WorkSafe Victoria is now examining Carlton's handling of the Elijah Hollands situation, widening the external scrutiny on the club after last week's MCG episode that has already triggered an AFL review and the intervention of one of the league's most senior executives.
7NEWS and The Canberra Times both confirmed on Tuesday that the workplace regulator was making enquiries into how the Blues managed Hollands around a Round 6 match after the player displayed what SMH has described as a "mental health episode." Carlton has not publicly detailed the full sequence of events, and the club's football department has so far refused to be drawn on whether Hollands should have been listed for selection at all.
The AFL is treating the case with the highest level of seriousness, with the league demanding Carlton hand over its internal review as soon as it is completed. The SMH reported last Friday that a "top AFL executive" had been placed in direct charge of the league-side review, an unusual step that underscores the sensitivity of the matter and the possible occupational health and safety implications.
Hollands himself — a former Suns first-round pick whose AFL career has already been interrupted by injury and personal issues — is understood to have the full support of his teammates, who have rallied around the player in the week since the episode became public. The Blues confirmed via a brief club statement over the weekend that Hollands' welfare was their first priority and that he had stepped away from football-related duties to focus on his recovery.
The WorkSafe involvement adds a second, parallel investigation to the AFL's own internal review. Workplace regulators rarely intervene in AFL-player matters, but the regulator's role in assessing employer duties — in this case, Carlton's obligations as Hollands' employer — opens a category of scrutiny that the league's own processes cannot fully answer.
Carlton's football department, still rebuilding its reputation after a public falling-out with former coach Michael Voss late in 2025, now finds itself under a level of external pressure unusual even by the standards of AFL media coverage. The club has promised a full report in due course. For the AFL, the Hollands review is shaping into the season's first real test of how the game manages the junction between player welfare, medical confidentiality and workplace responsibility — one that will likely set precedents well beyond the current case.