Drug and alcohol testing has long been part of workplace health and safety (WHS) management, particularly in higher-risk industries where impairment can have serious consequences. However, the conversation is changing. Drug and alcohol testing should no longer be viewed solely as a compliance tool or disciplinary process. It now sits at the intersection of WHS, human resources, governance, wellbeing, privacy, trust and organisational culture.
For employers, the question is not simply whether testing should occur, but whether the approach is risk-based, fair, current, consistently applied and connected to broader health, safety and wellbeing outcomes.
A changing workplace context
The modern workplace is more complex than many traditional drug and alcohol policies suggest. While alcohol and illicit substances remain important risk factors, organisations must also consider prescribed medications, over-the-counter medicines, fatigue, stress, mental health conditions, psychosocial hazards and changing ways of working.
Medicinal cannabis has added another layer of complexity, requiring employers to balance lawful medical treatment, privacy and discrimination considerations with their ongoing obligation to manage safety risks.
Safe Work Australia makes the core duty clear: alcohol and drugs, including prescribed and over-the-counter medicines, can affect a person’s ability to work safely, and employers must manage health and safety risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Workers also have duties to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others.
The broader WHS context reinforces the need for mature approaches to risk and assurance. Safe Work Australia reported 200 worker fatalities in Australia in 2023 and 139,000 serious workers’ compensation claims in 2022–23. Vehicle incidents accounted for 42% of worker fatalities, while mental health conditions continued to increase as a proportion of serious claims.
The workplace impact of alcohol and other drugs is also significant. The Alcohol and Drug Foundation reports that among Australian workers who consumed alcohol or illicit drugs in the previous 12 months, 1 in 37 worked under the influence of alcohol and 1 in 9 worked under the influence of illicit drugs. Alcohol use is estimated to contribute to 11% of workplace accidents and injuries, with alcohol-related time off work costing businesses approximately $3.6 billion each year.
Testing is one control, not the whole system
A mature drug and alcohol program starts with risk and then determines whether testing is an appropriate control.
The nature of the work, the hazards involved and the consequences of impairment should guide the program. The approach required for transport, construction, utilities, mining or machinery-based work may be very different from that required in office-based environments.
Testing should therefore sit within a broader fitness-for-work framework that includes:
- Clear policies and procedures
- Worker consultation
- Education and awareness
- Manager capability and training
- Reasonable suspicion processes
- Support pathways
- Privacy protections
- Consistent decision-making
In higher-risk environments, this may also include random, post-incident or pre-start testing where justified by the risk profile.
Consultation remains a critical part of implementation. Workers directly affected by health and safety matters must be consulted so far as is reasonably practicable. Effective consultation improves understanding, identifies practical concerns and supports stronger adoption of workplace controls.
The HR, WHS and Operations interface
The strongest programs are rarely owned by one function alone.
WHS brings the risk management discipline of identifying hazards, assessing risk, implementing controls and verifying effectiveness. HR brings the employment framework, including policy communication, procedural fairness, privacy, reasonable adjustment, employee support and consistent people management practices. Operations contributes practical knowledge about how work is planned, supervised and performed, including rosters, fatigue, site conditions, contractor arrangements and safety-critical tasks.
This is where organisations can encounter difficulties. A positive test or refusal to test may appear straightforward, but the response often involves operational, employment and safety considerations simultaneously.
Work may need to be made safe immediately, workers may need to be removed from safety-critical tasks, and employment decisions must still be fair, reasonable and supported by a clear process. Fair Work Commission decisions have demonstrated that a drug and alcohol policy does not remove the need for procedural fairness or consistent application.
A zero-tolerance policy may be appropriate in some environments, but it should not replace governance, judgement or due process. Policies should clearly explain expectations, testing arrangements, disclosure requirements, result management processes, operational controls and available support pathways.
Leadership and governance matter
Drug and alcohol testing is also a governance issue.
The Australian Institute of Company Directors notes that directors have duties to implement and monitor systems that support safe working conditions, while WHS legislation places due diligence obligations on officers in most Australian jurisdictions.
This requires active oversight of whether systems are understood, resourced, implemented and reviewed. Boards and executives should be asking:
- Is the program based on the organisation’s actual risk profile?
- Has it been reviewed to reflect medicinal cannabis, prescription medication and psychosocial risk considerations?
- Are workers and contractors appropriately covered?
- Are managers equipped to respond to impairment concerns?
- Are incidents, near misses and trends reviewed for prevention opportunities?
Good governance means being able to explain why the organisation’s approach is reasonable, how risks are controlled and how people are treated fairly. Drug and alcohol management should be integrated with WHS reporting, contractor management, incident management, HR processes, privacy controls and employee wellbeing initiatives.
Five principles for a more mature approach
Employers reviewing their approach should focus on five practical principles.
- Start with risk – Use the organisation’s risk profile to determine the most appropriate controls.
- Consult and communicate – Ensure workers understand both the requirements and the reasons behind them.
- Build manager capability – Equip leaders to identify concerns, respond appropriately and maintain confidentiality.
- Connect testing to wellbeing and support – Recognise that impairment may be linked to health conditions, medication, fatigue, stress or dependency.
- Govern and review the system – Regularly review controls, trends, incidents and emerging risks to ensure the program remains fit for purpose.
From detection to prevention
The future of workplace drug and alcohol testing involves integration.
Testing has an important role where impairment could result in serious harm should operate within a broader framework of leadership, culture, wellbeing, consultation and governance. When done poorly, testing can damage trust, create legal exposure and reduce a complex issue to a compliance exercise.
When done well, it forms part of a mature risk and wellbeing system: where people are protected, fair decisions are supported, early intervention is assisted, and leaders have confidence that risks are being effectively managed.
Drug and alcohol testing is therefore both a compliance and a leadership question. It asks whether an organisation can balance safety and fairness, risk and wellbeing, policy and culture. That balance is where contemporary drug and alcohol testing and workplace leadership now sits.
References
- Safe Work Australia, Drugs and alcohol, guidance on workplace duties, prescribed and over-the-counter medicines, PCBU duties and worker obligations.
- Safe Work Australia, WHS duties – Consultation, guidance on consulting workers and other duty holders when managing work health and safety risks.
- Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2024, including worker fatalities, serious workers’ compensation claims, vehicle incident data and mental health claim trends.
- Alcohol and Drug Foundation, Alcohol, drugs and workplace safety, including workplace alcohol and other drug impact statistics, accident and injury contribution, and productivity cost estimates.
- Australian Institute of Company Directors, Work health and safety, guidance on director duties, WHS governance and officer due diligence obligations.
- Holding Redlich, Employers beware – zero tolerance policy does not automatically warrant dismissal, commentary on Fair Work Commission decisions including Trevor Purves v Queensland Rail Transit Authority T/A Queensland Rail [2022] FWC 3343, where the Commission considered valid reason, proportionality, mitigating circumstances and whether dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable under the Fair Work Act 2009.
- SafeWork NSW, Alcohol and other drugs, guidance on managing workplace risks relating to alcohol, drugs, prescription medication, impairment, productivity, absenteeism and incidents.
- SafeWork NSW, Due diligence and Directors and officers, guidance on officer obligations, maintaining WHS knowledge, understanding operational risks and verifying WHS systems.
- Holding Redlich, Medicinal cannabis in the workplace, commentary on employer obligations to manage WHS risks, privacy, lawful prescriptions, impairment, fitness for work and safety-sensitive roles. Additional workplace commentary available from Andatech (Medicinal Cannabis at Work: What Employers Need to Know) and FairTest (Medicinal Cannabis and the Workplace: What Australian Employers Need to Know in 2026). [andatech.com.au], [fairtest.com.au]
