Low Job Control
Low Job Control is a key psychosocial hazard. It refers to when workers do not have enough - or have little - control over key aspects of their work. This includes how or when a job is done. It also refers to situations when decisions are made that affect a worker without a worker being consulted before the changes.
If low job control is an issue in your workplace, you need to be consulted on changes to systems to address this hazard.
Remember, your employer has a duty to provide a safe workplace under section 21 of the OHS Act 2004 as well as the duty to provide adequate training and information for you to be able to perform your role safely. They also have the duty to monitor the conditions of the workplace to make sure they are safe under section 22 and the duty to consult on matters relating to health and safety under Section 35. The OHS Act empowers HSRs to take action on low job control.
The new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 also require your employer to eliminate or mitigate psychosocial hazards using a modified Hierarchy of Controls.
Examples of low job control include:
- Work being micro-managed. This means that managers engage in excessive monitoring of tasks and expect tasks - even the simplest of tasks - to only be done in one way.
- Computer or machine based work.
- Tightly managed and highly controlled work.
- Workers having little say over work processes and systems including when they can take breaks, how they do work or when they can change tasks.
- Workers and HSR's are not consulted on decisions that affect them.
- Unpredictable working hours.
- Little control over clients or customers that display aggression or are distressed and abusive.
Examples of control measures include:
- Have a strong union culture and elected union HSR's trained and able to bring up psychosocial hazards when they arise and compel management to act.
- Putting consultation measures in place that ensure that workers are consulted on their work and enable meaningful input into work and organisational issues.
- Put systems in place that allow for cooperative approaches to decision making. Workers should have input into their work.
- Involve workers in the allocation of responsibility for tasks within a team.
- Ensure appropriate staffing levels for the work that needs to be done and allocate work accordingly.
- Design work systems so that there is sufficient job variation and rotation.
- Train managers to be supportive leaders and to be aware and proactive about their obligations under the OH&S Act to provide a safe workplace.
OHS Reps resources
- Psychosocial hazards
- What are psychosocial hazards?
- What is work-related stress?
- Work Stress Questionnaire - OHS Reps
- Psych Health Survey Tool - OHS Reps
- Prevention Plan for Psychosocial Hazards - OHS Reps
- Hierarchy of Controls
- Poor Support - OHS Reps
- Poor Change Management - OHS Reps
- High and Low Job Demands - OHS Reps
WorkSafe Victoria resources
- Compliance code: Psychological health
- Psychosocial hazards in the workplace
- Prevention plans for psychosocial hazards template
- Psychosocial risk assessment tools
- Low job control
- Low job control fact sheet
- Low role clarity
- Low role clarity fact sheet
- Poor support
- Poor support fact sheet
- High and low job demands
- High job demands fact sheet
- Low job demands fact sheet
- Poor organisational change management
- Poor organisational change management fact sheet
Safe Work Australia resources
- Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work
- Psychosocial hazards
- Low job control
- Lack of role clarity
- Poor support
- Poor organisational change management
- Job demands
Other resources
ACTU: Mind Your Head campaign to improve workplace mental health
ACTU: Work Shouldn't Hurt survey report 2021
Updated May 2026