Content reviewed October 2026.

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Psychosocial hazards at work: what Australian employers must do, state by state

For employers and businesses across Australia: what the psychosocial regulations require, what changed in Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Queensland in the last 12 months, the common hazards to look for, and how to run a psychosocial risk assessment, with a free template.

Last updated 22 October 20268 min read

At a glance What a psychosocial hazard is The common hazards State by state What employers must do Free risk assessment template FAQs

At a glance, as at 22 October 2026

Every employer and business in Australia must identify psychosocial hazards and eliminate the risks they create, or minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable. In the last 12 months the rules changed in four places: Victoria’s regulations started on 1 December 2025, South Australia’s codes on 19 February 2026, New South Wales made its code effectively binding on 1 July 2026, and Queensland updated its code on 1 September 2026.

What	Where things stand
The duty	Identify psychosocial hazards, eliminate or minimise the risks through the hierarchy of controls, and review the controls.
Who it applies to	Every person conducting a business or undertaking under the WHS laws, and every employer in Victoria under its OHS laws.
What changed this year	Victoria: new regulations, 1 December 2025. South Australia: codes of practice, 19 February 2026. New South Wales: a duty to comply with approved codes, 1 July 2026. Queensland: updated code, 1 September 2026.
Who enforces it	The work health and safety regulator in each state and territory, and Comcare for Commonwealth workplaces.
Where to start	A psychosocial risk assessment. Our free template gives you the structure.

Sexual harassment is one of the hazards, and federal law adds its own positive duty to prevent it: see our guide to the positive duty.

The definition

What a psychosocial hazard is

The model WHS Regulations define a psychosocial hazard as a hazard that arises from, or relates to, any of these, and may cause psychological harm, whether or not it may also cause physical harm:

the design or management of work
a work environment
plant at a workplace
workplace interactions or behaviours

The regulations call the risk such a hazard poses to a worker’s health or safety a psychosocial risk. Every business must manage it through the same risk management process it uses for any other health and safety risk.

What to look for

The common psychosocial hazards

The Commonwealth’s 2024 code of practice lists 17 common hazards. It says the list isn’t exhaustive, and that harm usually comes from several hazards together, from a single event or from exposure over time.

Hazard	What it looks like
Job demands	Sustained high mental, physical or emotional effort, time pressure or role overload, or long stretches of very low effort.
Fatigue	Physical or mental exhaustion that reduces a person’s ability to work safely, such as long shifts with too little recovery between them.
Low job control	Little say over how or when the work is done, such as tightly scripted or machine-paced work.
Job insecurity	No assurance the job will last, such as casual, fixed-term, seasonal or gig work.
Poor support	Too little practical or emotional support from managers and colleagues, or inadequate training and tools.
Lack of role clarity	Uncertain, changing or conflicting roles, responsibilities and expectations.
Poor organisational change management	Change planned or made without enough consultation, support or information.
Inadequate reward and recognition	Little positive feedback, or effort out of balance with recognition.
Poor organisational justice	Inconsistent, unfair or discriminatory decisions and use of policies.
Traumatic events or material	Fear or extreme risk, or exposure to seriously injured or deceased people or distressing material.
Remote or isolated work	Long travel times, or places where help, resources or communication are hard to reach.
Poor physical environment	Unpleasant or hazardous conditions, such as poor air quality, noise or extreme temperatures.
Violence and aggression	Violence or threats from other workers, customers, patients or clients.
Bullying	Repeated unreasonable behaviour towards a worker or group that creates a risk to health and safety, including by clients or patients.
Harassment, including sexual harassment	Harassment because of personal characteristics such as age, disability, race or sex.
Conflict or poor workplace relationships	Interpersonal conflict, frequent disagreements or rude comments, with colleagues or with customers.
Intrusive surveillance	Excessive monitoring of workers, such as unreasonable supervision or tracking.

The rules

Psychosocial hazard rules, state by state

Where	In force	Latest change
Victoria	OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025, with a compliance code, both from 1 December 2025	New regulations from 1 December 2025. Following WorkSafe’s compliance code counts as complying.
New South Wales	Psychosocial regulations since 1 October 2022; the hierarchy of controls written in since 22 August 2025	From 1 July 2026, businesses must follow approved codes of practice, including Managing psychosocial hazards at work, or meet an equal or higher standard.
Queensland	Code of practice since 1 April 2023	Queensland updated its code on 1 September 2026 to match the national model. WorkSafe Queensland says the update adds no new requirements.
South Australia	Regulations since 25 December 2023	Codes on psychosocial hazards and on sexual and gender-based harassment since 19 February 2026.
Western Australia	Regulations since 24 December 2022, mines included	No change since.
Tasmania	Regulations since 22 December 2022; code since 4 January 2023	No change since.
Australian Capital Territory	Regulations from 2023; code since 27 November 2023	No change since.
Northern Territory	Regulations since 1 July 2023	No change since.
Commonwealth workplaces (Comcare)	Regulations since 1 April 2023; code since 2 November 2024	Sexual and gender-based harassment code since 8 March 2025.

Each regulator can issue notices and prosecute. In Victoria, a failure to follow the compliance code can count as evidence in a prosecution.

In practice

What employers must do

The regulations apply the same risk management process to psychosocial risks as to any other health and safety risk. In practice:

Identify the hazards. Look at how work is designed and managed, the work environment and how people interact, using the common hazards above. Talk to your workers and their health and safety representatives, who deal with the hazards every day.
Assess the risks. Consider how long, how often and how severely people are exposed, and how hazards combine.
Control the risks. Eliminate them, or minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable, working through the hierarchy of controls. The regulations list what to consider, including the design of work and job demands, how work is managed and supported, the workplace layout and conditions, workers’ accommodation and workplace interactions.
Look past training. Information, training, instruction and supervision are on that list. Victoria’s regulations limit how far you can rely on training and information alone.
Review the controls. Check they work, and look again when something changes, a new hazard appears or workers raise a concern. Victoria’s regulations require a review after a report or a notifiable incident.
Keep a record. Write down what you found, what you decided and why. In Victoria, written prevention plans are optional, and WorkSafe encourages employers to use its template.

Request the Free Template

Free template

Free psychosocial risk assessment template

A Word template that takes you through the steps above, sent to your inbox. You fill in your own workplaces, roles and controls. It covers:

Scope: the workplaces, roles and work it covers
Who you consulted, and how
A hazard register built on the common psychosocial hazards in the codes of practice: where each arises and who is exposed
Exposure: how long, how often and how severe
Current controls, and further controls through the hierarchy of controls
An action plan with owners and dates
Review dates, and what prompts an earlier review, such as a report, an incident or a change at work
Sign-off

Free template

Request the free template

Enter your work email and the team will send you the psychosocial risk assessment template (Word).

Or hear about hazards while you can still act

Staff raise a concern in Slack or Microsoft Teams, by name or anonymously, and it goes straight to the people you choose, who can reply and ask questions. Every concern stays on record, ready for your next review of controls. From £99 a month.

See how anonymous reporting works →Give Staff a Safe Route

FAQs

Common questions

What are psychosocial hazards?

Anything in the design or management of work, the work environment, plant at work, or how people interact or behave at work that may cause psychological harm, whether or not it may also cause physical harm. That is the definition in the model WHS Regulations.

What are examples of psychosocial hazards?

Job demands, fatigue, low job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, poor change management, violence and aggression, bullying, harassment including sexual harassment, conflict, traumatic events, remote or isolated work and intrusive surveillance, among others. The Commonwealth's 2024 code of practice lists 17.

Is a psychosocial risk assessment mandatory?

The regulations require you to identify psychosocial hazards and manage the risks through the risk management process. They don't prescribe a form. In Victoria, written prevention plans are optional, and WorkSafe encourages employers to use its template.

What do Victoria's psychological health regulations require?

Since 1 December 2025, every Victorian employer must identify psychosocial hazards, eliminate or reduce the risks, and review its controls, including after a report or a notifiable incident. The regulations limit how far you can rely on training and information alone. Following WorkSafe's compliance code counts as complying.

Is the psychosocial code of practice mandatory in NSW?

In effect, yes, since 1 July 2026. Businesses in NSW must comply with approved codes of practice, including Managing psychosocial hazards at work, or manage the risks to an equal or higher standard.

Do the psychosocial hazard rules apply to small businesses?

Yes. The duty applies to every business or undertaking, whatever its size.

Who enforces psychosocial hazard rules?

The work health and safety regulator in each state and territory, such as WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW and WorkSafe Queensland, and Comcare for Commonwealth workplaces.

What changed in South Australia and Queensland?

South Australia's codes of practice on psychosocial hazards and on sexual and gender-based harassment started on 19 February 2026. Queensland updated its psychosocial code on 1 September 2026 to match the national model, and WorkSafe Queensland says it adds no new requirements.

Sources & further reading

References

General information, not legal advice. It reflects our understanding of the law and official guidance as of October 2026, so check the sources above for the current position.