New WHS Rules for Digital Work Systems Just Passed in NSW — Here's What Workshop Operators Need to Know

david richardson
Mar 26
4 min read

Published by AutoComply360 | Auto Workshop Safety Compliance

Overloaded truck broken down — digital work systems overloading workers carry the same risk under new NSW WHS legislation

New South Wales just passed legislation that extends WorkSafe obligations to digital tools used in the workplace. If your workshop uses software to schedule jobs, track staff, or manage compliance — this affects you.

On 12 February 2026, a piece of legislation quietly passed both houses of the New South Wales Parliament that most workshop operators probably didn't notice. That's understandable — it didn't make the front page of the trade press, and on the surface it sounds like something aimed at warehouses and gig economy platforms.

But read it carefully and there's a direct line to how automotive workshops operate today. If your business uses any digital tools to allocate work, schedule tasks, track technician performance, or manage compliance — you need to know what changed.

Here's the plain-language version.

What actually passed

The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2026 (NSW) introduces new obligations under the existing Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The core of it is this: if you're a Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking — which includes any workshop owner or operator — and you use what the legislation calls a "digital work system," you now have specific new duties around how that system affects your workers.

A digital work system is defined broadly as "an algorithm, artificial intelligence, automation or online platform." That's a wide net. It captures job management software, digital scheduling tools, performance dashboards, and yes — compliance platforms that allocate tasks or track completion.

What the new duties actually require

The new section 21A inserted into the WHS Act says that a PCBU must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that work allocated by a digital work system doesn't create or result in:

Excessive or unreasonable workloads
Unreasonable performance metrics or targets used to assess workers
Excessive or unreasonable monitoring or surveillance
Unlawful discriminatory practices or decision-making

These obligations sit on top of your existing WHS duties — they don't replace them. You still have all the same responsibilities you had before. You now have additional ones layered on top if you're using digital tools to manage work.

The inspection angle — and this is the part worth sitting up for

The legislation also expands the powers of WHS entry permit holders. Under the new provisions, a permit holder who reasonably suspects a WHS contravention can require you to provide access to and assistance with inspecting the relevant digital work system.

In plain terms: if there's a suspected WHS issue in your workshop and you're using a digital tool that's connected to how work gets allocated or how people are managed, an inspector can now ask to look at it.

They need to give you at least 48 hours notice and no more than 14 days notice. But the right to inspect is now there in legislation.

Does this apply outside NSW?

Right now, this is a NSW-specific amendment. But the legislation specifically anticipates national reform — the Minister is required to review the amendments once Safe Work Australia develops national model WHS laws addressing similar matters. If the history of WHS legislation in Australia is any guide, national consistency tends to follow state-level reform. It's worth watching.

What should workshop operators do now?

The practical steps are straightforward, even if they take some time to work through properly:

First, go through the digital tools your workshop uses — scheduling software, job management platforms, compliance tracking systems, anything that allocates tasks or monitors performance — and ask honestly whether they fit the definition of a digital work system under the new legislation.

Second, if they do, conduct a hazard assessment. The question to answer is whether the way those systems allocate work could create the kinds of risks the legislation identifies — unreasonable workloads, unfair performance tracking, excessive monitoring.

Third, update your WHS risk assessment procedures to include digital systems. This isn't optional going forward — it's a documented obligation.

Fourth, get your policies and procedures in order so they address the new risks specifically. Vague general WHS policies won't cut it if you're ever asked to demonstrate compliance with section 21A.

Finally, start thinking now about how you'd respond if a WHS entry permit holder requested access to inspect one of your digital systems. Knowing the process — 48 hours minimum notice, guidelines from SafeWork NSW still to be published — means you won't be caught flat-footed.

The bigger picture

What this legislation signals, beyond its specific provisions, is a direction of travel. Regulators are now looking at digital tools through a WHS lens — not just physical hazards like hoists, chemicals, and manual handling. The definition of a safe workplace is expanding to include how digital systems interact with the people doing the work.

For workshop operators who've been heads-down on the physical compliance side — and rightly so, given the stakes — this is a prompt to look up and take stock of the digital layer too.

The good news is that the obligations aren't unreasonable. They're asking you to think carefully about whether the tools you're using to run your business are creating risks for your people — and to document that you've thought about it. That's manageable, if you start now rather than waiting for an incident to prompt the conversation.

A note on compliance platforms specifically

If you're using a digital platform to manage WorkSafe compliance across your workshop — including scheduling inspections, tracking completion, and recording outcomes — it's worth asking your provider directly how their system is designed in light of these new obligations. Specifically: does the way the system allocates tasks and tracks performance create any of the risks identified in section 21A? A good provider should be able to answer that clearly.

At AutoComply360, we designed our platform specifically for the Australian automotive industry and with the Australian regulatory environment in mind. If you have questions about how the new NSW legislation intersects with digital compliance management in your workshop, we're happy to talk it through. This post is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified legal or WHS professional for advice specific to your situation Book a demo with someone who actually understands workshops.