Victoria’s newest workplace safety regulations come into force on 1 December 2025, marking a significant shift in how organisations must manage mental-health risks. The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025, released by WorkSafe Victoria on 30 September, place psychosocial hazards squarely alongside physical hazards in duties for employers. (Insurance Business)
Under these regulations, employers must identify hazards like bullying, unclear work design, exposure to trauma or excessive job demands, and take proactive steps to eliminate or minimise them. Documentation, consultation with staff, and ongoing reviews are now mandatory parts of compliance efforts. (The Sector) For many businesses this means revisiting risk frameworks, updating procedures and embedding new controls by the December deadline.
What the changes mean for employers and risk managers
From the perspective of management, human resources and compliance teams, the new regulations introduce fresh obligations that tighten accountability and raise the standard of mental-health safety in the workplace.
Increased duty-holder responsibilities
The regulations explicitly require employers to:
- Identify psychosocial hazards — such as high job demands, low job control, bullying, violence or exposure to trauma. (The Sector)
- Control risks by first seeking to eliminate them and, if elimination is not reasonably practicable, reducing them through work-design changes, management practices or environment controls rather than relying solely on training or awareness. (WorkSafe Victoria)
- Review controls — whenever there is new information, a workplace change, a reported incident or a request by a health and safety representative (HSR). (WorkSafe Victoria)
For large organisations or those in high-risk sectors, the expectations are especially heightened: separate reporting systems, formal prevention plans and formalised consultative mechanisms will be required. (Insurance Business)
What this means in practice is that companies must move from reactive strategies to a preventive, structured approach, with clear documentation and an audit trail of how psychosocial risk is managed.
Practical steps for readiness (with checklist)
Below is a practical checklist that leaders can use to prepare. Adopting these actions now will help ensure compliance by the December 1 start date.
- Conduct a gap analysis of current mental‐health / psychosocial risk practices against the new regulations.
- Update policies and procedures to explicitly cover psychosocial hazards, define roles/ responsibilities and reflect the regulatory definitions.
- Review work design and systems – assess whether job demands, role clarity, supervision, or environment are creating hazards.
- Implement higher-order controls – such as redesigning jobs, adjusting workloads, improving management practices or redesigning task systems rather than relying solely on training.
- Engage consultation mechanisms – involve workers, HSRs and contractors in hazard identification and control decisions.
- Establish documentation and review processes – maintain records of prevention plans, incident reports, control measures, reviews and outcomes.
- Train leaders and managers on the new obligations and their roles in active risk management, plus inform staff about how psychological hazards are managed.
- Plan for change triggers – ensure controls are reviewed after any significant workplace change, new incident, complaint or report.
By working through this checklist in the coming weeks, organisations will reduce the risk of non-compliance and build stronger resilience in their workforce’s psychological health.
Key elements of the regulations – at a glance
| Key requirement | What it means in practice | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Definition of “psychosocial hazard” | Any factor in work design, systems, management, environment or interactions that may cause negative psychological responses. (claytonutz.com) | From 1 Dec 2025 |
| Duty to eliminate or reduce risk | Employers must first seek to eliminate hazards; if not reasonably practicable must reduce them. Training/awareness alone cannot be the primary control. (worksafetyhub.com.au) | From 1 Dec 2025 |
| Review and revise controls | Controls must be reviewed when new information arises, a hazard is reported, after significant changes or upon HSR request. (WorkSafe Victoria) | Continuous |
| Consultation with workers & HSRs | Employers must consult workers, HSRs (if present) and contractors on hazards and controls. (WorkSafe Victoria) | From now, ongoing |
| Documentation and evidence of compliance | Employers should maintain records that demonstrate hazard identification, assessment, controls implemented and review. (Insurance Business) | Ongoing |
This table offers a structured overview for leaders and risk professionals to align their compliance efforts with the incoming regulation.
Preparation and sector-specific considerations
Though the regulation applies to all Victorian employers, certain sectors and workplace situations require tailored focus because of heightened psychosocial risk.
Mental-health, education, early-childhood, disability services, emergency services and remote/isolated work all have specific exposures that must be considered.
For example:
Many early-childhood services in Victoria already face hazards such as high job demands, emotional labour and frequent change processes. Under the new regulations, the risk of exposure to trauma, child-related aggression or behavioural issues must be treated with the same rigour as manual-handling or physical safety hazards. (The Sector)
Another significant shift is the regulatory mindset: the law now treats psychological health on equal footing with physical health. WorkSafe states this explicitly: “These laws make it clear that workplace psychosocial hazards are just as dangerous to workers as physical hazards and they must be managed appropriately.” (NDS)
Organisations must therefore ensure they do not rely solely on reactive measures (such as counselling or employee assistance programs) but implement systemic changes to address root causes. For instance: revisiting workloads, clarifying roles, improving supervision, designing jobs to reduce exposure to trauma, creating support structures for isolated workers and embedding regular reviews.
Leaders should ask: “How will our workplace design, our management systems and our culture contribute to risk – and how can we reshape them to reduce harm?” The question is no longer optional.
Trending FAQ
Q1: When do the new regulations commence?
A1: The regulations take effect on 1 December 2025. (WorkSafe Victoria)
Q2: Who do they apply to?
A2: All employers in Victoria (and any contractors they manage or influence) must meet the obligations. (worksafetyhub.com.au)
Q3: What counts as a psychosocial hazard?
A3: Examples include high job demands, low control, bullying, sexual harassment, exposure to traumatic events, poor support, unclear roles, remote work, and adverse work environments. (WorkSafe Victoria)
Q4: Can we just use training and awareness to meet the obligations?
A4: No — training and awareness cannot be the primary control if better solutions (work redesign, management systems, environment changes) are reasonably practicable. (WorkSafe Victoria)
Q5: Is a prevention plan mandatory?
A5: Preparing a prevention plan is encouraged but not mandatory. The Regulations focus on hazard identification, risk control and review. (Lander & Rogers)
Q6: Will workers compensation be affected by these regulations?
A6: No — eligibility for workers compensation is governed by other legislation (the WIRC Act). These regulations focus on OHS duties and do not change workers compensation provisions. (WorkSafe Victoria)
Q7: What should we do now?
A7: Begin immediately: review current systems, conduct a gap analysis, revise policies, consult workers, implement practical controls and embed monitoring and review. Waiting until November may expose you to compliance risk starting December.
Victoria’s new psychological-health regulations require no less than a cultural shift. Employers must now treat mental-health risk with the same seriousness as physical hazard exposure. For organisations that act early—with clear policies, robust controls, engaged workers and consistent review mechanisms—the transition can become an opportunity to build a more resilient, healthy and high-performing workforce. The countdown to December 1 is on.
