Flint’s Quick Reference
| Will this impact my business? – if you employ anyone who primarily works from Victoria, or use contractors in Victoria regularly – YES
Do I need to do anything? – YES – you need to develop, document, and carry out a systematic risk assessment and management process. When do I need to do it by? – You need to act now – the new regulations commence on 1 December 2025 What happens if I don’t? Increased risk of WorkSafe Victoria investigations, provisional improvement notices (PINs), and, in cases of serious or ongoing failure, prosecution and regulatory penalties. |
Exploring the new regulations
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) compliance in Victoria is undergoing a significant shift with the commencement of the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 on 1 December 2025.
The goal of the regulations is to strengthen OHS laws to better protect employees from work-related mental injuries. As reported by the Victorian Premier, psychosocial hazards such as bullying, sexual harassment, aggression or violence, and exposure to traumatic events or content continue to cause significant harm in Victorian workplaces. Workers are being encouraged to report injuries early and ensure they receive immediate treatment, which means that WorkCover claims for mental injury in Victoria are high.
The new regulations aim to reduce the incidence of workplace mental injury by formalising and strengthening an employer’s existing duty of care to protect the mental well-being of their employees. The fundamental duty of employers remains to provide and maintain a safe working environment without health risks; however, this duty now expressly includes the identification, management and control of ‘psychosocial hazards’.
The regulations apply to all employers of workers who primarily work in Victoria.
Understanding Psychosocial Hazards
A psychosocial hazard is any factor arising from the way work is designed, managed, or carried out that may cause an employee to experience a negative psychological response and create a risk to their health or safety.
Examples of psychosocial hazards provided by WorkSafe Victoria include:
- Bullying, aggression, or sexual harassment
- High or low job demands
- Low job control or clarity
- Poor support or poor workplace relationships
- Poor environmental conditions
- Poor organisational change management
- Remote or isolated work.
Compliance Code: Psychological Health
WorkSafe Victoria has provided the Psychological Health Compliance Code to assist employers in complying with their new obligations. It sets out a systematic approach to risk management across four stages, with employees or a health and safety representative being consulted at each stage. Flint has provided an easy reference guide to the Code below.
| An employer who complies with the Psychological Health Compliance Code will, to the extent it 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 need to take steps now
Compliance with the new regulations requires employers to take a dedicated and proactive move to integrate the cycle of hazard identification, risk assessment, risk control and review into their workplaces. This is more than just a form-filling exercise and may fundamentally change the way some organisations carry out their work and operate, if psychosocial risks are identified.
Employers must develop processes using the Compliance Code to guide each stage. All steps taken by employers should be fully recorded and documented, and, most importantly, employee consultation must take place at each stage.
| Properly documenting your process and the actions you have taken is vital in case you have a WorkSafe Victoria Investigation.
Bearing in mind the start date of 1 December, there is a steep learning curve for employers and a lot to do. Flint can help you to develop a system that complies with the regulations and works for your business and employees – just reach out. |
Flint’s easy reference guide
This is a reference guide only and not legal advice. We recommend that you read the Compliance Code in full and get legal advice if you need further information.
| Compliance Stage | Legislative Requirement | Matters you need to consider | How employers should approach this stage |
| Identify Hazards | Employers must proactively identify psychosocial hazards in the working environment.
Link to the Code (Part 3 Step 1). |
|
Use Appendix B of the Compliance Code to help you work through hazard identification.
Employees or the HSR must be consulted.
|
| Assess Risks | An employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate any risk associated with a psychosocial hazard.
Link to the Code (Part 3 Step 2) |
Employers need to determine the seriousness of the risk by considering both the:
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Employees or the HSR must be consulted. Focus on psychosocial hazards that are likely to cause the most harm:
Take into account additional risk factors such as new employees or young workers. |
| Control Risks | An employer must, so far as is reasonably practicable, eliminate any risk associated with a psychosocial hazard.
Link to the Code –Part 3 Step 3 |
|
Employers must do what a reasonable person who is committed to the highest level of protection against risks to health and safety would do in the circumstances.
Employees or the HSR must be consulted. |
| Review and Revise | An employer must review and, if necessary, revise any measures implemented to control risks associated with any psychosocial hazard.
Link to the Code – Part 3 Step 4 |
Risks must be reviewed when certain circumstances occur, for example:
|
The people reviewing risk control measures need to:
How a review is conducted will vary depending on the situation. For example, in some cases, a brief analysis may be sufficient. At other times, a documented, in-depth review may be required. |