8M
January 2024 — June 2027
The Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) is the national regulator of the VET sector. In February 2024, ASQA commenced a 3.5-year Digital Transformation Program to address issues with its existing ICT systems and data capabilities. The objective of the program is to ensure that ASQA is a modern, best-practice regulator, through the implementation and integration of contemporary systems and applications that will ensure ASQA can efficiently and effectively deliver its regulatory and organisational priorities.
Parent Pathways
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Total Budget
$68.7M
Digital Budget
$36.8M
November 2023 — June 2026
The project is supporting the implementation of Parent Pathways, a voluntary service that provides personalised assistance and financial support to eligible parents and carers of children up to the age of 6 years. This extended ParentsNext to 31 October 2024 and introduced Parent Pathways from 1 November 2024, which included releasing the IT system on the Workforce Australia Digital Platform and the APS Pilot. As part of the project, enhancements will be made to Parent Pathways.
Enhancements to the Workforce Australia Digital Platform to administer the redesigned foundation skills program
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Total Budget
$10.9M
Digital Budget
$10.9M
July 2023 — June 2026
The redesigned Skills for Education and Employment (SEE) program will improve the language, literacy, numeracy and digital literacy (LLND) skills for Australians. The program will feature 2 complementary streams of LLND training delivery. Enhancements to the Workforce Australia Digital Platform are required to support the delivery, data reporting and compliance arrangements of the redesigned SEE program.
Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme insourcing
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Total Budget
$9M
Digital Budget
$9M
July 2023 — June 2026
The project transferred the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility Information System (PALMIS) to the department's infrastructure from July to December 2023. Work is now focused on expanding and enhancement to align PALMIS with the department’s operating model. PALMIS will provide strong oversight and reporting, which will support the government’s plan to Build a Stronger Pacific Family, uphold worker protections, and address unmet labour needs in regional and rural Australia.
Reconnection, Employment and Learning (REAL) Program
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
Total Budget
$60.6M
Digital Budget
$7.7M
June 2024 — June 2030
This project supports the implementation of the REAL Program that is replacing the Time to Work Employment Service. The REAL Program is a voluntary program that will support First Nations prisoners aged 15 years and over to transition from the justice system into employment and learning.
9 tagged
Reform proposals on YourGov that name this department as a delivery partner — drawn from citizen voice, government strategy, research, international examples and gap analysis.
STRATEGY SUMMARY
All workers, regardless of their occupation or how they are engaged, have the right to a healthy and safe working environment. The effective design of work and work systems, and the systematic management of risks, will allow workers to lead productive working lives. [AR p.11]
VISION
“Healthier, safer, and more productive workplaces through improvements to Australian work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements. [AR p.11]”
PURPOSE
All workers, regardless of their occupation or how they are engaged, have the right to a healthy and safe working environment. The effective design of work and work systems, and the systematic management of risks, will allow workers to lead productive working lives. [AR p.11]
Strategic priorities
· 4
reduces the incidence of work-related death, injury and illness
improves outcomes for injured workers and their employers
uses our collective influence to increase knowledge and awareness of WHS and workers’ compensation
ensures robust WHS and workers’ compensation research, analysis and data
Outcomes
· 1
Outcome 1: Healthier, safer, and more productive workplaces
Safe Work Australia’s outcome is healthier, safer, and more productive workplaces through improvements in Australian work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements.
KEY ACTIVITIES
Values
· 4
integrity
collaboration
respect
excellence
Performance measures
· 4
| Code | Measure | Target 2025-26 | Latest result | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CCE01 | Compliance and Enforcement | Stability or improvement | Target met | Achieved |
CCE02 | Workplace Exposure Standards | Stability or improvement | Target met | Achieved |
CCE03 | Workplace Violence and Aggression | Stability or improvement | Partially achieved | Partially achieved |
CCE04 | Model WHS Laws | Stability or improvement | Target met | Achieved |
Source documents
· 6
annual-reports/2022-23.pdf
Open
annual-reports/2023-24.pdf
Open
annual-reports/2024-25.pdf
Open
corporate-plans/2025.pdf
Open
strategies/Key-20work-20health-20and-20safety-20statistics-20Australia-202021.pdf
Open
strategies/Strategy-for-Managing-Work-Related-Psychosocial-Hazards-FINAL-30SEPT.pdf
Open
Ideas distilled from this entity's strategy & evidence
· 8
Monitor and report on new consultancy contract awards
Build a public dashboard showing weekly active-compliance-monitoring counts by Safe Work Australia Act decision class
2024-25.pdf [AR p.30]
Adopt Sweden’s digital workplace inspection system
Implement a digital inspection system similar to Sweden’s for real-time workplace safety monitoring
sweden-workplace-inspections.pdf [GI p.15]
Launch a bi-annual research publication
Expand current research initiatives by launching a bi-annual publication on emerging workplace safety trends
2025.pdf [CP p.20]
Weekly updates to compliance dashboard
Implement weekly updates to the compliance dashboard to provide real-time data on compliance metrics
2024-25.pdf [AR p.25]
Reduce workplace injury rates
Develop and implement targeted interventions to reduce workplace injury rates by 15% over the next two years
2024-25.pdf [AR p.40]
Expand cross-sector collaboration program
Expand the current cross-sector collaboration program to include more industry stakeholders and develop joint safety improvement strategies
2025.pdf [CP p.25]
Simplify compliance reporting process
Simplify the compliance reporting process by reducing the number of required reports and streamlining the submission process
2024-25.pdf [AR p.35]
Adopt Finland’s worker engagement model
Implement Finland’s worker engagement model to enhance workplace safety through active worker involvement in safety initiatives
finland-worker-engagement.pdf [GI p.20]
Monitor and report on new consultancy contract awards
Build a public dashboard showing weekly active-compliance-monitoring counts by Safe Work Australia Act decision class
2024-25.pdf [AR p.30]
Adopt Sweden’s digital workplace inspection system
Implement a digital inspection system similar to Sweden’s for real-time workplace safety monitoring
sweden-workplace-inspections.pdf [GI p.15]
Launch a bi-annual research publication
Expand current research initiatives by launching a bi-annual publication on emerging workplace safety trends
2025.pdf [CP p.20]
Weekly updates to compliance dashboard
Implement weekly updates to the compliance dashboard to provide real-time data on compliance metrics
2024-25.pdf [AR p.25]
Reduce workplace injury rates
Develop and implement targeted interventions to reduce workplace injury rates by 15% over the next two years
2024-25.pdf [AR p.40]
Expand cross-sector collaboration program
Expand the current cross-sector collaboration program to include more industry stakeholders and develop joint safety improvement strategies
2025.pdf [CP p.25]
Simplify compliance reporting process
Simplify the compliance reporting process by reducing the number of required reports and streamlining the submission process
2024-25.pdf [AR p.35]
Adopt Finland’s worker engagement model
Implement Finland’s worker engagement model to enhance workplace safety through active worker involvement in safety initiatives
finland-worker-engagement.pdf [GI p.20]
Legislation administered
· 4
2008
Safe Work Australia Act 2008
Safe Work Australia is established under this Act and administers work health and safety and workers’ compensation policies.
2011
Work Health and Safety Act 2011
Safe Work Australia advises WHS ministers on national WHS and workers’ compensation policy matters under this Act.
1988
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
Safe Work Australia administers workers’ compensation arrangements under this Act.
2011
Model Work Health and Safety Regulations
Safe Work Australia monitors and improves the model WHS legislative framework.
Source library
· 8
5.7MB
2022-23.pdf
3.7MB
2023-24.pdf
3.7MB
2024-25.pdf
42KB
2025.pdf
68KB
2026_research_workplan_one_pager_March2026.pdf
3.4MB
national_return_to_work_strategy_2020-2030.pdf
180KB
Key-20work-20health-20and-20safety-20statistics-20Australia-202021.pdf
517KB
Strategy-for-Managing-Work-Related-Psychosocial-Hazards-FINAL-30SEPT.pdf
Bodies within the Employment and Workplace Relations portfolio
Office of the Fair Work Ombudsman
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Safe Work Australia
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Fair Work Commission
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Comcare
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Coal Mining Industry (Long Service Leave Funding) Corporation
Corporate Commonwealth Entity
Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Australian Skills Quality Authority (National Vocational Education and Training Regulator)
Non-corporate Commonwealth Entity
Jobs and Skills Australia Ministerial Advisory Board
Statutory Body
Federal Safety Commissioner
Statutory Body
National Workplace Relations Consultative Council
Statutory Body
Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
Statutory Body