In Short
Victoria’s new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 require all employers, including small businesses, to identify and eliminate psychosocial hazards so far as reasonably practicable. If you cannot eliminate the risk, you must reduce it by changing work design, management practices or systems, not by relying on training alone. You must also regularly review and update your risk controls.
Tips for Businesses
Carry out a psychosocial risk assessment and consult your workers about potential hazards. Review workloads, reporting lines and management practices to identify pressure points. Update policies and complaint processes, and document the steps you take. Schedule regular reviews of your controls, especially after incidents, complaints or workplace changes.
Summary
This article provides a guide for Victorian business owners on complying with the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025. It was prepared by LegalVision’s employment lawyers, and LegalVision, a commercial law firm that specialises in advising clients on employment law and workplace compliance.
As of 1 December 2025, Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (‘Regulations‘) have come into effect. Victorian businesses must now proactively identify psychosocial hazards in the workplace and eliminate the risks, so far as reasonably practicable. These changes align Victoria’s laws more closely with the Model WHS laws used in other states, although Victoria has introduced some additional obligations. This article explains what psychosocial hazards are, outlines the new legal requirements, and sets out the practical steps your business should take to comply.
What Are Psychosocial Hazards?
Psychosocial hazards are non-physical risks to safety that ultimately impact a worker’s mental health. They may arise in working environments that cause negative psychological impacts on a worker and create risks to their health or safety.
Examples of psychosocial hazards include:
- bullying;
- high job demands;
- low recognition and reward;
- low role clarity;
- poor support;
- poor workplace relationships;
- remote or isolated work; or
- sexual harassment.
The Regulations broaden the definition of psychosocial hazards to include any factors that cause negative psychological effects and create risks to an employee’s health or safety. This includes:
- work design, such as work tasks, activities, and responsibilities;
- work systems, including policies, procedures, practices and equipment;
- the management of work, including structure, procurement and resourcing decisions;
- how the work is carried out, including night shifts, remote or isolated work, and hazardous tasks; or
- personal or work-related interactions between employees and others, including customers
What Do the New Regulations Require of Victorian Businesses?
The Regulations provide Victorian businesses with further guidance and structure on their existing work health and safety duties. In Victoria, the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (‘OHS Act‘) already requires employers to ensure the safety of their employees, including by addressing risks to health, including psychological health.
Where any risk associated with psychosocial hazards cannot be eliminated, you will be required to reduce the risk by altering:
- the management of work;
- the plant (equipment);
- the systems of work;
- the work design; or
- the workplace environment
The Regulations also require Victorian businesses to review and revise any measures implemented to control psychosocial hazard risks:
- before altering any process or system of work that may lead to psychosocial hazard risk changes;
- if new or additional information about a psychosocial hazard becomes available;
- if an employee, or a person on behalf of an employee, reports a psychological injury or a psychosocial hazard to the business, such as bullying allegations;
- after a notifiable incident occurs involving psychosocial hazards;
- if, for any other reason, the risk control measures do not adequately control the risks associated with a psychosocial hazard; or
- after receiving a request from a health and safety representative.
Such review requirements ensure that employers continuously monitor and improve their approach to managing psychosocial risks. Regular reviews help identify gaps in existing controls and allow you to respond promptly to emerging psychosocial hazards.
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What This Means for You
Employers within Victoria are required to comply with the Regulations as of 1 December 2025. This includes small business employers.
To reduce these risks, businesses may need to change their management practices, systems or work design. This is especially important if the business uses AI systems. If you delegate, assign or track work in ways that create psychosocial safety risks, you may need to review and adjust those processes to comply with the Regulations.
Some practical steps that you can implement now include:
- conducting regular risk assessments for psychosocial hazards;
- performing ongoing consultation with your workers and documenting their feedback, including through anonymous employee feedback surveys and regular meetings between employees and their managers;
- ensuring managers regularly review employees’ workloads and appropriately delegate work;
- ensuring employees understand the appropriate processes to file any workplace complaints or grievances; and
- providing ongoing psychosocial training to managers to ensure compliance with the Regulations.
WorkSafe Victoria has released a Compliance Code to help employers understand and meet the new requirements. You do not have to follow the Code, but if you are audited, you must demonstrate compliance with the standards. Following the Code can help you demonstrate compliance.
You should take this time to review your internal processes to ensure you are compliant with the Regulations.
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Key Takeaways
Victorian businesses should remember that the following actions are necessary, such as:
- Identification and proactive action: As an employer, you will need to ensure that you can actively identify psychosocial hazards (such as bullying, high job demands and poor workplace relationships) and eliminate or reduce associated risks so far as reasonably practicable.
- Instruction, information and training alone are not enough: Where risks associated with psychosocial hazards cannot be eliminated, you will be required to reduce the risk by altering work design, management practices, systems of work, equipment or workplace environment rather than relying primarily on training, information and instruction to address psychosocial hazards.
- Regular reviews: You will be required to review and revise psychosocial risk controls when workplace changes occur, new information emerges, incidents are reported, or upon request from health and safety representatives.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The Regulations apply to all Victorian employers, including small businesses. You must identify psychosocial hazards in your workplace and eliminate or reduce the risks so far as reasonably practicable.
No. Training can support your approach, but it cannot be your main control measure. You must focus on changing work design, management practices, systems or the workplace environment to properly reduce the risk.
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