Pre-employment medicals have become a standard component of recruitment across Queensland’s industrial, construction, logistics, and service sectors. Employers aren’t using them out of curiosity, they’re using them to manage risk in an environment where physical demands, safety obligations, and labour pressures are all intensifying. 

But while pre-employment medicals can strengthen HR decision-making, they also create legal exposure when handled incorrectly. Most disputes don’t arise from the medical itself, they arise from how the information was collected, interpreted, and applied. 

For Queensland employers, the challenge lies in using pre-employment medicals to support safe hiring decisions, without crossing into discrimination, privacy breaches or poor process. 

This article sets out the essential additional principles every employer should consider before relying on a pre-employment medical. 

Why employers use pre-employment medicals 

A medical assessment, used properly, is a risk-control tool. Under the Work Health and Safety Act, employers must ensure workers are not exposed to risk “so far as is reasonably practicable.” 

Particularly where a role involves: 

• hazardous manual handling,
• vehicle or machinery operation, 
• work at heights or in confined spaces, 
• environmental exposure (heat, noise, vibration), and 
• repetitive or high-force tasks.

A medical assessment helps confirm whether a candidate can safely perform the role from day one. The value is clear: Fewer preventable injuries, fewer aggravation claims, and less operational disruption however, the process must be carried out lawfully.

Boundaries employers cannot ignore

Discrimination legislation

Under the Disability Discrimination Act and the Anti-Discrimination Act, employers cannot reject a candidate simply because they have a medical condition. The only lawful basis for declining employment is where: 

• the condition prevents the person from meeting the inherent requirements of the role, and 
• no reasonable adjustments would enable them to do so. 

This is a high threshold, and employers must be able to demonstrate that they genuinely explored adjustments, not assumed they were unsuitable.

Privacy obligations

Health information is “sensitive personal information” under the Privacy Act. When collecting this information, employers must: 

• obtain informed, written consent,
• limit the information sought to what is necessary,
• restrict access to essential decision-makers only,
• store results securely, and
• avoid collecting unnecessary diagnostic detail. 

Over-collection is one of the most common mistakes SMEs make.

Workers’ compensation interaction

The Queensland’s Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act allows employers to request disclosure of pre-existing injuries only if: 

• the request is in writing,
• it relates directly to job duties, and 
• the candidate is told that non-disclosure may affect future compensation.

This provision strengthens employer protection, but only when the request is drafted correctly and tied to actual inherent requirements of the job at hand.

What employers should and should not ask for 

A defensible pre-employment medical focuses on function, not history. 

Information considered appropriate includes:

• lifting capacity 
• mobility and range of motion 
• postural tolerances 
• capacity for repetitive or force-based tasks 
• restrictions affecting safe work 

Information considered inappropriate includes: 

• broad medical history 
• unrelated conditions 
• speculative diagnostic testing 
• information collected “just in case” 

Every test must link back to a real inherent requirement or Work Health and Safety risk. 

Interpreting medical restrictions: Where employers can go wrong 

When a medical report identifies restrictions, employers often treat it as the decision but legally, it is the starting point. 

A defensible approach requires employers to: 

• Reconfirm the inherent requirements – what are the non-negotiable tasks the role genuinely requires? 
• Seek clarification where needed – medical reports are not always written in operational language. 
• Assess reasonable adjustments – modified duties, equipment changes, roster flexibility, engineering controls. 
• Evaluate whether adjustments are workable – not only in theory, but in your operational environment. 
• Document the reasoning – notes, consultations, evidence, risk assessments, and final rationale. 

This is the difference between a compliant decision and an unlawful one. 

When a candidate cannot be placed safely

If a candidate cannot perform the inherent requirements, and adjustments have been considered and ruled out, employers may lawfully decline employment. 

The decision must be framed around: 

• objective medical evidence,
• Work Health and Safety risk, 
• the adjustment analysis, and
• operational impact.

What employers must avoid is relying on assumptions, subjective judgement, or unexplored alternatives. For existing employees, the bar is significantly higher, capacity management requires consultation, updated medical evidence, trialling of adjustments, and full procedural fairness under the Fair Work Act. 

Creating an internal system that protects business 

A well-designed internal process can protect employers far more than any individual medical report. At minimum, employers should establish: 

• a written procedure for when and how medicals are used,
• job-specific inherent requirement documents,
• consent and disclosure templates,
• clear privacy and information-handling protocols,
• a defined process for reviewing restrictions,
• a consistent decision-making framework.

This structure isn’t administrative noise, it’s the evidence that supports defensible employment decisions. 

Pre-employment medicals remain a highly effective tool for managing workforce risk. But their value depends entirely on how they are used. 

When employers collect only what is necessary, anchor decisions in inherent requirements, genuinely assess adjustments, keep Work Health and Safety, discrimination, privacy and workers’ compensation obligations in view and document their reasoning carefully, they position themselves to make safe, lawful and commercially sound hiring decisions. Used without that discipline, the same medical becomes a source of significant legal exposure. 

How can Business Chamber Queensland help you navigate pre-employment medicals?

Business Chamber Queensland supports employers to implement pre-employment medical processes that are lawful, defensible and practical, through:

• Workplace Relations Advisory: Access expert guidance on when medicals are appropriate, how to manage restrictions, and how to apply Work Health and Safety, discrimination and privacy obligations correctly. 
•  Policy and document support: Assistance with drafting pre-employment medical procedures, inherent requirement documents, consent forms and pre-existing injury disclosure templates. 
•  Training and resources: Join our Pre-Employment Medicals webinar on Friday 30th January at 10:00am, and access additional guidance, factsheets and practical tools 
•  Member helpline: Speak directly with our advisors for tailored advice on candidate restrictions, reasonable adjustments or complex recruitment decisions.