Have You Identified Your Psychosocial Hazards?

In Victoria in early 2025 Oz 22 Painting Pty Ltd and Blisspell Pty Ltd were successfully prosecuted in relation to psychosocial hazards.

The former was fined $90,000, and the latter was fined $100,000.

The single charge that brought them both undone — ‘failing to provide a workplace that was safe and without risk to health’.

Prior to this, in 2023, Court Services Victoria (CSV) was fined $380,000 for ‘failing to provide and maintain a safe workplace’.

What do these three examples have in common? They all took place prior to Victoria introducing the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025.

With the release of these regulations WorkSafe has made it clear what it expects to see from Victorian employers.

Since their introduction WorkSafe, has been active, with numerous clients receiving visits from WorkSafe to review what they were doing to address the psychosocial hazards in the organisation.

And what is the first question they are asking employers?

“What have you done to identify the psychosocial hazards in your organisation”

From our own discussions with prospective clients, employers are not acting.

They are ‘deliberating and debating’, ‘considering their options’, but failing to launch.

To a degree, I believe they are overwhelmed and unsure of what to do, where to start, and who to trust.

Identification of psychosocial hazards is the first step in the Risk Management process and for those in Victoria, the requirement to identify psychosocial hazards is spelled out clearly in Section 14 of the new regulations.

If you are finding the management of psychosocial hazards overwhelming. If you are unsure of how to start. Reach out. We can help.

Contact Alex Stratton, National Manager, Growth and Strategy.
alex.stratton@aegisrms.com.au