Psychosocial hazards: getting ready for regulator visits

Employers and other persons conducting businesses or undertakings (PCBUs) in NSW have – since 1 October 2022 – been required to include psychosocial hazards in their assessment of workplace hazards.

SafeWork NSW’s new Psychological Health and Safety Strategy for 2024 to 2026 (Strategy) provides insight into SafeWork NSW’s priorities in relation to psychosocial hazards over the next three years.

Psychological Health and Safety Strategy

Despite the various psychosocial laws implemented across Australia during the past two years, the number of workplace-related psychological injuries continue to rise.[1] Accordingly, the Strategy is focused on supporting NSW businesses to reduce psychosocial hazards and increase compliance with WHS laws.

Significantly, the Strategy provides the following.

• High-risk industries: SafeWork NSW will conduct targeted compliance visit programs to high-risk industries, which are identified as public administration and safety, education and training, and healthcare and social assistance. These visits are intended to strengthen WHS compliance to prevent psychological harm.
• Compulsory Psychosocial WHS Checks: SafeWork NSW will complete a Psychosocial WHS Check for all inspector visits to organisations with 200 or more workers.
• Increased inspector visits: SafeWork NSW aims to increase planned inspector visits by 25 per cent over the next three years.

If high-risk or large organisations have not taken appropriate action in consultation with workers to comply with their WHS duties, SafeWork NSW will take enforcement action, including prosecution where a PCBU repeatedly or seriously fails to comply with WHS laws. Penalties for breach of these obligations are up to $10.89 million for corporations in NSW (for a Category 1 offence).

Other states and territories are already seeing an increased regulatory focus on the management of workplace psychosocial hazards. For instance, WorkSafe Victoria has established a Psychosocial Inspectorate with one employer in that State being fined almost $380,000 in late 2023 for its failure to identify and control risks to the psychological health of employees of the Coroners Court.

Practical steps PCBUs should take 

PCBUs should (in consultation with their workers) take the following steps to comply with these requirements:

1. Identify all reasonably foreseeable psychosocial hazards. This may include via worker surveys.
2. Assess and prioritise the psychosocial hazards, by considering the duration, frequency and severity of the hazards.
3. Identify measures to control psychosocial hazards and consult with workers about the proposed control measures.
4. Implement control measures to eliminate the psychosocial hazards so far as reasonably practicable and, if not reasonably practicable, to minimise them.
5. Monitor and review systems and processes (including the relevant control measures) for effectiveness.

JWS has extensive experience in assisting organisations to implement psychosocial hazard management strategies to prepare for SafeWork inspection visits. If you have any comments or questions, please contact our Employment team.

^{[1] Safe Work Australia Data Report, ‘Psychological health and safety in the workplace’, February 2024.}