The NSW Government last night regrettably passed its controversial Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill that introduces AI-specific duties and union right of entry provisions to inspect a company's artificial intelligence systems.
In passing this AI-related workplace law, NSW diverges from all other jurisdictions in Australia at a time when Safe Work Australia has been tasked with ensuring harmonisation of WHS laws in the future. This is a heavy-handed and retrograde step at a time when businesses are increasingly considering and utilising artificial intelligence systems in conjunction with their workforces to improve business efficiency and competitiveness.
Employers in NSW will now inevitably face increased regulatory scrutiny and have to deal with union interference if they use AI to manage workload, generate performance metrics, conduct workplace surveillance or to inform their workplace decisions and practices.
There will be an inevitable increase in disputation, with unions gaining the right to reasonably access employers' digital work systems, including potentially commercially sensitive data and employees’ personal and health information. Giving unions the right to inspect an individual’s currently protected personal information will be alarming to workers across NSW.
To date the Federal Government has taken a sensible and commendable lighter touch approach, acknowledging that existing laws already provide the foundation for managing AI-related risks.
However, this move by the NSW Government potentially risks jeopardising this sensible approach, setting the scene for the Federal Government to be pressured to instead potentially adopt an interventionist approach that will inevitably stifle AI-driven productivity and innovation.
Industry trusts that the Federal Government rejects any such pressure and continues to constructively consult and better understand how artificial intelligence is being rolled out across the economy.
Media Enquiries: Gemma Daley – 0418 148 821
