Mentally Healthy Workplaces: Meeting Your Legal and Leadership Obligations
Psychological health and safety is an essential part of creating productive, respectful and sustainable workplaces.
Australian employers have a duty to provide safe workplaces where workers are protected from harm, including risks to psychological health.
Psychosocial hazards can affect employee wellbeing, workplace culture, productivity and organisational performance. If not identified and managed appropriately, they can contribute to workplace conflict, complaints, psychological injuries and compliance risks.
What are psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial hazards are workplace factors that may cause psychological harm to workers.
Common psychosocial hazards include:
workplace bullying
harassment and discrimination
workplace sexual harassment
occupational violence and aggression
excessive workloads or unreasonable job demands
low job control
poor role clarity
lack of support
poor organisational change management
poor organisational justice
inadequate recognition and reward
conflict or poor workplace relationships
gendered violence
poor environmental conditions
exposure to traumatic events
The specific psychosocial hazards present will depend on the nature of the work, the workplace and the circumstances.
Employers are expected to take a proactive and systematic approach to identifying and managing psychosocial risks, alongside their broader workplace health and safety responsibilities.
Why is psychological safety important?
Psychological safety refers to a workplace where employees feel able to speak up, raise concerns, ask questions and contribute without fear of negative consequences.
Creating psychologically safe workplaces helps organisations:
identify workplace issues earlier
encourage respectful communication
improve employee engagement and retention
support healthier workplace relationships
reduce the risk of workplace harm
Psychological safety does not mean eliminating all workplace challenges. It means creating an environment where concerns can be raised and addressed appropriately.
Psychological safety is also only one part of managing psychosocial risk. Organisations need effective systems and processes to identify workplace hazards, assess risks and implement appropriate controls.
What are an employer’s legal obligations for psychosocial safety?
Employers and other duty holders must take reasonably practicable steps to protect workers from risks to their health and safety, including risks arising from psychosocial hazards.
The specific legal obligations vary between Australian jurisdictions, but employers should have systems in place to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the associated risks, implement appropriate controls, consult with workers and review whether those controls remain effective.
Key legal developments include:
Respect at Work Act 2022
The Respect at Work reforms introduced a positive duty requiring employers to take proactive and reasonable steps to eliminate, as far as possible, workplace sexual harassment, sex-based harassment, sex discrimination, hostile workplace environments on the ground of sex and related victimisation.
Secure Jobs, Better Pay Act 2022
The Secure Jobs, Better Pay reforms strengthened workplace protections relating to sexual harassment, including extending complaint timeframes and expanding the Fair Work Commission’s powers.
WHS psychosocial hazard obligations
Psychosocial hazards are recognised within workplace health and safety frameworks across Australia.
The Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work provides guidance on identifying and managing psychosocial hazards and risks.
Employers should also consider the specific WHS legislation, regulations and Codes of Practice that apply in their state or territory.
NSW: important changes from 1 July 2026
In New South Wales, psychosocial hazards are already covered by the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025.
The SafeWork NSW Managing psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice was issued in 2021 and is an approved Code of Practice under the NSW WHS Act.
From 1 July 2026, section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 commenced. Approved Codes of Practice became minimum performance standards that PCBUs are expected to comply with.
This means NSW organisations should review their approach to psychosocial risk management against the Managing psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice.
A PCBU may use a different approach where it can demonstrate that the approach provides an equivalent or higher standard of health and safety than the standard required by the Code.
The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 has also strengthened requirements for managing psychosocial risks in NSW. Where elimination of a psychosocial risk is not reasonably practicable, PCBUs must minimise the risk by applying the hierarchy of controls and considering the relevant matters specified in the Regulation.
In practice, this means NSW organisations should not rely solely on lower-level controls such as training, awareness programs or individual coping strategies. Where reasonably practicable, organisations should consider higher-order controls such as redesigning work, addressing excessive demands, improving work processes or changing how work is organised.
Victoria’s Psychological Health Regulations
Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 commenced on 1 December 2025, strengthening employer obligations to manage psychosocial hazards.
Victorian employers must:
identify and assess psychosocial hazards
implement appropriate control measures
review whether controls are effective
consult with workers about psychosocial risks
maintain appropriate records and systems
While these regulations apply specifically in Victoria, they reflect a broader national focus on psychosocial risk management and psychologically healthy workplaces.
Employers across Australia should ensure their WHS systems, policies and leadership practices are aligned with the requirements that apply in their jurisdiction.
How can employers manage psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial risk management is an ongoing process involving:
1. Identify psychosocial hazards
Consider workplace factors that may create risks, including workloads, workplace behaviours, leadership practices, organisational change and workplace relationships.
2. Assess the risks
Understand how hazards may affect workers and identify areas requiring action.
3. Implement control measures
Develop practical strategies to reduce risks, such as improving workplace processes, strengthening communication, reviewing policies and supporting managers.
4. Review and improve
Regularly review controls and update your approach following workplace changes, incidents, complaints or feedback.
Building a psychologically safe workplace
Managing psychosocial hazards requires more than having policies in place.
Organisations should support leaders and managers to recognise risks early, respond appropriately to concerns and create a workplace culture where employees feel respected and supported.
Practical steps may include:
reviewing workplace policies and procedures
training managers in psychologically safe leadership
improving workplace communication processes
consulting with employees about psychosocial risks
monitoring workplace culture and employee experiences
reviewing work design, workloads and organisational practices
ensuring concerns and complaints are responded to appropriately
A psychologically healthy workplace requires both good systems and good leadership. Policies alone will not eliminate psychosocial risks if workplace practices, management behaviours or work design continue to create those risks.
How Workplace Plus can help
Workplace Plus supports organisations to identify and manage psychosocial risks through practical workplace reviews, training and HR support.
Our consultants can help organisations:
Mentally Healthy Workplace Reviews
An experienced Workplace Plus consultant can conduct an independent review of your workplace practices, systems and culture to identify psychosocial risks and provide practical recommendations.
Psychosocial Risk Management Training
Our training supports managers, supervisors, HR teams and WHS representatives to understand psychosocial hazards, strengthen leadership capability and respond appropriately to workplace concerns.
Independent Workplace Investigations
Workplace Plus can conduct independent workplace investigations into matters involving psychosocial hazards, including workplace bullying, discrimination, sexual harassment and other workplace conduct concerns.
Free Download: Psychosocial Hazard Prevention Checklist
To support your psychosocial WHS risk management, Workplace Plus has developed a practical Psychosocial Hazard Prevention Checklist.
Download the checklist to review your current approach and identify opportunities to strengthen your workplace systems.
Frequently asked questions
What are the 16 psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial hazards can include factors such as high job demands, low job demands, low job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, poor organisational change management, poor organisational justice, inadequate recognition and reward, poor workplace relationships, aggression and violence, gendered violence, bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, poor environmental conditions, and exposure to traumatic events.
The specific hazards identified may vary depending on the workplace and circumstances.
Do all Australian employers need to manage psychosocial hazards?
Yes. Employers and other relevant duty holders have workplace health and safety obligations to identify and manage risks to worker health and safety, including risks to psychological health.
The specific requirements vary between jurisdictions, so organisations should ensure they understand the legislation and regulatory requirements that apply to their workplace.
What is the difference between psychological safety and psychosocial risk management?
Psychological safety focuses on creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up and participate. Psychosocial risk management focuses on identifying and controlling workplace factors that may cause psychological harm.
Both are important parts of creating healthy and safe workplaces.
Need support managing psychosocial risks in your workplace?
Workplace Plus can help your organisation identify psychosocial risks, strengthen workplace systems and support leaders to create healthier, safer and more respectful workplaces.
Contact Workplace Plus today.
