HR Leader’s top 10 workplace wellness stories for 2025

Read here our 10 most-read stories about workplace wellness for this year.

10. ‘Distressing’ and ‘enraging’ reports of bullying, racism, sexism at ANU college

An investigation into a college at the Australian National University in May found that it had a “deeply dysfunctional culture;” the investigation unveiled recounts that “enraged” the key investigator. This story follows former police commissioner and professor, Christine Nixon, and a report that revealed psychosocial harm that occurred at the institution, as well as findings into how the institution had “fallen short”.

9. Are your company’s wellbeing efforts going too far?

Careers adviser, founder, and managing director, Roxanne Calder, said that employee wellbeing support offered at several workplaces “miss the mark,” as they are often “layered on top of broken or toxic systems.” This story explores how workplaces can address these issues and how they can implement better wellbeing programs.

8. 31% WPI threshold would ‘exclude’ majority of workers from psych injury claims

In May, following an inquiry into reforms proposed in March, the Law Society of NSW urged the NSW government to pause its workers’ compensation reforms to allow for broader consultation, calling them “rushed” and “unbalanced”. In this story, lawyer Sach Fernando notes that “subjectivity” needs to be dealt with when handling workers compensation assessment cases, as well as concerns surrounding the proposed increase to the ‘whole person impairment’ threshold (WPI) in NSW.

7. Doctors’ strike ‘will harm patients’, NSW Health Minister says

Thousands of doctors in NSW gathered for a three-day strike after pay negotiations dissolved in April between the Australian Salaried Medical Officers Federation and the NSW government. This story dives into the concern that the industrial action would cause “harm” to patients and the position of the state government on the unions’ proposed pay increases.

6. ‘Serious consequences’ for employers who roll back flexible working policies

In a report released in March, co-founder and CEO of WORK180, Gemma Lloyd, warned about the consequences that the removal of flexible work policies would have on workplaces. This story reveals the popularity of these policies and the key findings from the report.

5. Greens warn NDIS pricing review could slash worker pay

The NDIS released findings from its Annual Pricing Review 2024–25, coinciding with its proposed changes that were set to come into effect on 1 July 2025. This story explores the potential for NDIS pricing to “undermine access to essential services and support” and why some believed that the federal government should “rethink” the changes.

4. Amendments to NSW workers’ compensation reform ‘fall short’

In news first published on our sister brand Accounting Times, an amended workers’ compensation bill was released in June, which some employee advocates thought was “still not enough.” This story explores how the proposed changes “fell short” for some in protecting psychological wellbeing and how the legislation could be beneficial for workers.

3. Poor management’ at UTS putting staff mental health at an ‘all-time low’, union alleges

In April, unions said that employees at the University of Technology (UTS) were at a breaking point. This story dives into the issues that caused this “crisis” and what impacts the parliamentary inquiry into university governance would have had to remedy the university’s “serious management failures”.

2. Australia faces a ‘silent epidemic’ of bullying, new data shows

According to research released in August, seven in 10 Aussie workers experienced bullying impacting their mental health and workplace productivity. This story delves into insights drawn from this data and how workplaces can turn the tide on bullying.

1. Worker’s 2-year fight to receive psychological injury compensation still unresolved

This year, our most-read wellbeing story was about a case before the Personal Injury Commission in late March. This story highlights the “strenuous” process that workers go through to receive workers’ compensation, a process that was found to potentially exacerbate injury.