Melbourne WHS Transformation and Technology Summit 2027

Beat the rush and join us early for complimentary barista-made coffee and breakfast.

With Victoria's new Psychosocial Health Regulations and Compliance Code now in force under the OHS Act, and federal and state governments moving on laws against intrusive workplace surveillance, AI-driven rostering, algorithmic task allocation, and monitoring technology are no longer a grey area for employers.

This keynote frames the day: how digital work systems have quietly become a distinct OHS risk category in Victoria, and what the new regulatory settings actually require.

• Why digital work systems are now a distinct OHS risk under Victoria's psychosocial health framework, not just an IT or HR matter.
• What the Psychosocial Health Regulations and Compliance Code actually require of employers deploying these systems.
• Where accountability sits when a system, not a person, makes the risky decision, and how that differs from NSW's approach.

Officer due diligence duties under the WHS Act are under increasing scrutiny, and boards are being asked to demonstrate active oversight of safety, not just sign off on a report once a year.

This keynote covers what genuine due diligence looks like as WHS requirements evolve alongside new technology and psychosocial obligations.

• What "active" due diligence looks like in practice, beyond attending a briefing.
• How changing WHS requirements are raising the bar for what boards need to know and ask.
• Where officers are most exposed if safety governance doesn't keep pace.

Algorithmic rostering, performance scoring, and automated task allocation are increasingly recognised as sources of psychosocial harm, not just efficiency tools, and regulators are starting to treat them that way.

This panel examines where algorithmic management is creating genuine psychosocial risk, and what organisations can actually do about it without abandoning the technology.

• How algorithmic management practices are creating measurable psychosocial harm.
• What "reasonably practicable" looks like when the hazard is embedded in a system, not a manager.
• Practical controls that address the risk without simply banning the technology.

A case study on deploying wearable sensors and AI-driven risk assessment in a physically demanding work environment, covering what data was actually useful, what wasn't, and how the workforce responded to being monitored.

• What the wearable data actually revealed about real-world risk exposure.
• How they addressed workforce concerns about being tracked.
• The measurable safety outcome after rollout.

A hands-on, interactive session working through a real workplace health and safety scenario as a room. Details announced soon.

Paper-based SWMS processes are notoriously hard to keep current, hard to verify on site, and easy to treat as a compliance formality rather than a live safety tool.

This case study covers how one organisation moved SWMS onto a digital platform and what it took to make it a tool workers actually used, not just a form they signed.

• What was actually broken in their paper-based SWMS process.
• How they got frontline workers to engage with the digital version, not just tick it off.
• The compliance and incident impact after digitising.

Most safety data still gets analysed after an incident happens, when it's too late to prevent it.

This case study covers how one organisation built a leading-indicator approach, using existing operational data to flag risk before it became an incident.

• What data sources they used that weren't originally collected for safety purposes.
• How they built a leading-indicator model the safety team actually trusted.
• A real example of a risk caught and addressed before it caused harm.

Standard WHS communication and induction processes were largely built for a co-located, single-language workforce, an assumption that no longer holds for a lot of Australian workplaces.

This panel covers how organisations are adapting safety practice for workers who aren't on-site, aren't employees in the traditional sense, or don't share a first language with head office.

• Where standard WHS processes fail remote, gig, and dispersed workers.
• Practical approaches to multilingual safety communication that go beyond translated PDFs.
• Who holds WHS responsibility for gig and contracted workers, in practice.

Small-group, discussion-based sessions where you'll work through real workplace health and safety challenges with peers in similar roles. Roundtable topics will be announced soon.

Put your knowledge to the test in this fast-paced quiz covering real-world trivia, key concepts, and emerging trends. Compete for bragging rights — and a voucher — as the top scorer takes the crown.

High-risk environments, mining, construction, energy, don't have room for safety technology that fails in the field.

This case study covers a real deployment of safety technology in a high-risk setting, including what failed in early testing and what had to change before it was trusted on site.

• What failed in initial trials, and why.
• How they built frontline trust in the technology after a rocky start.
• The safety outcomes once the technology was fully adopted.

Psychological injury claims are rising sharply, and psychosocial safety has moved from a "nice to have" wellbeing initiative to a core WHS obligation with real legal weight.

This keynote makes the case for treating mental health as seriously as physical safety, and what that actually requires operationally.

• What's driving the rise in psychological injury claims, beyond "awareness".
• What treating psychosocial risk as seriously as physical risk actually looks like day to day.
• Where organisations are still treating mental health as a wellbeing perk rather than a WHS duty.

Monitoring technology can genuinely prevent harm, or it can become the psychosocial hazard it was meant to manage, and the line between the two isn't always obvious until it's crossed.

This closing session puts the trade-off directly to the room with live voting.

1. Does your organisation monitor workers in ways that go beyond what's needed for safety?
2. Have employees raised privacy or trust concerns about safety monitoring technology?
3. Who reviews whether your monitoring technology is still proportionate to the risk it addresses?
4. Is your workforce consulted before new monitoring technology is introduced?
5. Where should the line sit between safety monitoring and surveillance?

Unwind with your peers for a couple of drinks on us!

Beat the rush and join us early for complimentary barista-made coffee and breakfast.

With Victoria's new Psychosocial Health Regulations and Compliance Code now in force under the OHS Act, and federal and state governments moving on laws against intrusive workplace surveillance, AI-driven rostering, algorithmic task allocation, and monitoring technology are no longer a grey area for employers.

This keynote frames the day: how digital work systems have quietly become a distinct OHS risk category in Victoria, and what the new regulatory settings actually require.

• Why digital work systems are now a distinct OHS risk under Victoria's psychosocial health framework, not just an IT or HR matter.
• What the Psychosocial Health Regulations and Compliance Code actually require of employers deploying these systems.
• Where accountability sits when a system, not a person, makes the risky decision, and how that differs from NSW's approach.

Officer due diligence duties under the WHS Act are under increasing scrutiny, and boards are being asked to demonstrate active oversight of safety, not just sign off on a report once a year.

This keynote covers what genuine due diligence looks like as WHS requirements evolve alongside new technology and psychosocial obligations.

• What "active" due diligence looks like in practice, beyond attending a briefing.
• How changing WHS requirements are raising the bar for what boards need to know and ask.
• Where officers are most exposed if safety governance doesn't keep pace.

Algorithmic rostering, performance scoring, and automated task allocation are increasingly recognised as sources of psychosocial harm, not just efficiency tools, and regulators are starting to treat them that way.

This panel examines where algorithmic management is creating genuine psychosocial risk, and what organisations can actually do about it without abandoning the technology.

• How algorithmic management practices are creating measurable psychosocial harm.
• What "reasonably practicable" looks like when the hazard is embedded in a system, not a manager.
• Practical controls that address the risk without simply banning the technology.

A case study on deploying wearable sensors and AI-driven risk assessment in a physically demanding work environment, covering what data was actually useful, what wasn't, and how the workforce responded to being monitored.

• What the wearable data actually revealed about real-world risk exposure.
• How they addressed workforce concerns about being tracked.
• The measurable safety outcome after rollout.

A hands-on, interactive session working through a real workplace health and safety scenario as a room. Details announced soon.

Paper-based SWMS processes are notoriously hard to keep current, hard to verify on site, and easy to treat as a compliance formality rather than a live safety tool.

This case study covers how one organisation moved SWMS onto a digital platform and what it took to make it a tool workers actually used, not just a form they signed.

• What was actually broken in their paper-based SWMS process.
• How they got frontline workers to engage with the digital version, not just tick it off.
• The compliance and incident impact after digitising.

Most safety data still gets analysed after an incident happens, when it's too late to prevent it.

This case study covers how one organisation built a leading-indicator approach, using existing operational data to flag risk before it became an incident.

• What data sources they used that weren't originally collected for safety purposes.
• How they built a leading-indicator model the safety team actually trusted.
• A real example of a risk caught and addressed before it caused harm.

Standard WHS communication and induction processes were largely built for a co-located, single-language workforce, an assumption that no longer holds for a lot of Australian workplaces.

This panel covers how organisations are adapting safety practice for workers who aren't on-site, aren't employees in the traditional sense, or don't share a first language with head office.

• Where standard WHS processes fail remote, gig, and dispersed workers.
• Practical approaches to multilingual safety communication that go beyond translated PDFs.
• Who holds WHS responsibility for gig and contracted workers, in practice.

Small-group, discussion-based sessions where you'll work through real workplace health and safety challenges with peers in similar roles. Roundtable topics will be announced soon.

Put your knowledge to the test in this fast-paced quiz covering real-world trivia, key concepts, and emerging trends. Compete for bragging rights — and a voucher — as the top scorer takes the crown.

High-risk environments, mining, construction, energy, don't have room for safety technology that fails in the field.

This case study covers a real deployment of safety technology in a high-risk setting, including what failed in early testing and what had to change before it was trusted on site.

• What failed in initial trials, and why.
• How they built frontline trust in the technology after a rocky start.
• The safety outcomes once the technology was fully adopted.

Psychological injury claims are rising sharply, and psychosocial safety has moved from a "nice to have" wellbeing initiative to a core WHS obligation with real legal weight.

This keynote makes the case for treating mental health as seriously as physical safety, and what that actually requires operationally.

• What's driving the rise in psychological injury claims, beyond "awareness".
• What treating psychosocial risk as seriously as physical risk actually looks like day to day.
• Where organisations are still treating mental health as a wellbeing perk rather than a WHS duty.

Monitoring technology can genuinely prevent harm, or it can become the psychosocial hazard it was meant to manage, and the line between the two isn't always obvious until it's crossed.

This closing session puts the trade-off directly to the room with live voting.

1. Does your organisation monitor workers in ways that go beyond what's needed for safety?
2. Have employees raised privacy or trust concerns about safety monitoring technology?
3. Who reviews whether your monitoring technology is still proportionate to the risk it addresses?
4. Is your workforce consulted before new monitoring technology is introduced?
5. Where should the line sit between safety monitoring and surveillance?

Unwind with your peers for a couple of drinks on us!