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On 1 December 2025, Victoria's new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (the Regulations) came into effect, marking a shift in employers' obligations to proactively control health and safety risks associated with psychosocial hazards.
Accompanying the Regulations is the Compliance Code: Psychological Health (the Compliance Code), a guide designed to assist employers to meet their obligations under the Regulations. Together, the Regulations and the Compliance Code establish a clear and enforceable framework for managing psychosocial risks in Victorian workplaces.
What is a psychosocial hazard?
Whilst the existing obligations under the Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004 (Vic) (OHS Act) required employers to control and manage risks including in relation to psychological health,1 the Regulations have introduced the term 'psychosocial hazard' which is defined as 'any factor or factors in (a) the work design, or (b) the systems of work, or (c) the management of work, or (d) the carrying out of work, or (e) personal work-related interactions that may arise in the working environment and may cause an employee to experience one or more negative psychological responses that create a risk to the employee's health or safety'.2
Examples of psychosocial hazards are:
- Bullying and harassment
- High work demands / low control
- Poor change management
- Exposure to traumatic events or aggression
- Poor organisational justice
- Limited support or unclear roles
- Remote or isolated work.
What do the Regulations require?
Under the OHS Act, employers have an existing duty to provide and maintain a working environment for their employees that is safe and without risks to health insofar as reasonably practicable.3 As mentioned above, the definition of 'health' under the OHS Act includes 'psychological health'.
Whilst the Regulations do not alter the existing duty under the OHS Act, the Regulations clarify and specify the content of the duty in relation to the identification, control and management of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
The Regulations build on the foundations of the OHS Act offering clearer guidance and stronger obligations for managing psychosocial hazards. The Regulations require that, an employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable:
- identify psychosocial hazards,4
- eliminate any risk associated with a psychosocial hazard,5 and
- if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate such a risk, then reduce the risk (again, so far as is reasonably practicable).6
If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk associated with a psychosocial hazard, employers must:
- alter the management of work, plant, the systems of work, the work design, or the work environment,7
- use information, instruction or training, to reduce the risk,8 or
- implement a combination of these measures.9
Whilst the requirements under the Regulations are similar to the traditional hierarchy of controls in that employers are required to eliminate risks first, and then apply higher order controls if risks cannot be eliminated, the traditional hierarchy is not as well suited to controlling the risks associated with psychosocial hazards and the Regulations create a modified hierarchy of controls. This means that:
- employers need to be proactive in first eliminating risks, and then higher order controls must be applied to reduce risks,
- management of work, plant, systems of work, work design and workplace environment must be the central concern at first instance,
- information, instruction or training can only be used exclusively if other measures are not reasonably practicable.10 Traditionally, many employers managed psychosocial risks purely by way of information, training and instruction and this is no longer the first port of call. Where a combination of controls is used, information, instruction or training must not be the predominant measure,11 and
- an employer is obliged to review, and, if necessary, revise any control measures it has implemented to control risks associated with psychological hazards.12
The Compliance Code is not mandatory, and a duty holder may choose to use some other way to achieve compliance with the Regulations. However, compliance with the Code will be considered compliance with duties and obligations to the extent that the Compliance Code deals with them.
The Regulations apply to all workplaces in Victoria and are intended to be scalable, meaning small businesses can adopt proportionate controls.
Implications for you
All employers will be required to comply with the Regulations from 1 December 2025.
Employers should take steps to:
- conduct a psychosocial hazard risk assessment,
- map existing controls against new hierarchy requirements,
- engage workers and Health & Safety Representatives,
- review governance structures and board visibility,
- develop/update OHS business plans and safety system integration, and
- update internal policies dealing with grievances, dispute resolution, performance management, conduct and staff behaviour.
WorkSafe has indicated that there will be proactive and targeted enforcement of compliance with the Regulations which we expect will include routine inspections and increased investigations after any notifiable incidents. Further, it appears that there will be a greater focus on identified priority groups in WorkSafe's Mental Health Strategy which includes health care/social assistance, public administration & safety and education & training.
Non-compliance with the Regulations may constitute a breach of the OHS Act, with penalties of more than $366,000 for individuals and $1.8 million for companies.
In relation to broader workforce management, the proactive steps prescribed by the Regulations will likely have a direct impact on how employers manage grievances, performance and allegations of misconduct. The Regulations provide clearer guidelines for the management of problematic behaviours that may be difficult to identify but also leaves open the risk that the guidelines may be weaponized by some. Bearing this in mind, employers should consider updating policies to allow a balanced approach to managing concerns including building a mechanism to address vexatious allegations.
Footnotes
1 Section 5 of the OHS Act: the definition of
'health' includes psychological health. See the duties
under s 21 – 23, and s 26 of the OHS Act.
2 Section 4 of the Regulations.
3 Section 21 of the OHS Act.
4 Section 14 of the Regulations.
5 Section 15(1) of the Regulations.
6 Section 15(2) of the Regulations.
7 Section 15(2)(a) of the Regulations.
8 Section 15(2)(b) of the Regulations.
9 Section 15(2)(c) of the Regulations.
10 Section 15(3) of the Regulations.
11 Section 15(4) of the Regulations.
12 Section 16 of the Regulations.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
