There is something deeply unsettling about being told “Thank you for speaking up” when your life is already in pieces because of regulatory failure and maladministration.
That was the automated response I received from SafeWork NSW on 11 December 2021.
A reference number.
A timestamp.
A polite acknowledgement.
And absolutely no protection.
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| When safety becomes a system failure — and the worker is left unprotected. |
By that point, this was not a new story.
This was not a minor workplace concern.
This was a documented, escalating work health and safety crisis involving serious psychosocial hazards — the very risks that the Work Health and Safety (WHS) framework is designed to prevent.
And yet, I found myself writing words no worker should ever have to write:
“Serious psychosocial hazards now risking a life…”
I was describing lived, ongoing harm.
I was fighting to save my life.
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When the Regulator Becomes the Risk
By December 2021, I had already reported:
- stalking
- intimidation
- bullying
- harassment
- workplace mobbing
Not just against me — but extending to my family.
These were not hidden risks.
They were known.
They were reported.
They were foreseeable.
And yet, they were not stopped.
The role of SafeWork NSW under the WHS Act is clear:
To identify, investigate, and eliminate or control risks to health and safety, including psychological health.
Instead, what I experienced was something far more dangerous:
Inaction. Minimisation. And abandonment.
And worse. Victim blaming.
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A System That Knew — And Still Did Nothing
What makes this moment so significant is not just what I reported.
It is what had already happened before this report was lodged.
- A workers compensation claim was already in place
- An Injury Management Plan had already been agreed
- A treating doctor was already involved
- The hazards — and the source of those hazards — had already been identified
And yet:
- The case manager who implemented the plan was removed
- No replacement was provided
- The plan was not enforced
- The workplace hazards were not controlled
The system didn’t fail because it didn’t know.
The system failed because it chose not to act.
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“Don’t Patronise Me With Numbers”
When I lodged that safety concern, I wasn’t asking for sympathy.
I was asking for action.
I made that clear:
“Don’t you dare send bullshit numbers and patronise me. I have a right to a voice in my own recovery…”
Because by then, I understood something most people don’t realise until it’s too late:
A reference number is not safety.
An email confirmation is not enforcement.
A policy is not protection.
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The Illusion of “Mentally Healthy Workplaces”
On that same day, I wrote again — this time calling out the gap between what is promised and what is done.
“We don’t need a safe work month — we just need SafeWork NSW to do their job.”
Because the reality I was living did not reflect the glossy language of strategies and campaigns.
It reflected something else entirely:
- A regulator unwilling to intervene
- A system that deflected responsibility
- A worker left exposed to ongoing harm
The language of “mentally healthy workplaces” means nothing if it is not enforced when it matters most.
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Psychosocial Hazards Are Not Optional Risks
Psychological injury is not secondary.
Psychosocial hazards are not “soft risks.”
Under the WHS framework, they carry the same weight as physical hazards.
They are:
- foreseeable
- preventable
- and legally required to be managed
What I experienced was the opposite:
A workplace hazard left uncontrolled.
A worker left unprotected.
A regulator that did not intervene.
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This Was a Turning Point
11 December 2021 was not just another report.
It was a line in the sand.
It was the moment where the reality became undeniable:
The system designed to keep workers safe had become part of the harm.
And once that happens, the consequences are not just procedural.
They are human.
They are psychological.
They are, in some cases, life-threatening.
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The Question That Still Remains
When a worker reports serious psychosocial hazards…
When those hazards are known…
When the risk is escalating…
And when the regulator has the power to act…
What does it mean when nothing is done?
Source: contemporaneous record of events - Document 229.
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Legal Accountability — WHS Duties vs Conduct
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW), the obligations are clear, enforceable, and non-negotiable.
A Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) — in this case, Australian Catholic University — is legally required to:
- ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers
- eliminate or minimise risks to both physical and psychological health
- provide a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
- implement systems for safe work, supervision, and support
At the same time, SafeWork NSW, as the regulator, is responsible for:
- enforcing compliance with the WHS Act
- investigating reported hazards and breaches
- taking regulatory action where there is a risk of serious harm
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What the Law Requires vs What Occurred
The Law Requires:
- Psychosocial hazards to be identified and controlled
- Injured workers to be protected from further harm
- Known risks to be acted on promptly
- Regulators to intervene where there is risk to life or safety
What Occurred:
- Reported psychosocial hazards were not effectively controlled
- The source of harm was not removed or managed
- The worker remained exposed to ongoing risk
- The regulator did not take effective enforcement action
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Why This Matters
This is not a disagreement about process.
This is a question of statutory compliance.
Where there is:
- a known hazard
- a foreseeable risk
- and a failure to act
the issue moves beyond administrative delay and into potential:
- breach of WHS duties
- failure of regulatory enforcement
- and systemic risk to worker safety
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The law exists to prevent exactly this kind of harm.
When it is not enforced, the consequences are lived.
They are cumulative.
And they are, in some cases, irreversible.
