On 1 October 2025, Ben Carroll, Deputy Premier and Minister for WorkSafe and the TAC, announced that the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic) have been made and will commence on 1 December 2025.
Psychosocial risks in the workplace can significantly affect workers’ wellbeing and result in psychological harm. The new Regulations introduce additional requirements for Victorian employers to proactively identify and manage psychosocial hazards in the workplace, ensuring psychological health is treated with the same priority as physical health.
While the introduction of these Regulations is significant, employers have long been required under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic) to provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to health, including psychological health. The Regulations clarify what constitutes a psychosocial hazard and outline the steps employers must take to identify and control those risks within a structured risk management framework. In doing so, Victoria aligns with other Australian jurisdictions that already regulate psychosocial hazards.
Importantly, the Regulations do not introduce any new penalty provisions under the OHS framework and do not confer a private right of action in civil proceedings for a contravention.
Key Outcomes:
The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025
- define a psychosocial hazard as any factor in the design, systems, management, or conduct of work, or in work related interactions, that may cause a negative psychological response creating a risk to the health or safety of employees and independent contractors
- provide examples of what may constitute psychosocial hazardssuch as bullying, aggression, exposure to trauma, high job demands, poor organisational support, low job control, and sexual harassment
- require employers to integrate psychosocial risk management into existing occupational health and safety processes
What’s Not Included:
Several provisions from the 2022 exposure draft have not been adopted, including:
- mandatory reporting by large employers of psychosocial complaints
- prescriptive definitions of “bullying” and “high job demands”
- a requirement for formal “prevention plans” documenting risks, control measures and consultation activities.
Next Steps for Employers:
The Regulations raise expectations around compliance and documentation. To prepare for their commencement, employers should:
- review WorkSafe’s recently published compliance code for psychological health
- review existing policies, procedures, and control measures for psychosocial risks
- ensure that training and instruction is not relied upon as an exclusive control measure, unless none of the other prescribed control measures are reasonably practical
- train managers to recognise and respond to psychosocial hazards early
- update OHS systems to capture psychosocial risks alongside physical hazards
Looking Ahead
The coming weeks provide an opportunity for employers to assess their readiness and ensure all safety frameworks, policies, and training are aligned before the Regulations take effect on 1 December 2025.
For tailored advice or assistance in reviewing your psychosocial risk management framework, contact the HMB Team at admin@hmblaw.com.au.
