What are Psychosocial Hazards?

Many modern workplaces have a number of hazards that put at risk the psychological health of workers. We refer to these as psychosocial hazards. As is the case for other workplace hazards and risks, the employer has a duty to identify these and then take action to eliminate, or if this is not reasonably practicable, minimise them. 

Download Victorian Trades Hall Council's Psychosocial Hazards standard.

How much of an issue is poor psychosocial/psychological health? 

According to Dr Peta Miller, Special Adviser for Safe Work Australia, “Poor psychological safety costs Australian organisations $6 billion per annum in lost productivity. This is primarily because psychological injuries typically require three times more time off work than other injuries. Additionally, workplaces with poor psychological working conditions accrue 43 per cent more sick days per month.” (June 2018)

In other words: work-related psychological injury is expensive, not just in dollar terms (for employers) but clearly to workers, whose lives can be ruined.

But because we know what causes psychological harm, preventative action can be taken, and it works.

What does the law say?

As well as an employer’s general duty of care imposed by the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, psychosocial hazards are now specifically addressed in the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 and supported by the WorkSafe Victoria Compliance Code: Psychological Health.

Employer duties

Under the Victorian OHS Act (2004) and WHS/OHS Acts around Australia, the employer has a general duty of care: "An employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health." [s21(1)]. More pointedly: ".. an employer contravenes subsection (1) if the employer fails to... provide or maintain plant or systems of work that are, so far as is reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health". 

Crucially, "health includes psychological health" [s5 Definitions]

As of December 2025, employers also have a duty of care to proactively identify psychosocial hazards in their workplaces, and to manage them in accordance with the OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025.

Hazard/risk factors 

There can be many psychosocial workplace risk factors and the VTHC Standard lists the most common of these. The hazards identified in Victorian legislations are:

  • Aggression or violence
  • Bullying
  • Exposure to traumatic events or content
  • High job demands
  • Low job control
  • Low job demands
  • Low recognition and reward
  • Low role clarity
  • Poor environmental conditions
  • Poor organisational change management
  • Poor organisational justice
  • Poor support
  • Poor workplace relationships
  • Remote or isolated work
  • Sexual harassment

Action plan for HSRs

The causes of psychosocial hazards are known, and therefore preventative actions can be implemented, treating psychological health as we would any other workplace risk. The Compliance Code: Psychological Health offers guidance on the risk management process as it relates to eliminating or reducing the risk posed by psychosocial hazards.

As with all workplace hazards, psychosocial risk factors should be dealt with in this way:

  1. Identification and assessment of the hazard/risks: talk to DWG members; check information your employer has such as absence records; we have a tool you can use to identify any risk factors to psychosocial health in your workplace 
  2. Control: discuss measures your employer can take to either eliminate or minimise the risk factors - your employer needs to involve you in the development and implementation of these.
  3. Review and evaluation of any control strategies: it is important that there be ongoing review of measures taken. This needs to be done by your employer in consultation with elected health and safety representatives

Use the rights and powers you have under the OHS Act to both identify the hazards and risks, consult with your DWG, and take the issue to your employer for resolution. You may need to contact your union for advice and assistance, and remember your 'tools' under the Act, including issuing a PIN if necessary. 

Because stress is a major factor which can contribute to psychological injury, and many of the risk factors for stress are the same as those discussed here, check the Stress Action Plan for Health and Safety Representatives for more information and advice on what to do. 

Because of the high cost to workers and their families, the VTHC has, in consultation with our affiliates, developed a Psychological Health Standard for HSRs to use in the workplace. It will assist in tackling the workplace hazards which threaten workers' psychological well-being, and minimising the risks of psychological injury. 

VICTORIAN TRADES HALL COUNCIL APPROVED SAFETY STANDARD 

Psychosocial Hazards

The Victorian Trades Hall Council, as the peak body representing workers in Victoria, is endorsing the following controls as the minimum protections against psychosocial hazards that must be implemented in all Victorian workplaces. 

Injuries to psychological health can be prevented, and these standards must be adopted in order to stop the increase of such injuries, and to protect workers from exposure to further risk.

1   Risk management

The employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate risks to health and safety associated with psychosocial hazards at the workplace in accordance with this standard.

Where elimination is not reasonably practicable the employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, minimise the risks to health and safety associated with psychosocial hazards at the workplace.

The employer has a duty to:

  1. provide and maintain a work environment that is safe and without risks to health and safety associated with psychosocial hazards; and 
  2. provide and maintain systems of work that are safe and without risks to health and safety associated with psychosocial hazards. 
  3. consult with workers and their elected HSRs regarding psychosocial hazards and potential controls

2   Definition

A psychosocial hazard encompasses anything potentially detrimental to the mental, emotional, and social dimensions of what it means to be healthy.

The table below outlines common psychosocial risks that must be addressed, and the aspect of work to which they relate:

 Aspects of Work

Examples of Risk

 Work Design
  • High or low job demands
  • Low job control
  • High cognitive demands
  • High emotional demands 
  • Exposure to occupational violence

 Work Organisation
  • Poor organisational change management
  • High risk work arrangements such as shift work 
  • Job insecurity

 Work Management
  • Lack of role clarity
  • Low organisational justice 
  • Low recognition and reward

 Work Relationships
  • Lack of supervisor or co-worker support
  • Inequitable or disrespectful workplace culture
  • Exposure to violence and harassment, including gendered violence such as sexual harassment 
  • Bullying

 Work Environment
  • Traumatic events
  • Vicarious trauma 
  • Isolated or remote work

 

3  Hierarchy of Control

  • The employer must eliminate, where reasonably practicable, risks to health and safety associated with psychosocial hazards. 
  • If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate a risk associated with a psychosocial hazard, the employer must reduce the risk so far as is reasonably practicable, by:
  1. altering the –
    1. management of work, or
    2. plant, or
  • systems of work, or
  1. work design, or
  2. workplace environment, or
  1. using information, instruction or training, or
  2. using a combination of any of the controls listed in (a) and (b).

OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations r15(2)

  • Information, instruction or training may only exclusively be used as a risk control measure where none of the risk control measures listed at (a) are reasonably practicable - OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations r15(3)
  • Where a combination of risk control measures is used, information, instruction or training must not be the predominant control measure - OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations r15(4)

More information

  • There are separate sections on the OHS Reps website on the following workplace hazards that can negatively affect psychosocial health:

Work is a significant factor in people’s mental health. Meaningful, rewarding, good work can impact positively on our mental health. Equally, issues such as high workloads, customer and client aggression and poor workplace relationships can adversely impact on workers’ mental health.

The ACTU's Mind Your Head campaign is about recognising the impact that the workplace itself has on workers’ mental health.  It encourages action in workplaces to address mental health hazards – just like we would take action on a slip hazard. Read more about the campaign, which is being done jointly with the VTHC, here. 

The campaign aims to provide employers and workers with high quality resources that support them in their efforts to improve workplace mental health. Check them out here:

As the campaign progresses, further resources will be developed and added to the Mind Your Head website. 

WorkSafe Victoria resources: 

 

Psychosocial Hazards

 

SafeWork Australia resources:

 

Psychosocial Hazards

 

Return to work in psychological claims, provides an analysis of the Survey results and includes a comparative literature review on RTW after psychological injury.

New South Wales resources:

 

Last updated April 2026