Work safety watchdog to enter 'new era' after review

Options are being developed for the government to consider on how the standalone regulator will function.

The government endorsed the review's recommendations and said it had already begun some of the recommended reforms since coming to power in March 2023.

Staff previously spread across the Department of Customer Service are being brought together and a review has begun of SafeWork NSW's ability to triage incidents and respond.

Inspectors will get more support and family members of people who are killed or seriously injured at work will get more information in relation to investigations, Work Health and Safety Minister Sophie Cotsis said.

"Worker safety is not red tape, it is not a tick a box function, it is not a cost of doing business," she said.

"It is a fundamental right for every worker to go to their job and come home safely."

The NSW government would not allow the regulator to be so badly compromised again, Ms Cotsis said.

SafeWork NSW acting deputy secretary Trent Curtin said the agency was entering a new era and the recommendations would help it become a strong and responsive health and safety regulator.

"With work already under way, SafeWork NSW will take all steps necessary to analyse our regulatory approaches and support systems to ensure best-practice work health and safety regulation for NSW workers."

Former Supreme Court judge Robert McDougall was asked to review SafeWork NSW in October 2022.

Mr McDougall previously reviewed Insurance and Care NSW and the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, and recommended a review into SafeWork.

The three agencies were created by the abolition of WorkCover in 2015.

Australian Associated Press