Serial S381 - Safety

New South Wales industrial relations legislation was administered by the Attorney General until 1911, when the Minister for Labour and Industry took up this responsibility. The Department of Labour and Industry played a pivotal role in employment relations in NSW, including the regulation of working conditions and wages, and ensuring occupational health and safety in the workplace, under the Factory and Shop Act 1912. One of the key roles of the Department under the Act was to provide information and advice about working conditions, and it focused on accident prevention in the workplace, particularly industrial accidents. In 1940, the Department became the Department of Labour and Industry and Social Welfare until the mid-1950s, when the Department of Child Welfare and Social Welfare was established.