Gen Z worker reveals dangerous issue facing young Aussies as union calls for new rules
Young Aussies are entering the workforce without knowing their safety rights or getting any training to stay safe, new research has revealed.   

Yahoo Finance
Fri 6 March 2026

Caitlin

Caitlin Malor was 17, fresh out of school, and working her second-ever job at a fast food chain when she badly burned her hand on the job. While she sought out medical help to dress her burn, she said there was an expectation she’d return to work immediately and finish off her shift.

“There was no first aid on site, no incident reporting, no forms, nothing," Malor told Yahoo Finance.   


"Also, the people managing the workplace were maybe only three years older than me."



Malor said she felt “pressure” at the time to just get on with things and didn’t understand what rights she had.   

She didn’t receive any workplace health and safety training at the time, and remembers the attitude toward safety being like the “wild west”.   

“I was working 50-hour weeks, I was working weeks alone, with no regard for safety and how to manage it,” she said.

Aussie workers in the dark over safety
Malor is now 24, and while her experience happened some time ago, new research suggests a number of young Aussies are similarly entering the workplace without being aware of their safety rights or receiving the training they need to stay safe. 

A survey of more than 300 young workers by Unions NSW found nearly two in five had received no workplace health and safety training when they started a new job, while half had never had their safety rights explained to them.

Only 29 per cent said they had received clear and useful training, with more than a third admitting they had felt unsafe at work in the past 12 months.

Workplace safety education outside of work is also a worry, with around half of young workers saying they had never received training at school, TAFE, uni or in a community setting.

Malor, who is a Unions NSW campaigns officer, said many young people were in their first jobs and were eager to impress and less likely to speak up.

Review launched
The Standing Committee of Law and Justice in NSW launched a review into the Work Health and Safety scheme in December last year.

It follows the establishment of SafeWork NSW as a standalone regulator and the appointment of an independent commissioner last year.

Chair of the committee, Greg Donnelly, said the committee was particularly worried that there continued to be a “disproportionate number of workplace accidents and injuries suffered by apprentices”.

“These are usually young people, new to the workplace, with little understanding or experience of healthy and safe work practices,” he said.

Unions NSW has called for the state government to commence work on a dedicated safety strategy for young workers, similar to what is already in place in other Aussie states.


Victoria has the Young Workers Centre, which was established back in 2016, for young people in workplaces across the state. It is funded by the state government to provide support as a community legal centre and educational resources.

Queensland, meanwhile, has the Young Workers Hub, which was founded in 2018 and funded by the state government to provide outreach to young people.

Malor said the programs were practical and preventative and could “act as a lifeline” for young people experiencing unsafe conditions at work.

What rights to workers have?
Under work health and safety laws, workers have basic rights, including the right to be shown how to work safely, the right to appropriate safety equipment, and the right to speak up about work conditions.

SafeWork has encouraged workers who are worried about a health and safety issue to talk to their supervisor or health and safety representative.

If you feel like you can’t or your boss won’t listen, you can contact SafeWork. You can also report unsafe work via Speak Up, which is confidential.