A bill that aims to be passed by the NSW government requiring businesses to provide union officials with access to digital work systems has caused an uproar amongst industry organisations who say the legislation is a "sledgehammer" with "serious unintended consequences".
The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2026, currently sitting with the Legislative Council of the NSW government, seeks to 'make it a primary duty of care for a person conducting a business or undertaking to ensure that the health and safety of workers is not put at risk from the use of a digital work system'.
The amendment will 'require the relevant person conducting a business or undertaking to provide the WHS entry permit holder with reasonable assistance to access and inspect a digital work system relevant to the suspected contravention'.
The bill defines a 'digital work system' as 'an algorithm, artificial intelligence, automation or online platform'.
The bill states that business owners must consider whether the allocation of work by or using a digital work system creates or results in excessive or unreasonable workloads for workers; the use of excessive or unreasonable metrics to assess and track the performance of workers; excessive or unreasonable monitoring or surveillance of workers; and/or unlawful discriminatory practices or decision-making.
The penalty for a person undertaking refusing or failing to comply with a requirement to provide a WHS entry permit holder with assistance to access and inspect a digital work system is 121 penalty units for an individual or 607 penalty units for a body corporate; one penalty unit is $110.
'Serious unintended consequences'
A joint statement issued by 10 industry bodies said that the bill will "put sensitive data at risk, disrupt workplaces and seriously undermine housing delivery and major projects across NSW".
The statement was issued by the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Australian Industry Group; Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association; Australian Retail Council; Business Council of Australia; Council of Small Business Organisations Australia; Housing Industry Association; Master Builders Australia; Minerals Council of Australia; and Tech Council of Australia.
"The Bill would give union officials access to a wide range of workplace digital systems, including internal emails, personal information, HR and payroll systems, rostering tools, customer databases, financial records and operational platforms," the statement said.
"The Bill exposes highly sensitive personal information, including health data, financial records, contact details and private communications, without adequate privacy protections, or any meaningful cyber security safeguards.
"The legislation would apply to every workplace in NSW, from small retailers and hospitality venues to construction sites, housing developments, hospitals, schools, manufacturers, miners and government agencies that hold large volumes of confidential personal data."
The statement said that consumers and workers expect their private health and financial information to be protected, but this Bill not providing that assurance and instead creating unnecessary risk that sensitive data is accessed, copied or removed from secure systems.
"Small businesses and frontline managers would be placed under significant pressure, facing penalties if they hesitate or seek advice before granting access to complex systems they may not control," the statement said.
"Existing work health and safety laws already impose clear, technology-neutral obligations on employers. They already cover unsafe workloads, rostering practices, surveillance and worker protections.
"The Bill does not fix a gap in the law. Instead, it creates sweeping new access rights with weak guardrails and serious unintended consequences.
"The impact would be particularly severe for housing construction, major infrastructure, energy and resources projects, where complex digital systems are central to operations. Increased risk, uncertainty and delay would directly undermine housing supply and investment decisions."
'Based on little more than suspicion'
In a separate opinion article by Business Council of Australia (BCA) chief executive Bran Black published in The Daily Telegraph, Black said that the NSW Digital Work Systems Bill doesn’t just affect “big tech” or complex algorithms, but exposes everyone with a job or a business to the whims of union officials.
"This isn’t a tidy clarification of existing workplace safety law as the government claims. It’s a sledgehammer. It creates a brand-new right for union officials to access and inspect almost any digital system used at work, based on little more than suspicion," Black said.
"That includes your emails, HR files, payroll systems and operational platforms. If it’s digital (and in 2026, almost everything is) it’s open slather. And if you say no to protect those you’re responsible to, you’ll be in court.
"Furthermore, the Bill doesn’t distinguish between high-risk systems and everyday software. It simply declares “guilty until proven innocent” on access to workplace technology."
Black said that in what the state government has proposed, the BCA sees "manifestly weak protections" for the data sitting inside those systems.
"There are insufficient safeguards for commercially sensitive information. No realistic way to separate personal employee records from some of the systems being inspected. No cyber security framework for what happens once data is accessed, copied, photographed or recorded," he stated.
"And anyone claiming personal data can be neatly “quarantined” from all digital systems has never actually used one. HR, payroll, emails and customer data are deeply intertwined. Once access is granted, the horse has bolted.
"And here’s the real kicker: the burden falls squarely on business owners. The government says courts will act as a safeguard. That’s simply not what the Bill says. There is no requirement for a union to get court approval before accessing systems.
"The only way this ends up before a judge is if an employer refuses and is then hauled to court for breaching a union’s right of entry.
"So, let’s be clear: If you think a union official’s access request puts your workers’ privacy, your customers’ data or your business security at risk, your choice will be comply or lawyer up. Small businesses won’t have that luxury.
"What this Bill does create is uncertainty, risk and a massive deterrent to investment. NSW would become an outlier state in which using everyday business technology carries new legal and security hazards."
.png&h=142&w=230&c=1&s=1)
.jpg&h=142&w=230&c=1&s=1)
_(27).jpg&h=142&w=230&c=1&s=1)
.jpg&w=100&c=1&s=0)
