Insight
Deploying robots safely: WHS considerations for Australian and New Zealand workplaces
Deploying robots safely in Australia and New Zealand starts with the same duty that applies to any other plant: the business must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and others are not put at risk. In practice that means a site-specific risk assessment, evidence that the robot meets the relevant international standards, consultation with the workers who will share space with it, training, traffic management and clear incident procedures.
Key takeaways
- A robot is plant. The primary duty sits with the business that has management or control of it, and suppliers carry their own upstream duties.
- Several duty holders often share the risk, such as facility owner, cleaning or logistics contractor and supplier, and must consult, cooperate and coordinate.
- ISO 13482, ISO 3691-4 and the 2025 editions of ISO 10218 are the main reference standards, depending on the type of robot.
- Consult workers before deployment and again when routes, software or tasks change.
- Check notification rules with your regulator. The model WHS Act was amended in December 2025, but changes apply only once adopted locally.
This article is general information for operations, facilities and safety managers. It is not legal advice. WHS laws differ between jurisdictions (Victoria, for example, has its own Occupational Health and Safety Act rather than the model WHS Act), so confirm specifics with your regulator or adviser.
Who carries the duty when a robot arrives on site?
Under the model WHS Act, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that workers and other people are not exposed to risks to their health and safety. A cleaning, delivery or transport robot is plant, so the PCBU with management or control of it must ensure it does not put anyone at risk. Designers, manufacturers, importers, suppliers and installers carry separate upstream duties to ensure their products are without risk when used as intended, and to provide the information needed to use them safely.
New Zealand’s Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 (HSWA) follows the same structure: a primary duty of care on the PCBU, a reasonably practicable test, and upstream duties on those who design, make, import, supply and install plant. The Health and Safety at Work Amendment Act 2026 makes changes that take effect on 1 April 2027, including a stronger focus on critical risks, so watch for updated WorkSafe guidance.
Robots rarely involve a single business. In a shopping centre, the owner, the cleaning contractor and the equipment supplier may all have a duty for the same scrubber. Both laws require duty holders to consult, cooperate and coordinate, and neither lets a business contract its duty away.
Software matters too. Safe Work Australia’s guidance on AI and digital technologies names advanced robotics and automation, and notes that routine changes or updates pushed by software providers can introduce or change WHS risks. Treat firmware updates, new maps and route changes as changes that need review.
How should you run the risk assessment?
Use the standard process: identify hazards, assess risk, apply controls using the hierarchy of control, and review. With robots, the hazards depend heavily on the site. Common examples:
| Hazard | Where it shows up | Typical controls |
|---|---|---|
| Collision or impact | Busy corridors, blind corners, lift lobbies | Speed limits by zone, route design away from pinch points, visible and audible signals |
| Crushing or trapping | Docking stations, lift doors, narrow aisles, shelving | Clearances around docks, lift integration rules, no-go zones |
| Slips and trips | Wet floors after scrubbing, parked robots, charging cables | Clean windows, drying time, signage, docks out of walkways |
| Mixed traffic | Warehouses with forklifts and pedestrians | Separated routes, defined crossings, traffic management plan |
| Battery charging | Docks and charging rooms | Manufacturer charging instructions, location away from exits and combustibles |
| Manual handling | Lifting robots, swapping batteries, emptying tanks | Task design, trolleys, training |
| Emergencies | Fire alarms and evacuations | Confirm robots stop or clear egress routes and never block exits or fire doors |
| Psychosocial | Work pace, job changes, cameras on robots | Consultation, clear information on data collection, workload review |
Which standards are relevant?
Standards are generally not law in themselves, but they are strong evidence of what is known about a hazard and how to control it. Ask your supplier which standards a platform was designed and tested to, and ask for the supporting documents. The main references are:
- ISO 13482:2014, Robots and robotic devices: Safety requirements for personal care robots. Covers mobile servant robots, physical assistant robots and person carriers. A revised edition, retitled Robotics: Safety requirements for service robots and extended to professional and commercial service robots, was at the final draft (FDIS) approval stage in September 2026. Check which edition applies when you buy.
- ISO 3691-4:2023, Industrial trucks: Safety requirements and verification, Part 4: Driverless industrial trucks and their systems. Applies to automated guided vehicles and autonomous mobile robots that carry, tow or lift loads. It divides a site into zones with different rules. Responsibility is shared: the manufacturer covers the vehicle, and the operating business owns the site application, including routes, zones and risk assessment.
- ISO 10218-1:2025 and ISO 10218-2:2025, Robotics: Safety requirements, Parts 1 and 2. Part 1 covers industrial robots. Part 2 covers industrial robot applications and robot cells. Published in early 2025 to replace the 2011 editions, they incorporate the collaborative-application content previously published as ISO/TS 15066:2016.
For newer categories such as humanoid platforms, standards are still developing, so your site risk assessment and controls carry more of the weight. For collaborative robots in manufacturing, SafeWork NSW has published a set of practical guidelines, including checklists and a risk assessment template.
How do you consult workers properly?
Under the model WHS Act you must consult workers, and any health and safety representatives, who are likely to be affected. That means sharing information, giving them a reasonable chance to raise issues, taking their views into account and telling them the outcome. HSWA sets similar engagement duties when identifying hazards, deciding on controls and proposing changes.
In practice, bring cleaners, nurses, pickers, security officers and supervisors into the mapping walk. They know where the blind corners, peak times and wet areas are. Explain what cameras and sensors on the robot record, and how the change affects their roles. Consult again when routes, tasks or software change.
Training, signage and traffic management
Train three groups. Operators need to start and pause routes, use the emergency stop, respond to assists, charge and clean sensors, and report faults. Other staff need to know how the robot behaves, who gives way, and not to ride, block or move it. Contractors and visitors need a short induction or clear signs.
Signage belongs at site entrances, docks, lift lobbies and zones where robots operate. For material transport and warehouse sites, fold robots into the traffic management plan alongside forklifts and pedestrians, with separated routes where practicable, defined crossings and speed limits.
What happens when something goes wrong?
Under the model WHS laws, a PCBU must notify the regulator immediately after becoming aware of a notifiable incident, which generally means a death, a serious injury or illness, or a dangerous incident, and the site must be preserved. In December 2025 Safe Work Australia published amendments to the model Act that extend notification to further categories, including dangerous incidents involving mobile plant. These take effect only once adopted into local law, so check with your regulator. In New Zealand, notifiable events must be reported to WorkSafe as soon as possible, and the site preserved.
Keep an internal log of near misses, assists and unexpected stops, and preserve the robot’s event logs after any incident. Review controls after incidents, software updates and site changes.
Robotx can help you assemble the supplier information and site details your WHS review will need.
Sources
- Safe Work Australia: PCBU duties
- Safe Work Australia: Artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies
- Safe Work Australia: Incident notification
- WorkSafe New Zealand: Introduction to the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015
- IBF Solutions: New standards for industrial robots EN ISO 10218-1 and -2
- iTeh Standards: ISO/FDIS 13482 Robotics, safety requirements for service robots
- Fabrico: ISO 3691-4 explained
- SafeWork NSW: Guidelines for safe collaborative robot design and implementation