The Victorian Government’s final Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic) (Regulations) came into force on 1 December 2025 – a milestone moment for workplace wellbeing.
While earlier drafts of the Regulations proposed obligations on employers to maintain written prevention plans and report certain hazards to WorkSafe, those provisions were dropped in the final version. However, this doesn’t mean complacency is an option. WorkSafe Victoria still strongly recommends using the prevention-plan template developed during the drafting process to provide structure, transparency and minimise the risk of psychosocial hazards.
Importantly, these Regulations are now a standalone instrument – a new legal requirement that exists alongside the traditional Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic). Awareness of both is essential to avoid compliance gaps.
What Employers Must Do Now
Eliminate or Minimise Psychosocial Risks
Employers are now explicitly required to identify and eliminate psychosocial hazards wherever possible. If elimination isn’t “reasonably practicable,” the employer must reduce the risk by modifying work design, systems and management structures. Then and only then, as a last resort, through training or information.
Know the Hazards
A ’psychosocial hazard’ is defined as any factor in:
- the work design;
- the system of work;
- the management of work;
- the carrying out of work; or
- personal or 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 their health and safety.
Psychosocial hazards include but are not limited to:
- bullying, violence, or harassment;
- exposure to traumatic incidents;
- poor job design: excessive demands, insufficient control, low reward, or unclear roles;
- inadequate environmental conditions or poor management of change; and
- lack of support, dysfunctional relationships, or staff working remotely or in isolation.
These hazards can trigger cognitive, emotional, behavioural, and even physiological responses that threaten health and safety.
Continuous Risk Management
There is a hierarchy of measures which employers must comply with. In the first instance, an employer must eliminate the risk. However, if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risk, the employer must reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable by altering the management of work, systems of work, work design or workplace environment. If the risk cannot be reduced by altering these systems, then the employer must use information, instruction or training to reduce the risk as far as reasonably practicable.
Employers must regularly review and revise controls under multiple scenarios:
- before implementing changes to work processes;
- when new hazards or injury reports arise;
- following any incident involving a psychosocial trigger;
- if existing measures prove ineffective.
WorkSafe can require Employers to review or update control strategies if safeguards aren’t kept up to date or robust. WorkSafe has released a Compliance Guide on managing risks to psychosocial hazards to assist employers in complying with the Regulation.
Why Employers Should Seek Advice
- Navigate complexity: New standalone rules mean your existing OHS systems and processes may no longer be enough.
- Stay ahead of WorkSafe: The recommended template provides employers with a defensible baseline for compliance. However, employers should ensure that risk management frameworks are tailored to unique hazards in their workplace having regard to their operations, environmental conditions, leadership capability, culture, sector and known issues.
- Protect your people and your reputation: Early detection and mitigation of psychosocial risks can reduce legal and operational exposure, as well as employee distress and turnover.
Next Steps for Employers
- Review your systems: Identify potential psychosocial hazards in your workplace.
- Use prevention tools: The template remains a best-practice resource.
- Embed change: Align your work systems with the Regulations’ hierarchy: eliminate, reduce, then inform.
- Plan reviews: Schedule reviews both routinely and in response to incidents or changes.
- Consult your adviser: Get tailored guidance from an OHS professional or legal advisor to ensure full compliance and best practice.
WorkSafe Victoria’s guidance on managing risks to psychosocial hazards is a useful starting point but with so much at stake, expert advice isn’t just prudent, it’s essential. Employers who take a strategic, informed approach to psychological safety now will build stronger, healthier, more resilient workplaces, and shield themselves from future legal or regulatory risk.
How we can help
Moores can assist employers to amend their risk management frameworks to ensure that they effectively identify and mitigate psychosocial hazards, including occupational health and safety policies and procedures, training for senior leaders on identifying and managing psychosocial hazards, and implementing plans to minimise risks as far as possible.
For more information on the reforms, watch our webinar Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace.
Contact us
Please contact us for more detailed and tailored help.
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Disclaimer: This article provides general information only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You should seek legal advice regarding the application of the law to you or your organisation.