Psychosocial hazards at work: rules by Australian state
Short answer
Psychosocial hazards are parts of work that can harm mental health, such as bullying, harassment, violence, traumatic events and excessive workloads. Regulators in each state treat them as hazards to manage like any other. Dates and instruments differ by state, so use the table and pick your state.
Automatically checked against WorkSafe Victoria, WorkSafe Queensland, NT WorkSafe and WorkSafe ACT , between 31 Oct 2026 and 1 Nov 2026.
What counts as a psychosocial hazard
Regulators describe psychosocial hazards as anything at work that may cause psychological harm. Examples they give include bullying, sexual harassment, aggression or violence, exposure to traumatic events, excessive workloads, poor support and remote or isolated work. They’re treated as hazards to be identified, assessed and controlled, in the same way as a physical hazard.
The commencement table
The rows below list the dates we have checked against each regulator’s own page. A state that’s missing hasn’t been checked yet, and the table makes no claim about it. The state guides give what each regulator publishes.
Why a confidential route matters
Psychosocial problems are often about people in the line of reporting. A worker who is being bullied by a supervisor can’t sensibly report it to that supervisor’s manager. A confidential route lets the report reach someone else, and a record of when it was raised matters later.
In Haznote a worker can mark a report confidential. It goes to the company’s confidential contact, not to site managers. That’s an appointed Representative if there is one, otherwise an Admin. Where the site allows anonymous reports, a worker can also send one anonymously, which is best-effort because voice and photos can identify them. The confidential PDF carries a strictly confidential watermark on every page.
How the states differ
The instruments differ. Victoria has its own Psychological Health Regulations 2025 under its own Act. Queensland has a code of practice that it says is enforceable, with amended regulations. The Northern Territory points to the model code, and the ACT approved its own code. Western Australia’s page, as we checked it, gives an overview and a mining program but no date. Pick your state for the detail and the regulator’s own words.
What Haznote does not do
- It doesn’t decide whether behaviour is bullying or harassment
- It doesn’t run an investigation or a risk assessment for you
- It isn’t legal advice, and it doesn’t replace a complaint to a regulator
What the regulator says
Each row shows the source’s own words, who published them and when they were last checked by script.
| Item | What it says | Source and check date |
|---|---|---|
| Victoria | The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 have now commenced. Source says: | WorkSafe Victoria Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Queensland | The Code and Regulations both commenced on 1 April 2023. Source says: | WorkSafe Queensland Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Northern Territory | New regulations on psychosocial hazards commenced on 1 July 2023. Source says: | NT WorkSafe Checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| ACT (code of practice) | The Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice Approval 2023 came into effect on 27 November 2023. Source says: | WorkSafe ACT Checked 1 Nov 2026 |
Pick your state or territory.
Plain answers.
Do these rules apply to small businesses?
Regulators describe the responsibility as sitting with PCBUs generally. Check your regulator’s guidance for your situation.
Can a worker report psychosocial problems confidentially?
In Haznote, yes. A confidential report goes to the company’s confidential contact, not to site managers.
Is this a substitute for advice from the regulator?
No. It’s general information, not legal advice, with the regulator’s own words quoted under each fact.
Where this comes from.
- Psychological health · WorkSafe Victoria
- Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 · WorkSafe Queensland
- Workplace mental health · NT WorkSafe
- Psychosocial hazards · WorkSafe ACT
General information, not legal advice. Check the current rules with your regulator.
Give workers a confidential route that skips the site manager.
Run it on one site and see the first report land in the manager’s list.