What changes when NSW WHS s26A takes effect on 1 July 2026
Codes of Practice in New South Wales become enforceable duties under section 26A of the WHS Act. Here is what that means for your SWMS, your training records and your audit programme.
On 1 July 2026, section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) takes effect. From that date, an approved Code of Practice in NSW is no longer just admissible evidence of how to comply with a duty. It sets out a duty in its own right. If you do not follow the Code, the regulator and the courts can treat that as a breach of the WHS Act unless you can show you achieved an equivalent or better outcome by another means.
That is a meaningful shift for Australian SMEs operating in New South Wales. Here is the practical impact, and what RAE IQ already does about it.
What actually changes
Before 1 July 2026, an inspector pointing at the How to Manage Work Health and Safety RisksCode of Practice could say “a court would expect you to have done this.” After 1 July, the inspector can say “you were required to do this, or you must show you did something equivalent.” The burden of proof shifts to the duty holder.
For a small construction business that has been writing site-specific SWMS without checking against the construction Code of Practice, the gap just got bigger. For a healthcare provider that hasn't yet documented its psychosocial controls against the new psychosocial Code, the gap just got bigger too.
Where most teams will get caught
- SWMS that don't cite the construction Code. Generic SWMS templates rarely reference the relevant clauses of the construction Code of Practice. Post-26A, that is a documented shortfall.
- Psychosocial controls that haven't been documented. The psychosocial Code requires a structured approach to identifying, assessing and controlling psychosocial hazards. If you have a handful of EAP brochures and an annual survey, you do not yet meet the Code.
- Manual handling, hazardous chemicals, falls. Each has its own Code. Each becomes an enforceable duty.
- Audit programmes that ignore the Codes.An ISO 45001 audit that doesn't map findings against the relevant Codes will miss the new compliance gap.
What RAE IQ already does
Every NSW SWMS, risk assessment and toolbox talk drafted by RAE IQ already cites the relevant Code of Practice clauses for the activity. We do this because we built the platform on a 7-tier authority hierarchy where Codes sit in tier 1 (binding) for NSW, because we anticipated this transition.
On the registers side:
- The psychosocial register maps to ISO 45003 and the Safe Work Australia psychosocial Code, so your control plan satisfies both the Code and the Standard.
- The compliance check engine scans your reference documents (SOPs, policies, existing SWMS) against the Code requirements and surfaces gaps with citations.
- Regulatory updates land in your dashboard within 48 hours of a Code revision being published.
What you should do this quarter
- Pull a list of every Code that applies to your operations. For most NSW SMEs that's 4–8 Codes: construction, falls, manual handling, hazardous chemicals, psychosocial, electrical (if applicable), and the two general Codes (risk management and consultation).
- Run a compliance scan against your existing safety documents.
- Update your audit programme to tag findings against Code clauses (not just ISO 45001 clauses).
- For psychosocial specifically, stand up a register before 1 July if you don't have one. The Code is explicit about needing one.
If you want a hand, start free and run the compliance check on three of your existing documents. You will know within an hour where the gaps are.