Integrated governance, risk, safety and compliance management for government and semi-government organisations

What’s required of your organisation

Government and semi-government organisations sit at the intersection of work health and safety law and public sector governance frameworks. Riskteq is built around the realities of both:

WHS duties as a PCBU — Government agencies, statutory authorities, councils and semi-government bodies are persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) under the model WHS Act, with the same primary duty as any other employer to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers, contractors, volunteers and members of the public affected by their operations. This spans everything from depot and field operations to office-based and community-facing roles.

Officer due diligence — Senior executives, agency heads and statutory office holders carry personal due diligence duties under WHS law, requiring them to actively verify, not just assume, that their organisation has appropriate resources, processes and risk controls in place. This sits alongside, and is increasingly tested against, broader public sector accountability obligations.

Psychosocial hazards and occupational violence — Nearly every Australian jurisdiction now requires proactive identification, assessment and control of psychosocial hazards, including bullying, fatigue, excessive workloads, low job control and role ambiguity. For government organisations, occupational violence and aggression from the public, directed at frontline counter staff, field officers, compliance and enforcement teams, and call centre workers, is a well-recognised and foreseeable psychosocial hazard requiring the same systematic risk management as any physical hazard.

Public sector risk management frameworks — Commonwealth entities must comply with the Commonwealth Risk Management Policy under the PGPA Act, with Accountable Authorities required to maintain appropriate risk management systems. State and territory agencies operate under equivalent Treasury policies, such as NSW Treasury’s Internal Audit and Risk Management Policy (TPP20-08), which set minimum standards for risk management, internal audit and Audit and Risk Committees. These sit on top of, and must be coordinated with, WHS obligations rather than managed in a separate silo.

Integrity, fraud and corruption frameworks — Government organisations face mandatory integrity obligations administered by bodies such as ICAC, the NSW Public Sector Commission, and equivalent state integrity agencies, alongside Public Interest Disclosure (whistleblower) legislation. Self-identified gaps in integrity or risk maturity create an ongoing obligation to act, and unresolved weaknesses are increasingly scrutinised through investigations, disclosures and audits.

Three lines of accountability — Effective public sector risk management is built on operational managers owning risk day-to-day, risk and compliance functions providing oversight, and internal audit providing independent assurance, all reporting through to Audit and Risk Committees and ultimately the Accountable Authority or governing body. Demonstrating this model in practice, with consistent, auditable evidence, is central to satisfying both WHS regulators and public sector oversight bodies.

This information is provided as general guidance and does not constitute legal advice. Riskteq recommends organisations seek advice specific to their jurisdiction, entity type and governing legislation.