NSW Department of Education

A summary of the Enforceable Undertaking to be completed by NSW Department of Education following contravention of section 19(1) 32 and 33 and 19(2) and 33 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The incident relates to various allegations concerning the management of asbestos at Castle Hill High School.

Alleged breach

NSW Department of Education contravened section 19(1) 32 and 33 and 19(2) and 33 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

Summary of undertaking

Activities NSW Department of Education will undertake include:

  • Develop and implement a Hazardous Material Management Digital Platform to effectively manage hazardous materials using a unified risk management framework across all department assets.
  • Undertake cross agency collaboration and knowledge sharing of the Hazardous Material Management Digital Platform.
  • Recruitment and appointment of an EU program manager role within the Health Safety and Wellbeing directorate.
  • Create education and informative asbestos related material for workers and contractors. Materials developed will be shared with other government agencies. The training will include:
    • mandatory training / validation module for asset maintenance contractors
    • mandatory training module for critical education support staff
    • informative and educational videos, infographics and/or interactive quizzes available to school-based staff and the broader community.

This undertaking has a total expenditure of $2.64M – 3.64M.

Reasons for accepting the undertaking

  • The alleged contravention does not appear to be a section 31 Reckless conduct category 1 or section 34C industrial manslaughter offence, which if it was the case, would preclude the proposed undertaking from being accepted
  • The nature of the alleged contravention and the actions taken by NSW Department of Education in response to the incident are assessed as being appropriate for consideration of an undertaking
  • The strategies proposed in the undertaking have been assessed as likely to deliver long term sustainable safety improvements in the workplace, industry and community
  • The undertaking addresses the requirements contained within the “Enforceable Undertakings – Guidelines for Proposing a WHS Undertaking”.

Date accepted

20 January 2026

Further information

View the full NSW Department of Education undertaking PDF, 617.61 KB.

If you are not able to access the information in this PDF we can make alternative arrangements for you. Please contact enforceable.undertakings@safework.nsw.gov.au.

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