A recent amendment to the NSW WHS Regulation 2017 means that from 1 October 2022, employers are expressly required to manage psychosocial risks in the workplace.

The new provisions can be found at clauses 55A-55D of the WHS Regulation. They define “psychosocial hazard” and “psychosocial risk” and clarify the appropriate control measures that your employer is required to implement to manage those risks.

So, what are psychosocial hazards?

Examples of psychosocial hazards identified in the SafeWork NSW Code of Practice Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work are:

• job demands
• low job control
• poor support
• lack of role clarity
• poor organisational change
  management
• inadequate reward and recognition
• traumatic events or material
• remote work
• violence and aggression
• bullying and harassment.