This week in compliance: an OT alert, record workplace deaths and fake certificates
The cyber alert has a clock on it, so it goes first. The worker death figures are the number I'd read twice.
List your internet reachable OT this week
List any refrigeration, building management or other OT kit that can be reached from the internet, then check it with whoever maintains it. ASD's ACSC rates its alert on operational technology and edge devices High, which means act within 48 hours. It knows of incidents affecting commercial refrigeration systems overseas, but hasn't seen active targeting in Australia.
Its advice: keep OT and edge devices off the internet, especially older devices and remote access. Patch promptly. Use strong authentication, access controls and network segmentation.
222 workers died in 2025
Safe Work Australia reports 222 workers died from traumatic injuries in 2025. That's the highest since 2012 and above the five year average of 197. Vehicle incidents caused 41% of deaths. Mental health conditions made up about 12% of serious claims, up 169% over a decade.
AI incident reporting: early advice
The Joint Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence wrote to the Prime Minister on 12 October 2026. This is early advice, not law. It recommends that frontier labs report incidents to government within clear deadlines, and that independent evaluators get access like an employee's. The ABC confirmed a final report is due in November, and the committee's deadline is 30 November 2026.
Committee letter (PDF) · ABC report
Queensland: main switch off is not enough
WorkSafe Queensland's video tells the story of Luke, an experienced electrical contractor. He got an electric shock working on a residential switchboard, was resuscitated by an apprentice and was left with serious injuries. The lesson: for work on the board itself, isolate upstream of it. The main switch isn't enough.
NSW: the largest psychosocial operation yet
SafeWork NSW announced a six week statewide psychosocial compliance operation on 9 Oct 2026. It's the largest it has run, across all industries. The May to June program visited more than 200 workplaces and issued more than 80 improvement notices. About 20.5% of all requests for service raise psychosocial harm. Codes of practice, including Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work, are legally binding in NSW.
Victoria: fake certificates
WorkSafe is investigating possible breaches linked to fake qualifications uncovered in a police operation, including first aid, traffic management and working safely at heights. WorkSafe will act where people put others at risk by working on false quals.
Singapore: cyber strategy for 2026
Senior Minister K Shanmugam launched the Singapore Cybersecurity Strategy 2026 on 13 Oct 2026, taking a whole of nation approach. It responds to advanced persistent threats against critical infrastructure and to frontier AI changing both cyber offence and defence.
Cyber Security Agency of Singapore press release
Where Vissibl fits
Vissibl maps your systems to ISO 9001, 14001, 27001, 45001, 42001 and SOC 2. It flags what's about to expire, chases evidence and checks suppliers. You sign off.
If that sounds like the job you're doing in spreadsheets, book a demo.