Psychosocial Risk in Victoria: A Practical Guide for HR and Business Leaders

The introduction of Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 represents a fundamental shift in how organisations are expected to manage workplace risk.

Psychological health is no longer positioned as a wellbeing initiative. It is now a core safety obligation, requiring the same discipline, structure and accountability as physical safety.

This article outlines what has changed, what it means in practice, and where organisations should focus.

What are psychosocial risks?

Psychosocial risks are hazards that arise from the way work is designed, managed and experienced.

This includes factors such as:

• excessive workload or unrealistic deadlines

• low role clarity or poorly managed change

• ineffective leadership or management practices

• workplace conflict, bullying or harassment

Importantly, these are system-level risks, not individual issues.

The shift: from support to prevention

Historically, organisations have responded to psychosocial risk through:

• employee assistance programs (EAPs)

• resilience or wellbeing initiatives

• training and awareness

While these remain important, they are no longer sufficient on their own.

The regulations require organisations to focus on:
👉 eliminating or reducing risks at the source

This means addressing how work is structured, not just how individuals cope with it.

The regulatory framework

Victoria’s approach aligns with the standard OHS risk management cycle:

1. Identify psychosocial hazards

2. Assess the risks associated with those hazards

3. Implement control measures

4. Review and monitor effectiveness

However, there is a stronger emphasis on:

• documented processes

• consultation with employees and HSRs

• reviewing controls when triggers occur (e.g. complaints, organisational change)

What this means for HR and leaders

Psychosocial risk sits at the intersection of:

• safety

• culture

• leadership

• organisational design

This creates a more strategic role for HR, including:

• embedding psychosocial risk into governance frameworks

• aligning people strategy with safety obligations

• supporting leaders to make better work design decisions

• integrating data across HR and safety systems

Common challenges

In practice, organisations are facing several barriers:

1. Turning regulation into action
Understanding the requirements is one thing — operationalising them is another.

2. Over-reliance on training
Training supports awareness but does not address root causes.

3. Fragmented data
Insights are often spread across engagement surveys, safety systems and HR metrics.

4. Leadership capability
Leaders are being asked to manage risks that are less visible and more complex.

Where to start

For organisations early in their journey, a practical approach includes:

• Developing a clear psychosocial risk management framework

• Mapping and integrating existing data sources

• Identifying high-risk roles, teams or patterns of work

• Reviewing current controls for effectiveness

• Building leadership capability and accountability

Final perspective

Psychosocial risk is not a new concept — but the expectations around how it is managed have changed significantly.

Organisations that approach this purely as compliance may struggle.

Those that take a more strategic approach have an opportunity to:

• improve performance

• strengthen culture

• and design more sustainable ways of working

Ultimately, the question is no longer whether psychosocial risk exists — but whether the way work is designed is contributing to harm, or preventing it.