Australia: Inside Safety podcast series - Episode 3, Part 1 - Director's Duties

Recorded 24 June 2025

In part one of our Inside Safety podcast series exploring directors’ duties, Steve Bell, Aaron Anderson and Olga Klimczak delve into the evolving case law on responsibilities of officers under the Model Work Health and Safety laws and internationally.

Through recent case law updates, the episode unpacks the key legal principles and explores the practical implications for directors. We analyse how directors can assess whether they’ve met their duty - by understanding the risks that occur within their business operations, applying appropriate resources, and verifying the effectiveness of controls. The discussion then offers practical insights into what reasonable steps look like, including the extent to which directors can reasonably rely on others within the business, and the importance of maintaining documentation as evidence of challenge and oversight.

With regulators increasingly focused on senior leadership, this episode is a timely call to action for boards to move beyond paper obligations and engage meaningfully with safety governance.