This April update summarises the legislation and regulations flagged in our register for the month across Western Australia, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, New South Wales and the Commonwealth.
While the underlying amendments and operational impacts vary by instrument, the April register shows recurring activity across public sector governance, health and medicines administration, child safety obligations, infrastructure and utilities regulation, environmental controls, emergency management, and privacy and information handling.
At a glance
- Western Australia (WA) — 13 instruments. Notable items include the Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024, Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004, Workers Compensation and Injury Management Regulations 2024, and Financial Management Act 2006.
- Victoria (VIC) — 8 instruments. Notable items include the Building Act 1993, Electricity Safety Act 1998, Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022, and Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Act 2024.
- South Australia (SA) — 4 instruments. Notable items include the Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Regulations 2021, TAFE SA Act 2025, and South Australian Skills Act 2008.
- Tasmania (TAS) — 3 instruments. Notable items include the Petroleum Reporting (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026, Urban Drainage (General) Regulations 2026, and Child and Youth Safe Organisations Amendment Regulations 2026.
- New South Wales (NSW) — 1 instrument. Notable item: Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008.
- Commonwealth (FED/Cth) — 5 instruments. Notable items include the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006, Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999, and Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Act 2026.
What this means for organisations
If any of the instruments below touch your operations, it is worth reviewing whether your organisation has any policies, procedures, training, registers or governance controls that need updating.
The April register suggests several practical focus areas:
- Governance and accountability remain a strong theme, particularly in WA and VIC, with updates affecting privacy, information access, financial management, ombudsman and commissioner oversight, and parliamentary workplace standards.
- Operational compliance is also prominent, especially for organisations involved in construction, electricity, pipelines, public health, emergency response, agriculture, and environmental management.
- People and workforce obligations continue to expand through child safety, workers compensation, superannuation, professional regulation, skills and education reform.
- Sector-specific risk is especially relevant for businesses in healthcare, energy, education, infrastructure, public administration, and regulated supply chains.
For many organisations, the most sensible next step is to:
- confirm whether the legislation applies directly to your sector or operating model,
- review any current procedures or registers that may be affected,
- identify any training or role-based obligations that may need updating, and
- document decisions and actions for audit, assurance and governance purposes.
Quick reference
| Legislation | State | Summary | Recommendation |
| Petroleum Reporting (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 2026 | TAS | This amendment tightens reporting timelines and updates data submission requirements for petroleum exploration and extraction activities in Tasmania, aiming for greater environmental oversight and real-time state monitoring. | Ensure your environmental and operational teams review the new reporting schedules immediately. Update your internal compliance calendars to ensure data submissions are automated or flagged early to avoid strict late-submission penalties. |
| Building Services (Registration) Regulations 2011 | WA | Recent changes refine the licensing and registration criteria for building service providers. The update introduces stricter continued professional development (CPD) requirements to maintain active, legal builder status. | Audit your current roster of contractors, sub-contractors, and employed builders to ensure their registrations remain active under the new rules. Implement an HR tracking system to monitor their CPD progress against the updated requirements. |
| Emergency Management Regulations 2006 | WA | These updates expand the state’s powers during declared emergencies, explicitly outlining the responsibilities of essential service providers and altering the protocols for how resources can be requisitioned. | Your risk management and business continuity teams should revise the company’s disaster response plans. Ensure your operational workflows align with new state protocols, particularly if your business operates within essential supply chains. |
| Urban Drainage (General) Regulations 2026 | TAS | This new regulation introduces stringent environmental runoff standards and harsher penalties for the unauthorized discharge of commercial or industrial waste into public stormwater systems, protecting local waterways. | Facilities managers should conduct a thorough inspection of current site drainage systems and chemical spill-containment protocols. Schedule a site audit to guarantee zero non-compliant runoff from your premises. |
| Child and Youth Safe Organisations Amendment Regulations 2026 | TAS | This vital amendment strengthens mandatory reporting frameworks and requires organizations working with children to adopt more rigorous, documented background checking and localized child safety policies. | HR must urgently conduct an audit of all staff and volunteers who interact with minors. Overhaul your internal Child Safety Policy document to explicitly reflect the newly mandated state standards and ensure all vetting is up to date. |
| Working with Children (Screening) Act 2004 | WA | This update significantly broadens the legal definition of “child-related work.” This means more roles now legally require a valid Working with Children (WWC) check, backed by harsher penalties for employer non-compliance. | Review all job descriptions across your organization. Identify roles that are newly captured under the broadened definitions and mandate WWC screening for those employees before they are permitted to resume standard duties. |
| Privacy and Responsible Information Sharing Act 2024 | WA | A major legislative overhaul establishing a formal, modernized framework for how personal data is collected, stored, and shared in WA, bringing the state closer to strict international data protection standards. | Your IT and legal compliance teams must perform a comprehensive data mapping exercise. Update external privacy policies, ensure explicit user consent mechanisms are in place, and restrict internal data access to necessary personnel only. |
| Public Health Act 2016 | WA | Recent amendments focus on communicable disease management, enhancing the state’s ability to mandate localized health reporting, testing, and operational restrictions during health crises. | Update your internal occupational health and safety (OHS) manuals regarding infectious diseases in the workplace. Establish clear, pre-approved communication channels for rapid health-related HR updates to your staff. |
| Evidence Act 1906 | WA | This update modernizes how digital evidence and vulnerable witness testimonies are handled in legal proceedings, officially acknowledging the shift toward cloud-based communications and digital footprints. | Review your organization’s record-keeping, email, and digital communication archiving policies. Ensure that electronic records are stored immutably and are easily retrievable in case they are ever required for legal discovery. |
| Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1971 | WA | Expands the investigative jurisdiction of the WA Ombudsman, particularly regarding the handling of complaints against public authorities and private entities providing outsourced services on behalf of the government. | If your business holds contracts with the WA government, immediately review your public complaints handling procedures to ensure total transparency, thorough documentation, and readiness for potential Ombudsman audits. |
| Financial Management Act 2006 | WA | Introduces stricter auditing, reporting, and transparency requirements for state agencies and entities managing public funds, aiming to reduce financial mismanagement and improve fiscal accountability. | Financial controllers in government-adjacent organizations or agencies should review their financial reporting timelines. Tighten internal audit controls to align with the heightened state transparency metrics. |
| Fuel, Energy and Power Resources (State of Emergency) Regulations 2026 | WA | Grants the state immediate control over fuel distribution, pricing caps, and rationing protocols during declared energy crises to ensure critical state infrastructure remains powered. | Logistics, operations, and fleet managers must develop robust contingency plans for sudden fuel shortages. Consider diversifying your energy sources or securing priority-supply contracts for emergency scenarios. |
| Workers Compensation and Injury Management Regulations 2024 | WA | This update modernizes the claims process for workplace injuries, adjusts compensation caps, and places a heavier emphasis on employer-facilitated return-to-work programs. | HR and OH&S managers must update internal injury reporting workflows. Ensure your return-to-work frameworks are legally compliant and that staff are educated on the new streamlined claims process. |
| State Superannuation Regulations 2001 | WA | Introduces administrative tweaks to state-backed superannuation funds, altering contribution reporting timelines and adjusting compliance protocols for government-aligned entities. | Payroll and finance departments, particularly those managing public sector or state-contracted employees, should audit their current superannuation contribution schedules to align with the new reporting deadlines. |
| Freedom of Information Regulations 1993 | WA | Refines the Freedom of Information (FOI) framework by updating application fees, shortening mandated response timelines, and formally standardizing digital document delivery. | Legal and records management teams must update their FOI handling procedures. Implementing a centralized digital archiving system is highly recommended to meet the new, faster turnaround requirements. |
| Biosecurity and Agriculture Management Regulations 2013 | WA | Enacts stricter controls on agricultural pests, updates state import restrictions, and mandates faster reporting of biosecurity threats to protect the state’s agriculture sector. | Agribusinesses, freight forwards, and logistics operators must immediately review their supply chain compliance. Ensure staff are trained to identify and report new biosecurity hazards during transit and receiving. |
| Ombudsman Act 1973 | VIC | Victoria has expanded the investigative jurisdiction of the state Ombudsman. The office now has greater authority to investigate private contractors and NGOs that receive public funding to deliver state services. | If your private organization delivers publicly funded services in Victoria, conduct an internal audit of your transparency and complaint-handling processes. You are now held to the same accountability standards as public agencies. |
| Pipelines Act 2005 | VIC | Focuses on environmental risk mitigation by introducing enhanced safety reporting, stricter construction codes, and more rigorous maintenance schedules for gas and liquid pipelines. | Infrastructure and engineering teams must review active pipeline projects and maintenance logs. Update your compliance checklists to ensure upcoming safety audits meet the elevated state standards. |
| Single-use and Other Plastic Products (Waste Avoidance) Regulations 2021 | SA | South Australia activates its next phase of plastic bans, outlawing additional items such as specific types of plastic takeaway containers, barrier bags, and single-use event plastics. | Retail, hospitality, and event management businesses must urgently purge these banned plastics from their inventory. Secure compliant, compostable alternatives from your suppliers immediately to avoid strict enforcement fines. |
| Health Services Act 1988 | VIC | Modernizes state health service delivery by updating protocols around digital patient records, cross-agency data sharing, and the governance structures of public health boards. | Healthcare providers and medical administrators must review their IT interoperability and patient data privacy protocols, ensuring systems are secure yet capable of compliant cross-agency information sharing. |
| Building Act 1993 | VIC | Continues the crackdown on unsafe construction by tightening the rules around non-compliant building materials (such as combustible cladding) and mandating structural integrity reporting at more project stages. | Construction firms, developers, and project managers must update their materials sourcing policies. Ensure mandatory structural inspections are hardcoded into your project timelines to avoid state-issued stop-work orders. |
| Electricity Industry Act 2000 | VIC | Adapts the industry framework to better support the renewable energy transition. It includes updated rules for solar/wind grid connections, localized energy generation, and new consumer protection standards. | Energy retailers, developers of renewable projects, and large-scale industrial consumers should review tariff structures and grid-connection compliance to take advantage of new frameworks and avoid regulatory breaches. |
| Electricity Safety Act 1998 | VIC | Introduces harsher penalties for unlicensed electrical work and updates the mandatory safety clearance zones around major electrical infrastructure and public worksites. | Site managers must ensure every electrical contractor on-site holds a valid, current license. Update your worksite safety briefings to strictly enforce the new clearance zones around live infrastructure. |
| Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022 | VIC | Shifts mental health from a secondary concern to a primary operational mandate. It requires public institutions and large workplaces to embed proactive mental health and wellbeing frameworks into their daily operations. | HR departments should move beyond basic Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Conduct a workplace wellbeing audit and establish proactive, documented mental health support structures to meet the state’s new operational expectations. |
| Parliamentary Workplace Standards and Integrity Act 2024 | VIC | This newly enacted legislation establishes strict, independent oversight of parliamentary and public sector workplaces in Victoria, mandating zero-tolerance policies for misconduct, bullying, and institutional corruption. | Organizations that lobby, consult for, or contract with the Victorian government must align their internal conduct policies with these new public sector standards. Ensure your executives and government-liaison staff undergo updated ethics and compliance training. |
| Income Tax (Transitional Provisions) Act 1997 | FED | The federal government has rolled out updates to transitional tax provisions, which alter the timelines for corporate asset depreciation, capital gains restructuring, and certain business tax offsets. | Chief Financial Officers and external accountants must review their end-of-financial-year (EOFY) tax strategies immediately. Recalibrate your asset ledgers to ensure you aren’t claiming outdated depreciation offsets that could trigger an ATO audit. |
| Superannuation Act 1990 | FED | Recent federal adjustments tighten the administrative and reporting requirements for employer-managed superannuation contributions, with a focus on increasing penalties for delayed payments and poor fund governance. | Payroll and HR departments must urgently audit their superannuation clearing-house workflows. Ensure your systems are automated to meet the stricter federal payment deadlines, preventing both financial penalties and employee grievances. |
| Universities Accord (Australian Tertiary Education Commission) Act 2026 | FED | A landmark federal reform that formally establishes the Australian Tertiary Education Commission to oversee funding, operational compliance, and standard-setting across the national higher education and vocational sectors. | Universities, TAFEs, and Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) must familiarize their governance boards with the new Commission’s framework. Prepare to adjust future funding applications, compliance reporting, and student management strategies to align with this new federal body. |
| Anti‑Money Laundering and Counter‑Terrorism Financing Act 2006 | FED | A critical federal expansion that introduces tighter reporting thresholds and extends AML/CTF obligations to a broader net of professions, including real estate agents, legal practitioners, and accountants (“Tranche 2” reforms). | If your business has newly fallen under this legislation, you must urgently implement a formalized AML/CTF compliance program. Update your Know Your Customer (KYC) onboarding protocols and train staff on identifying and reporting suspicious financial activities. |
| Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 | FED | Driven by “Nature Positive” federal initiatives, these updates mandate significantly more rigorous environmental impact assessments, longer approval timelines, and stricter biodiversity offset requirements for major infrastructure and mining projects. | Developers, mining executives, and large-scale agricultural businesses must recalibrate their project timelines and budgets. Engage environmental consultants earlier in your project lifecycles, as federal approval processes will now require deeper, more heavily scrutinized data. |
| Poisons and Therapeutic Goods Regulation 2008 | NSW | New South Wales has tightened controls on the prescription, storage, and dispensing of Schedule 4 and Schedule 8 drugs. The update legally mandates the use of real-time prescription monitoring systems to combat pharmaceutical abuse. | Pharmacies, medical clinics, and aged-care facilities in NSW must immediately audit their secure drug storage protocols. Ensure your IT infrastructure is seamlessly integrated with the state’s mandatory real-time prescription monitoring software to avoid loss of licensing. |
| TAFE SA Act 2025 | SA | This legislation heavily restructures South Australia’s public vocational education governance, pivoting funding models to directly align with real-time local industry skill shortages (such as defense, green energy, and construction). | Industry partners and employers in high-demand sectors should review their workforce pipelines. Take advantage of the newly subsidized TAFE training pathways by actively partnering with the institution to secure skilled graduates for your business. |
| South Australian Skills Act 2008 | SA | Updates to this act focus on safeguarding apprentices and trainees. It introduces stricter vetting for employers hosting trainees, mandates higher quality workplace supervision, and simplifies the dispute resolution process for students. | Businesses employing apprentices must review their current training contracts. Ensure that your designated workplace supervisors possess the correct credentials and that your training environment strictly adheres to the elevated state-mandated quality standards. |
| Legal Practicioners Act 1981 | SA | Modernizes the regulatory framework for lawyers operating in South Australia. The updates introduce modernized rules for digital-era legal practice, mandate stricter audits for legal trust accounts, and update Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements. | Law firm partners and legal practice managers must immediately review their trust account handling procedures and software. Ensure all practicing solicitors are on track to meet the newly updated CPD obligations to maintain their practicing certificates. |
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