A psychosocial hazard is a work hazard that may cause psychological harm, such as an unreasonable workload, bullying or harassment. Under section 55C of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld), a business must manage psychosocial risks under Part 3.1: identify the hazards, eliminate or minimise the risks, and keep reviewing the controls.
Psychosocial hazards are easy to miss because the harm can build up over time.
What is a psychosocial hazard?
Section 55A of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) says a psychosocial hazard is a hazard that arises from, or relates to, the design or management of work, a work environment, plant at a workplace, or workplace interactions or behaviours, and that may cause psychological harm. Section 55B defines a psychosocial risk as a risk to the health or safety of a worker or other person from a psychosocial hazard.
Section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) requires a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers at work, and the Act’s dictionary says “health” means physical and psychological health. So psychological health is part of the primary duty. If you are unsure whether you are a PCBU, see what a PCBU is. Section 7 of the Act counts employees, contractors, labour hire workers, apprentices and volunteers as workers.
The approved code adds that a PCBU is not required to manage stressors that are not work-related, such as family or personal financial issues, though it should ensure work hazards cause no further harm to a worker with a known pre-existing psychological injury, so far as is reasonably practicable.
Is the code of practice law?
The Queensland approved Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 is guidance rather than law in itself, but section 26A of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) requires a PCBU to comply with an approved code, or to manage the hazards and risks in a way that is different but provides an equivalent or higher standard of health and safety. Under section 275 a court can have regard to the code and rely on it when deciding what is reasonably practicable.
Psychosocial hazards examples: the hazards the code names
The code lists these common psychosocial hazards and says others may emerge, so treat the list as a starting point. The examples are plain-English ones, many drawn from the code’s own.
| Hazard named in the code | Plain example |
|---|---|
| High and/or low job demands | Unachievable deadlines, or long stretches of very monotonous work |
| Low job control | Little say over how or when work is done, or unpredictable working hours |
| Poor support | No training or supervisor help, or broken and missing tools and equipment |
| Low role clarity | Two managers each telling a worker that a different job is the top priority |
| Poor organisational change management | Changing rosters or systems without telling or asking the people affected |
| Low reward and recognition | Extra effort that is never acknowledged, with no reasonable chance to develop |
| Poor organisational justice | Rules applied unfairly or inconsistently from one worker to the next |
| Poor workplace relationships, including interpersonal conflict | Constant, unresolved arguments or rude comments between crew or with a supervisor |
| Remote or isolated work | Working alone at night, or on a rural job far from help |
| Poor environmental conditions | High or nuisance noise, extreme temperatures or poor air quality |
| Traumatic events | Witnessing a serious injury or fatality |
| Violence and aggression | A customer or visitor who abuses, threatens or physically intimidates a worker |
| Bullying | Repeated belittling comments, malicious rumours or humiliating initiation pranks |
| Harassment, including sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment | Unwelcome sexual jokes, comments or touching, or demeaning remarks about someone’s sex, gender or disability |
Hazards often combine, and together can do more harm than any one alone. Our guides on shift work, fatigue management and working alone cover related topics in more depth.
Where does workplace bullying fit?
Bullying is one psychosocial hazard on the list, and our guide to workplace bullying in Queensland covers it in detail. The code describes it as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety, and says it can come from workers, clients, visitors or others. The code says reasonable management action carried out lawfully and in a reasonable way, such as giving feedback, is not work-related bullying.
The Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and Regulation 2011 (Qld) texts we checked do not use the word “bullying”. The code lists bullying as a psychosocial hazard, so it is managed through the psychosocial risk provisions (section 55A covers workplace behaviours that may cause psychological harm). The code also lists other laws that may apply, such as industrial relations and anti-discrimination laws, which this guide does not cover.
How to manage psychosocial risks: four steps
Section 55C(1) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) says a PCBU must manage psychosocial risks under Part 3.1, the same general rules that apply to every other hazard. The steps below follow those sections, plus an assessment step the code recommends. New to the terms? See hazard vs risk and how to identify hazards.
Step 1: Identify the hazards
Section 34 of the Regulation requires a duty holder to identify reasonably foreseeable hazards that could give rise to risks to health and safety. The code suggests watching how work is done, talking to workers, and reviewing records such as leave, hours, incidents and grievances.
Step 2: Assess the risk
The code says to look at how long, how often and how severe the exposure is, and how hazards combine (the same matters section 55D(2) lists for choosing controls). It says a risk assessment should be done where the risk or accepted controls are not well known, and recommends a written record. Our free risk assessment template is a general hazard tool, not a psychosocial form, so adapt the wording.
Step 3: Control the risk
Section 35 of the Regulation requires you to eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable and, if you cannot, minimise them. Section 36 sets the order: substitution, isolation or engineering controls first, then administrative controls, then personal protective equipment. Section 55D(2) lists matters to weigh, including job demands, how work is managed, workplace behaviours, and training.
The code says controls should predominantly sit at the level of work and system design rather than individual resilience, although some circumstances may need both. Its examples include rosters with advance notice, achievable workloads and clearly defined roles. A risk management policy and procedure template can help you record how your business does this.
Step 4: Review the controls
Section 38 of the Regulation requires you to review and, as necessary, revise controls, including when a control is not working, before a change that may create a new risk, when a new hazard is identified, when consultation indicates a review is needed, or when a health and safety representative requests a review under section 38(4). Section 37 requires controls to be maintained so they stay effective.
What consultation means
Section 47 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) requires a PCBU to consult, so far as is reasonably practicable, with workers who are or are likely to be directly affected by a work health and safety matter. Section 49 says consultation is required when identifying hazards and assessing risks, when deciding how to control them, and when proposing changes that may affect health or safety.
Under section 48 you must share relevant information, give workers a reasonable opportunity to express views and contribute to decisions, take their views into account, and tell them the outcome. If a health and safety representative represents the workers, the consultation must involve them. Where more than one person has a duty on the same matter, section 46 requires each, so far as is reasonably practicable, to consult, cooperate and coordinate.
The code suggests options such as anonymous surveys, because workers may hesitate to raise issues like bullying. A consultation, communication and training policy template can help you set up a repeatable process.
Worked example: a 12-person landscaping business
This is a made-up example to show the steps, not a real business.
- Identify: the owner talks to the crew and checks overtime and incident records. They hear about rushed jobs, conflicting priorities from two supervisors, repeated pranks on an apprentice, and a worker often alone on rural jobs.
- Assess: they look at how often and how long each problem occurs and how they combine: the rushed jobs make the pranks worse.
- Control: the owner schedules realistic time for each job, names one person who sets daily priorities, rosters the apprentice with different crew and a mentor, agrees written behaviour expectations and a way to report problems, and sets a check-in system for the lone worker.
- Review: the owner sets a date to ask the crew if things have improved, and reviews sooner if a new problem arises or the roster changes (section 38).
Sexual harassment and the written prevention plan
Section 55C(2) of the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) specifically requires a PCBU to manage the risk from sexual harassment and from sex or gender-based harassment at work. Section 55F requires you to consider matters such as the characteristics of the workers (for example age, gender or disability) and of the workplace, including a culture where inappropriate behaviour may be permitted. Section 55G requires you to review the controls if a person reports this kind of harassment.
Section 55H requires a PCBU to prepare and implement a written prevention plan to manage an identified risk of this kind. The plan must state each identified risk, the controls and the matters considered in choosing them, describe the consultation carried out, and set out the procedure for dealing with reports (including how to make one, how it will be investigated, and how the parties will be told the result). It must be easy for workers to understand, and be reviewed as soon as practicable after a report or a request from a health and safety committee or representative, and otherwise every 3 years. Our workplace and sexual harassment policy and procedure template is a starting point for a policy, but check any plan you write against section 55H.
Where to get help
- Workplace Health and Safety Queensland is the work health and safety regulator: talk to it about your duties.
- A worker who is struggling can speak to their doctor or use the business’s employee assistance program, if there is one. This guide is not medical or counselling advice. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 000.
- Workers’ compensation: WorkCover Queensland is the workers’ compensation insurer, not the work health and safety regulator. See our return to work plan guide, and dealing with workplace stress for worker-level tips.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for your situation.
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