Health Education series “Update on the Implications of Medicinal Cannabis in the Workplace”
Presented by Dr Andrew Lingwood, Occupational & Environmental Physician
Date: 20 November 2025
Time: 12pm to 1pm AEST
Synopsis
As medicinal cannabis becomes more widely accessible across Australia, employers, HR professionals, safety officers, and health practitioners are facing increasingly complex legal, safety, and operational challenges. In this webinar, Dr Andrew Lingwood (OEP) will provide a timely update and practical guidance on how workplaces can adapt to this evolving landscape.
Key topics to be covered include:
- Legal status and regulatory frameworks for medicinal cannabis: what’s permitted under federal and state laws, and how these laws intersect with workplace health & safety, workers’ compensation, anti-discrimination and employment law.
- Understanding impairment vs presence: the difference between measuring real-time impairment (especially in safety-critical roles, machinery operation, driving), and merely detecting cannabinoids (particularly THC) in tests long after psychoactive effects have subsided.
- Employer duties & risk management: how to develop or update workplace policies on drugs and alcohol that explicitly address medicinal cannabis; how to assess an employee’s fitness for work; how to manage safety risks while respecting employees’ rights under medical prescriptions.
- Case studies and recent precedents: examples of Fair Work Commission or tribunal decisions that illustrate both what employers can do, and where they must tread carefully — especially in situations involving safety-critical work, disclosure of use, and reasonable adjustments.
- Best practices & procedural recommendations: for disclosure, medical documentation, communication, accommodation, updating policies, and staff training — so employers are proactive rather than reactive.
When & How:
Date: 20 November 2025
Time: 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm AEST
Format: Online webinar via Zoom (registrations are open now) — Zoom registration link
