WE HAVE AN UPDATE - Feb 2026
The news!
We are pleased to announce that Mansfield Ceramics has posted extensive health and safety guidelines on their website, responding to the most significant of our petition requests. With over 450 signatories to our petition, our voices are being heard and responded to! We extend our gratitude to those working on our behalf behind the scenes - having conversations with peers and others in their sphere of influence. This is a testament to the power of collective activism: both visible and invisible, to produce meaningful change.
While the policy and its presentation are imperfect, the content covers a range of topics pertinent to our concerns about health and safety at Clay Gulgong and appears to largely satisfy our requests related to assessing health and safety risks, and hazard identification, prevention and response. While we see room for improvement, the guidelines and accompanying information contribute to greater transparency in their planning and decision-making. A member of our group has independently notified SafeWork NSW, who we expect will properly vet Mansfield Ceramics’ legal compliance.
However, we await a response from Mansfield Ceramics to our request to remove Eric Landon as a featured ‘Master’. His past behaviour in the community - specifically attempts to defraud studios in the US, Australia and New Zealand, as well as concerns surrounding several allegations of sexual misconduct are of great concern to many would-be attendees.
We also hope Mansfield Ceramics will comply with our request to provide a full refund to any paid participants who no longer wish to attend the 2026 Festival (currently, cancellations incur a 15% fee).
Our response
Mansfield Ceramics’ actions are significant beyond their application to the Clay Gulgong event. Although health and safety policies seem common sense (and are required by law), the fact is that many of our businesses and organisations fly under the radar of scrutiny and enforcement, leaving people vulnerable to harm.
While the circumstances are unfortunate, we recognise Mansfield Ceramics’ efforts to produce these guidelines and meet its duty of care. We look forward to any further changes that may strengthen and clarify their policies and practices.
Further, we hope to see this effort matched as they finalise their choice of “Masters” at the event, and that our collective call for accountability will serve as a catalyst and reference point for organisers of similar events in our field and beyond.
Next steps:
A Better Clay will continue to promote the remaining requests through the petition site and look forward to Mansfield Ceramics’ decision on them.
Meanwhile, we urge the public to review Mansfield Ceramics' guidelines and the legislation relevant to our concerns (we’ve provided links below), and to advocate for a safer event for all.
You can do this by:
- providing feedback directly to Mansfield Ceramics at editor@mansfieldceramics.com.
- posting your feedback on the petition’s change.org site.
talking about the petition's contents, share it, and have conversations about health and safety in our sector. - Everyone’s Safety Matters - Call for Accountability at Clay Gulgong 2026
Relevant legislation and links
Find here relevant health and safety guidelines and legislation gleaned from the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011, SafeWork NSW and the Australian Human Rights Commission. The petition calling for accountability at Clay Gulgong has always centred around the importance of health and safety for workers and patrons at this significant Australian ceramics festival. We hope that this information will be useful for signatories and the wider ceramics community when considering legal obligations to health and safety in our sector. A PDF with the extended relevant sections of the WHS Act and further information will be released shortly.
According to the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011, an employer/person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) has a legal duty to ensure the health and safety of workers and other persons at their place of business. A PCBU needs to try to eliminate, so far as is reasonably and practicable, any health and safety risks in the workplace. This is their “primary duty of care”. Workers in this instance may refer to: employees, volunteers, paid or unpaid assistants, interns, contracted presenters and contracted artists (“Master Potters”). “Other persons” in the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 refers to non-workers, such as patrons or visitors (see Subdivision 2, 7 Meaning of “worker”; Division 2, 19 Primary duty of care).
According to the NSW Work Health and Safety Act 2011, employers/PCBUs have a duty to consult with workers on matters of health and safety, giving workers a reasonable opportunity to express their views on work health and safety matters which are likely to affect them (including hazards and risks), and a chance to contribute to the decision-making process around their own health and safety. A PCBU must take into account the views of workers consulted and advise those workers of the outcome of the consultation (see Division 2 Consultation with workers, 47 Duty to consult workers; 48 Nature of consultation; 49 When consultation is required).
A worker must not be treated less favourably for raising health and safety matters with an employer / PCBU. Adverse action or discriminatory conduct must not be taken against workers for expressing concerns about health and safety (see Part 6 Discriminatory, coercive and misleading conduct).
Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Commonwealth), organisations and businesses have a positive duty to proactively prevent workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and other relevant unlawful conduct, rather than responding only after it occurs. Introduced in December 2022, the positive duty imposes a legal obligation to create safe, respectful and inclusive workplaces regardless of the size or resources of Australian organisations and businesses. This includes sole traders and the self-employed, small, medium and large businesses, and government. Lack of accountability for disrespectful and discriminatory behaviour in the workplace can help relevant unlawful conduct to thrive, creating cultures where relevant unlawful conduct is accepted and unchallenged. Clear expectations about appropriate behaviour, set and upheld by workplaces, can reduce the likelihood of relevant unlawful conduct occurring. Power imbalances, such as workplace hierarchies, create a context where someone who holds power may gain a sense of entitlement, while others may hold a fear of challenging or speaking out against that power.
Work Health and Safety Act 2011 No 10 - NSW Legislation
Consultation | Safe Work Australia
Discriminatory conduct | SafeWork NSW
Causes and Risk Factors of Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Other Unlawful Behaviours
The positive duty in the Sex Discrimination Act | Australian Human Rights Commission