The Victorian Trades Hall Council (VTHC) has released a new Digital Work Systems Standard, highlighting the growing health and safety risks associated with digital technologies in the workplace.
As healthcare services increasingly rely on electronic rostering systems, workload monitoring tools, digital performance-management platforms, wearable devices and artificial intelligence, this new standard is particularly relevant for nurses, midwives and carers.
The standard recognises that while digital systems can support service delivery, they can also create significant physical and psychosocial hazards – including increased work intensity, excessive monitoring, privacy concerns, stress, fatigue and the potential for unfair disciplinary practices. It sets out VTHC’s position that strong safeguards are needed whenever digital work systems are introduced or used in our workplaces.
Importantly, the standard emphasises that employers have a duty to identify and control these risks, and that workers and HSRs must be properly consulted before new technologies are implemented. It also addresses key issues such as transparency, privacy, discrimination, consultation and the disciplinary use of data collected through digital systems.
For ANMF members, the standard provides a useful resource when raising concerns about digital technologies that affect workload, wellbeing, privacy or patient care. It reinforces the principle that technology should support workers, not create additional risks to their health and safety.
Members interested in learning more can access the full VTHC Digital Work Systems Standard through the VTHC’s OHS Reps website.
