On 27 March 2026, SafeWork NSW released its first half-yearly report as a standalone regulator. The headline most coverage led with was the prosecution rate: of 79 investigations completed and decided in the six months to 31 December 2025, 52 progressed to prosecution. That is a 66 per cent prosecution rate.

The more important story is the report itself.

The pattern

From 1 March 2026, SafeWork NSW is required by law to publish a report like this every six months, with specific reporting requirements covering psychosocial matters. The cadence is the operating system.

Every period that closes now produces a structured public account of requests for service, completed investigations, enforcement decisions, and active matters. Enforcement is no longer something that happens in the background and surfaces occasionally through a media release. It is documented, timestamped, and benchmarked against the previous period.

For the period 1 July to 31 December 2025, the published figures are:

• 7,570 requests for service across all work health and safety concerns

• 1,476 of those related to psychosocial harms (around 19 per cent)

• 79 investigations completed and decided

• 52 of those progressed to prosecution

• 168 active investigations as at 31 December 2025

The psychosocial figure is the one most organisations should sit with. Nearly 1,500 reports came in across six months. That is around eight psychosocial requests for service every day. The volume is no longer marginal.

What this looks like in practice

The 79 completed investigations cover serious matters: workplace fatalities, serious injuries or illnesses, and dangerous incidents. Not every psychosocial request becomes an investigation, and not every investigation becomes a prosecution. But the conversion rate from completed investigation to prosecution sits at 66 per cent, and 168 matters remain active heading into the next reporting period.

The point of half-yearly reporting is comparison. The next report will cover 1 January to 30 June 2026. Every six months after that, a public document will show whether psychosocial requests are climbing, whether investigation throughput is keeping pace, and whether the prosecution rate is holding. The figures become a trend, not a snapshot.

What to do about it

The question for organisations is no longer whether SafeWork NSW will report on its activity. It is what those reports will say about your sector when they land.

A defensible psychosocial programme produces the same evidence a regulator would want to see: a documented psychosocial hazard register and structured risk assessments, recorded consultation, and a clear audit trail of controls and evidence. That evidence either exists or it does not. Half-yearly reporting just shortens the window in which the gap becomes visible.

We track developments like this across every Australian jurisdiction in our regulatory updates. For a structured view of where your organisation sits against current regulator expectations, our readiness check is the place to start.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information on psychosocial compliance in Australian workplaces. It does not constitute legal advice. Organisations should consult qualified professionals for advice specific to their circumstances. Data cited is sourced from the SafeWork NSW First Half-Yearly Report covering 1 July to 31 December 2025, released 27 March 2026.