The NSW Government has now appointed the inaugural SafeWork Advisory Council, a key component of the Minns Labor Government’s reforms establishing SafeWork NSW as a standalone regulator.
The Council was created through changes to the Work Health and Safety Amendment (Standalone Regulator) Act 2025 to strengthen SafeWork NSW’s governance framework and ensure the regulator has access to diverse strategic advice on work health and safety risks, priorities and emerging issues.
The Council is chaired by Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan, a WHS Expert with over 40 years’ experience.
The tripartite Advisory Council brings together representatives of workers, employers, workplace safety experts and families with lived experience of losing a loved one to a workplace fatality to provide strategic advice to SafeWork NSW and the NSW Government.
Among its lived experience members is Debra Pascall, who tragically lost her son in a workplace incident in 2018 and has since become a passionate advocate for improving workplace safety and preventing future tragedies
The role of the Advisory Council is to:
- monitor emerging risks and trends in the field of work health and safety
- advise the SafeWork Commissioner on the strategic direction and priorities of SafeWork NSW
- advise the SafeWork Commissioner or the Minister on any matters referred to the Advisory Council by the SafeWork Commissioner or the Minister, and
- perform any other functions conferred on the Advisory Council by or under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 or the regulations, or another law.
The commencement of the Advisory Council will support SafeWork NSW in its regulatory efforts to prevent fatalities, serious injuries and illness.
Under the Act, the SafeWork Commissioner is required to consider the Council’s advice when setting the regulator’s strategic direction and priorities.
In 2025 there were 60 fatalities in NSW workplaces, with most of these occurring in the construction, transport and warehousing, and agriculture sectors.
The formal commencement of the SafeWork NSW Advisory Council brings to a close the work of the SafeWork NSW Interim Tripartite Reference Group. The group served as an interim measure prior to the establishment the Advisory Council.
The Interim Tripartite Reference Group played an important role in ensuring the perspectives of employers, unions, workers and government informed SafeWork NSW’s reform agenda and broader regulatory initiatives during the transition to a standalone regulator and we thank them for their service.
It also supported consideration of practical measures to strengthen work health and safety outcomes while formal governance and consultation arrangements were being established.
More details on the Advisory Council can be found on the SafeWork NSW website at https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/about-us/safework-nsw-advisory-council.
In line with SafeWork NSW’s reporting requirements, a summary of actions taken in response to advice from the SafeWork Advisory Council will be publicly reported.
Minister for Industrial Relations and Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis said:
“This is an historic day. This Advisory Council has been a long time coming and marks an important step in strengthening workplace safety in NSW.
“When we came to government, we committed to creating safer workplaces. We established SafeWork as a standalone regulator to strengthen accountability, transparency and its focus on keeping workers safe.
“To create safer workplaces, we need real-world insight. The Council’s tripartite model ensures workers, employers and experts help inform SafeWork’s strategic direction and regulatory decisions.
“By bringing diverse voices to the table, including business, industry, unions and lived experience representatives, we are ensuring workplace safety decisions are informed by practical expertise and emerging risks.”
SafeWork Commissioner Janet Schorer said:
“The primary objective of the Advisory Council is to ensure that SafeWork NSW considers the diverse perspectives of workers and their representatives, industry, subject matter experts and individuals with lived experience when setting its strategic direction and priorities.
“Their input and partnership will support SafeWork NSW in securing safer and healthier workplaces in NSW.”
Advisory Council Chair, Emeritus Professor Michael Quinlan said:
“It’s an honour to be chair of the SafeWork Advisory Council which is dedicated to improving safety outcomes for workplaces and families in New South Wales.
“The tripartite basis ensures that industry, unions and government get to work together, and we do it as a voice of expertise and lived experience.
“The model demonstrates best practice and provides the opportunity to have input and feedback on emerging issues warranting more attention.”
TWU Assistant Secretary Marija Marsic said:
“These lived experiences come to us from the coal face every single day.
“It’s so important for workers to have that representation from unions so we can advocate on their behalf in a way that is meaningful to policy and change.”
Business NSW Senior Project Manager Liz Greenwood said:
“It’s important to consider the perspectives of the many different voices on this council and to have those robust discussions before decisions that impact the safety of workers are made.”
Debra Pascall, Lived Experience Member said:
“I am honoured to have been appointed to the NSW SafeWork Advisory Council.
For me, safety is deeply personal after losing my son in a tragic, completely preventable workplace incident. Lived experience ensures the human impact of workplace harm remains at the centre of decision-making, reminding us that every policy and every regulation is ultimately about protecting people.
Every worker deserves to come home safely, and I hope my involvement in the advisory council contributes to this.”
