Victoria’s workplace psychological health requirements are now firmly in effect.
Since 1 December 2025, Victorian employers have been operating under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025, supported by WorkSafe Victoria’s Psychological Health Compliance Code.
The changes make it clear that psychological health should be managed as part of workplace occupational health and safety, rather than treated simply as an employee wellbeing or HR issue.
Employers need to identify psychosocial hazards, assess associated risks where necessary, control those risks and review their controls. Consultation with employees and health and safety representatives is also an important part of the process.
This guide explains what the WorkSafe Psychological Health Compliance Code means, how Victorian employers can use it and the practical steps businesses should be taking in 2026.
For a broader explanation of Victoria’s psychological health requirements and related workplace reforms, see our Victoria Psychosocial OHS & Anti-Vilification Laws: Employer Guide 2026.
Quick Answer: What Victorian Employers Need to Know
Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 and WorkSafe’s Psychological Health Compliance Code have been in effect since 1 December 2025.
In practical terms, employers should:
- identify psychosocial hazards in the workplace
- assess associated risks where necessary
- eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable
- reduce risks so far as is reasonably practicable where elimination is not reasonably practicable
- consult employees and health and safety representatives where required
- implement appropriate risk controls
- monitor whether controls are working
- review and revise controls when required
- provide suitable ways for employees to report psychosocial hazards and incidents
- respond appropriately when hazards or incidents are reported
- keep appropriate records where relevant
- ensure managers understand their responsibilities.
The Compliance Code itself is not legislation, and following its guidance is not the only way an employer can comply.
However, a duty holder who complies with the Code, to the extent that it deals with their duties or obligations under Victoria’s OHS legislation, is taken to have complied with those duties or obligations.
That makes the Code an extremely important practical document for Victorian employers.
Key Dates for Victorian Employers
| Date | What changed |
|---|---|
| 1 December 2025 | Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 came into effect |
| 1 December 2025 | WorkSafe Psychological Health Compliance Code came into effect |
| 2026 | Victorian employers should now be operating their OHS systems with psychosocial hazards incorporated into normal workplace risk management |
The requirements are no longer something employers should be preparing for in the future. They are part of Victoria’s current workplace health and safety framework.
What Is the WorkSafe Psychological Health Compliance Code?
The Psychological Health Compliance Code is WorkSafe Victoria’s practical guidance for people and organisations with duties or obligations relating to psychological health under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and psychosocial hazards under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025.
The Code helps employers understand issues including:
- what constitutes a psychosocial hazard
- who has duties under Victorian OHS laws
- how psychosocial hazards can affect employees
- how to identify psychosocial hazards
- when risks need to be assessed
- how risks should be controlled
- consultation with employees and HSRs
- reviewing and revising controls
- record keeping
- reporting psychosocial hazards and incidents
- responding to reports.
WorkSafe divides the Code into a series of parts covering the legal framework, psychological health, risk management and reporting.
Employers should consider the Code as a practical roadmap for incorporating psychological health into their existing OHS systems.
Is the Psychological Health Compliance Code Mandatory?
This is one of the most important distinctions for employers to understand.
The guidance in the WorkSafe Compliance Code is not itself mandatory legislation.
However, the Code has important legal significance.
WorkSafe explains that a duty holder who complies with the Code will, to the extent that the Code deals with their duties or obligations under the OHS Act or Psychological Health Regulations, be taken to have complied with those duties or obligations.
Employers can use other methods to meet their legal obligations.
However, if workplace conditions or the way work is performed create risks that are not adequately addressed by the Code, the employer still needs to achieve compliance by other appropriate means.
Failure to follow the Code does not automatically mean an employer has breached the law. However, the Code may be used as evidence in proceedings, and WorkSafe inspectors may refer to it when identifying ways of achieving compliance.
For that reason, employers should not dismiss the Code simply because it is described as guidance.
What Is a Psychosocial Hazard?
A psychosocial hazard is broadly a workplace factor arising from the design or management of work, the working environment, workplace interactions or behaviours that may create a risk to psychological or physical health.
Psychosocial hazards can exist in almost any workplace.
They are not confined to workplaces where an employee has already made a psychological injury claim.
They can arise from factors such as workload, management practices, workplace relationships, customer interactions, organisational change, harassment or the way jobs are designed.
The 16 Psychosocial Hazards Identified by WorkSafe
WorkSafe’s Psychological Health Compliance Code provides examples of psychosocial hazards employers should understand.
These include:
- aggression or violence
- bullying
- exposure to traumatic events or content
- gendered violence
- 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.
Several hazards can exist at the same time and may interact with each other.
For example, high job demands combined with low job control and poor support may create a different level of risk from any of those hazards considered individually.
Examples of Psychosocial Hazards at Work
| Psychosocial hazard | Possible workplace example |
|---|---|
| High job demands | Persistent excessive workloads or unrealistic deadlines |
| Low job control | Employees having little influence over how or when work is performed |
| Low job demands | Highly repetitive or monotonous work with insufficient meaningful tasks |
| Poor support | Employees not receiving adequate resources, assistance or supervision |
| Low role clarity | Conflicting instructions or uncertainty about responsibilities |
| Poor organisational justice | Workplace processes being applied inconsistently or unfairly |
| Poor workplace relationships | Persistent interpersonal conflict, incivility or harmful interactions |
| Poor organisational change management | Major workplace changes introduced without adequate consultation or support |
| Aggression or violence | Employees being threatened or abused by customers, clients or colleagues |
| Sexual harassment | Unwelcome sexual behaviour occurring in connection with work |
| Remote or isolated work | Employees working without ready access to assistance or meaningful connection |
| Exposure to traumatic events or content | Workers regularly encountering distressing incidents or material |
The existence of a hazard does not necessarily mean an employee will suffer an injury.
The employer’s task is to identify hazards and manage the associated risks before harm occurs.
How Victorian Employers Should Use the Compliance Code
WorkSafe’s approach can be understood as a four-step psychosocial risk-management process:
Identify → Assess where necessary → Control → Review and revise
Step 1: Identify Psychosocial Hazards
Employers first need to identify psychosocial hazards that may be present in their workplace.
Information can come from sources such as:
- consultation with employees
- discussions with HSRs
- workplace observations
- incident and hazard reports
- complaints and grievances
- employee feedback
- staff turnover
- absenteeism data
- exit interviews
- workers compensation information
- employee surveys
- workload information
- organisational changes
- patterns emerging across teams or locations.
Employers should not rely solely on formal complaints.
Employees may not always report a psychosocial hazard because they regard it as part of the job, fear negative consequences, do not know how to report it or do not believe anything will happen.
The absence of complaints therefore does not necessarily mean the absence of risk.
Step 2: Assess the Risk Where Necessary
After identifying a psychosocial hazard, employers need to determine whether an assessment of the associated risk is necessary.
A risk assessment can help an employer understand matters such as:
- how frequently employees are exposed
- how long exposure occurs
- the severity of possible harm
- which employees may be affected
- whether several hazards are interacting
- whether existing controls are adequate.
The assessment should be proportionate to the circumstances and should help the employer decide what controls are required.
Step 3: Control Psychosocial Risks
Employers should seek to eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable.
Where elimination is not reasonably practicable, risks should be reduced so far as is reasonably practicable.
Importantly, psychosocial risk management should focus on the source of the workplace risk, rather than relying primarily on employees to become more resilient.
Depending on the hazard, controls might include:
- redesigning workloads
- increasing staffing or resources
- changing rostering arrangements
- clarifying roles and responsibilities
- improving supervision
- giving employees greater control over appropriate aspects of their work
- improving workplace change-management processes
- addressing harmful behaviour
- improving physical working conditions
- providing safer systems for isolated workers
- introducing measures to reduce customer aggression
- improving reporting systems
- providing appropriate manager training.
The appropriate controls will depend on the actual hazard and workplace circumstances.
Step 4: Review and Revise Controls
Psychosocial risk management is not a one-off exercise.
Employers need to monitor whether controls are working and review and revise them when required.
A review may be appropriate when:
- a new psychosocial hazard is identified
- an incident occurs
- an employee reports a hazard
- existing controls appear ineffective
- workplace conditions change
- new technology is introduced
- roles or workloads change
- organisational restructuring occurs
- new information becomes available.
This is why psychosocial safety should become part of an organisation’s normal OHS processes rather than a once-a-year HR exercise.
Consultation With Employees and HSRs
Consultation is central to effective psychosocial risk management.
Employees often understand practical workplace risks that may not be obvious from policies, management reports or executive meetings.
Depending on the circumstances, consultation might include:
- team discussions
- individual conversations
- workshops
- HSR consultation
- health and safety committee discussions
- focus groups
- employee feedback
- surveys.
Where employees are represented by health and safety representatives, employers should ensure HSRs are involved where consultation is required.
Consultation should be genuine.
It is not simply telling employees what management has already decided.
Can Employers Use Employee Surveys?
Employee surveys can be useful for identifying psychosocial hazards, particularly in larger organisations, organisations operating across multiple locations or workplaces where employees may be reluctant to raise concerns directly.
However, surveys should be treated as one source of information, not as the entire psychosocial risk-management system.
A survey result may indicate a potential problem, but employers may still need to consult employees, investigate the underlying work design and identify appropriate controls.
A yearly engagement survey alone is unlikely to tell an employer everything it needs to know about psychosocial hazards.
WorkSafe also provides tools to support psychosocial risk management, and employers should consider whether validated tools are appropriate for their circumstances.
How Should Employers Handle Reports of Psychosocial Hazards?
WorkSafe devotes a substantial part of its Compliance Code to reporting and responding to psychosocial hazards and incidents.
Reports might include an employee saying:
- their team is experiencing excessive job demands
- remote employees are becoming disconnected
- workplace noise is affecting concentration and mental wellbeing
- a customer verbally abused them
- a colleague sexually harassed them
- a supervisor is bullying them.
Reports can reveal hazards that were previously unidentified and can also indicate that existing controls are not working.
Make Reporting Accessible
Employees should have practical ways to report psychosocial hazards and incidents.
Depending on the organisation, this could include:
- an existing hazard or incident reporting system
- a supervisor or manager
- HR
- an OHS team
- an HSR
- an internal complaint or grievance process
- employee feedback systems
- confidential reporting options where appropriate.
Reporting systems designed originally for physical hazards may need to be adapted for psychosocial issues.
Provide Alternative Reporting Options
An employee may not feel able to report a problem directly to their manager, particularly where that manager is involved in the issue.
Employers should therefore consider whether alternative reporting pathways are appropriate.
Large organisations are more likely to require formal reporting systems, while smaller businesses may use simpler processes appropriate to their size and risks.
Respond in a Timely and Appropriate Way
Reports should not simply disappear into an HR inbox.
Depending on the circumstances, employers may need to:
- identify ongoing risks
- determine whether other psychosocial hazards are present
- review existing controls
- assess risks
- investigate the matter further
- communicate reasonable timeframes
- provide appropriate information to relevant parties
- implement or revise risk controls.
HR and OHS functions may need to work together where a complaint also reveals a workplace health and safety risk.
Consider Confidentiality
Employers should provide confidential reporting options where appropriate and explain how information will be handled.
Absolute confidentiality cannot always be guaranteed. Information may sometimes need to be disclosed to investigate and control risks, respond to immediate safety issues or meet legal obligations.
Policies should therefore explain both confidentiality protections and their limits.
Bullying, Sexual Harassment and Workplace Conflict
Psychosocial safety overlaps with several other areas of workplace conduct.
Bullying, sexual harassment, aggression, gendered violence and harmful workplace relationships may create psychosocial hazards.
However, not every workplace disagreement is automatically bullying, harassment or a breach of OHS law.
Employers need systems capable of distinguishing between ordinary workplace disagreement, reasonable management action, interpersonal conflict and genuinely harmful conduct while still identifying and controlling any associated health and safety risks.
For a broader discussion about workplace conduct, communication and respectful professional environments, see our Practical Guide to Workplace Respect, Boundaries and Social Cohesion in Australia.
Psychosocial Risk Management Is Not Just an Employee Wellbeing Program
One of the most important practical lessons for employers is the distinction between risk prevention and employee support.
Employee assistance programs, wellbeing initiatives, mental health awareness programs and resilience training may provide valuable support.
However, they should not substitute for controlling workplace hazards at their source.
For example, if employees are experiencing excessive workloads because a department is chronically understaffed, offering a mindfulness program does not remove the underlying workload issue.
Similarly, providing an EAP does not remove the need to address bullying, sexual harassment, aggression or unsafe work design.
The primary focus should remain on identifying and controlling the workplace factors creating the risk.
What Records Should Employers Keep?
Appropriate records can help employers understand psychosocial risks, track controls and demonstrate how issues have been addressed.
Depending on the organisation and risk, useful records might include:
- identified psychosocial hazards
- risk assessments
- consultation records
- HSR discussions
- agreed control measures
- implementation responsibilities
- review dates
- incident reports
- complaints or hazard reports
- actions taken in response
- training records
- changes made following reviews.
Record keeping should also take privacy and confidentiality obligations into account, particularly where sensitive personal information is involved.
The type and level of documentation required will depend on the workplace and circumstances.
Do Small Businesses Have to Manage Psychosocial Hazards?
Small businesses should not assume psychological health requirements only apply to large corporations.
The way a small employer identifies and manages risks may be simpler and more proportionate to its size and circumstances, but psychosocial hazards can occur in workplaces of every size.
For example, a small hospitality business might need to consider:
- aggressive customers
- excessive workloads
- long or unpredictable hours
- understaffing
- bullying
- sexual harassment
- poor support
- unclear responsibilities.
A small professional office might face different risks, such as high workloads, poor role clarity, interpersonal conflict or poorly managed organisational change.
The system should suit the business, but the underlying responsibility to manage health and safety risks remains important.
Victorian Employer Psychosocial Compliance Checklist 2026
Employers reviewing their psychological health systems should consider the following questions:
- Have we identified psychosocial hazards in our workplace?
- Have employees been consulted?
- Have relevant HSRs been consulted?
- Have we assessed associated risks where necessary?
- Are our controls directed at the source of the risk?
- Have we considered interactions between multiple psychosocial hazards?
- Are responsibilities for implementing controls clear?
- Can employees easily report psychosocial hazards and incidents?
- Is there an alternative reporting pathway when a direct manager is involved?
- Do managers know how to respond to reports?
- Are reports addressed in a timely and appropriate way?
- Do HR and OHS functions communicate where necessary?
- Are confidentiality and privacy issues appropriately managed?
- Are psychosocial risk controls regularly reviewed?
- Are controls reviewed following incidents or significant workplace changes?
- Are appropriate records maintained?
- Are new managers and employees given relevant information or training?
- Does senior management understand that psychosocial safety is an OHS responsibility?
- Are employee wellbeing initiatives being used alongside, rather than instead of, workplace risk controls?
- Have we reviewed the current WorkSafe Psychological Health Compliance Code?
If several of these questions cannot be answered confidently, the organisation may benefit from a more comprehensive review of its psychosocial risk-management processes.
Frequently Asked Questions
When Did Victoria’s Psychological Health Regulations Start?
The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 came into effect on 1 December 2025.
WorkSafe’s Psychological Health Compliance Code also came into effect on 1 December 2025.
Is the WorkSafe Psychological Health Compliance Code Mandatory?
The guidance in the Code is not itself mandatory legislation.
However, a duty holder who complies with the Code, to the extent that it deals with their duties or obligations under the relevant Victorian OHS legislation, is taken to have complied with those duties or obligations.
Other methods of compliance can be used.
What Is a Psychosocial Hazard?
A psychosocial hazard is a workplace factor that may create a risk to an employee’s psychological or physical health.
Examples include high job demands, bullying, aggression, sexual harassment, poor support, low job control and poor workplace relationships.
How Many Psychosocial Hazards Does WorkSafe Identify?
WorkSafe’s Compliance Code provides 16 examples of psychosocial hazards, ranging from high and low job demands through to bullying, aggression or violence, sexual harassment, gendered violence and exposure to traumatic events or content.
Do Victorian Employers Need a Psychosocial Risk Assessment?
Employers need to identify psychosocial hazards and assess associated risks where necessary.
A separate formal risk assessment is therefore not necessarily required for every individual hazard in every circumstance. Employers should follow the risk-management requirements and consider whether an assessment is necessary to determine appropriate controls.
Is Excessive Workload a Psychosocial Hazard?
Potentially, yes.
High job demands are recognised as a psychosocial hazard. This can include situations where the amount, pace, complexity or emotional demands of work create health and safety risks.
Is Bullying a Psychosocial Hazard?
Yes. Bullying is one of the psychosocial hazards identified by WorkSafe.
Employers should consider both how harmful behaviour is addressed and whether underlying workplace systems or conditions contribute to the risk.
Is Working From Home a Psychosocial Hazard?
Working from home is not automatically a psychosocial hazard.
However, remote or isolated work can create psychosocial risks in some circumstances, including disconnection from colleagues, reduced access to support or difficulty obtaining assistance.
Do Employers Have to Consult Employees?
Victorian OHS laws contain consultation duties, and employee consultation is an important part of identifying and managing psychosocial hazards.
Where employees are represented by HSRs, those representatives should also be involved where required.
Can Employers Use Anonymous Surveys?
Yes, surveys can be useful, including confidential or anonymous surveys where appropriate.
However, surveys should complement rather than replace consultation and other methods of identifying psychosocial hazards.
What Should an Employer Do When Someone Reports a Psychosocial Hazard?
The employer should respond appropriately to the circumstances.
This may include identifying ongoing risks, reviewing existing controls, assessing risks, investigating further and implementing additional controls.
Are EAPs Enough to Comply With Psychosocial Safety Duties?
An Employee Assistance Program can provide valuable employee support, but it does not replace the need to identify and control psychosocial hazards within the workplace.
Employers should focus on eliminating or reducing the source of the risk so far as reasonably practicable.
Do Small Businesses Have to Manage Psychosocial Hazards?
Yes, psychological health is part of occupational health and safety for Victorian workplaces.
The systems used by a small employer may be simpler than those required by a large organisation, but small businesses still need to appropriately manage workplace health and safety risks.
Can HR Manage Psychosocial Risks Without the OHS Team?
Some matters will involve both HR and occupational health and safety responsibilities.
For example, an employee complaint about bullying may require an HR investigation while also revealing psychosocial hazards that need to be managed through the organisation’s OHS risk-management process.
Where appropriate, HR and OHS functions should work together rather than treating the issues as completely separate.
Why the Compliance Code Matters in 2026
The most significant change for employers is not simply the existence of another workplace policy document.
Psychological health is increasingly expected to be managed using the same basic risk-management principles employers already apply to physical health and safety.
That means identifying hazards before injury occurs, consulting employees, implementing appropriate controls and checking whether those controls actually work.
The strongest workplace systems will therefore integrate psychosocial safety into everyday management rather than treating it as an annual wellbeing initiative.
Sources and Further Reading
Employers should refer directly to current WorkSafe Victoria material when making compliance decisions.
Primary source: WorkSafe Victoria – Psychological Health Compliance Code
WorkSafe guidance: Psychosocial Hazards and Risk Controls
WorkSafe guidance: Managing Reports of Psychosocial Hazards and Incidents
Brighton Savoy: Victoria Psychosocial OHS & Anti-Vilification Laws: Employer Guide 2026
Brighton Savoy: A Practical Guide to Workplace Respect, Boundaries and Social Cohesion in Australia
About our research: About Brighton Savoy
Final Thoughts
Victoria’s Psychological Health Compliance Code gives employers a practical framework for managing psychosocial hazards as part of normal workplace health and safety.
The central process is straightforward:
Identify hazards → Assess risks where necessary → Control risks → Review and revise controls
The challenge is making that process part of everyday workplace management.
Employers should understand the psychosocial hazards relevant to their organisation, consult employees, implement controls directed at the actual source of risk, provide accessible reporting pathways and regularly review whether their systems are working.
For Victorian employers in 2026, psychological health should no longer be viewed simply as a wellbeing initiative. It is an established part of workplace occupational health and safety.
Legal and Editorial Disclaimer
This article provides general information about workplace psychological health and occupational health and safety in Victoria. It is intended as an employer and consumer information guide and does not constitute legal, workplace relations, medical or professional advice.
Laws, regulations and regulatory guidance can change. Employers should consult the current WorkSafe Victoria guidance and obtain professional advice appropriate to their organisation and circumstances where required.
Last researched and updated: August 2026.
