The challenge of automated and autonomous technologies to Australian Defence Force compliance with workplace health and safety laws
Author: Simon McKenziePublished: 22/07/2022Category: External resourcesLast updated: 03/08/2022
Digital technologies are radically changing Australian workplaces. The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is experiencing this technological revolution: in time, we can expect that it will be central to all aspects of defence work, including training, logistics, repair and maintenance, survey and surveillance, and armed conflict. A key consideration for the ADF is how to manage the adoption of these technologies consistently with Australian workplace health and safety (WHS) laws. The proliferation of digital technologies will make keeping workers healthy and safe more complicated, and some of the regulatory interventions more challenging to carry out.
Document Summary
This paper sketches the potential WHS risks – and benefits – of the ADF using digital technologies outside of an operational context (so, during peacetime) and reflects on how these automated and autonomous technologies might test the legal regime. Using recent scholarship from WHS literature, it suggests that the use of new digital technologies will require the ADF give greater attention to certain kinds of risks, particularly those relating to the interaction between humans and complex machines.