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Psychosocial hazards training is a workplace compliance program that helps organisations identify, assess, and manage psychosocial risks that may cause psychological harm to employees – such as high job demands, bullying, poor support structures, or exposure to traumatic events. Under Australia’s Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the WHS Regulation 2025, employers have a legal obligation to manage psychosocial hazards as they would physical risks, using the hierarchy of controls to eliminate or minimise exposure. This training supports that duty, reduces psychological injury risk, and builds a psychologically safe work environment.
GRC Solutions’ Psychosocial Hazards training is designed specifically for Australian organisations operating under Work Health and Safety laws. This course goes beyond awareness to support practical psychosocial risk management, legal compliance, and organisation-wide capability building.
This course is especially relevant for organisations in regulated sectors such as financial services, government, education, health care, and professional services. Organisations in local government can also explore our dedicated Local Government Psychosocial Hazards Training.
Participants will develop practical skills to:
This training equips workers and managers with the knowledge and practical tools to foster safer, more psychologically safe workplaces.
Psychosocial hazards arise from the way work is designed, organised, managed, and experienced. They can cause both psychological and physical harm – including anxiety, depression, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder – and must be managed as seriously as physical safety risks.
Psychosocial hazards can:
Proactive management of psychosocial risks-including addressing psychosocial hazards before they escalate -can significantly reduce these outcomes. Under Australian WHS laws, businesses have a legal duty to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable. For organisations managing workplace aggression alongside psychosocial risk, our course on proactive measures for managing workplace aggression and psychosocial hazards covers both.
Australian WHS guidance and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 outline a four-step risk management process for managing psychosocial hazards. Employers must consult with workers throughout.
Identify psychosocial hazards by reviewing:
Assess the likelihood and severity of psychological harm, including:
Control measures and risk management strategies may include:
Review control measures to ensure they remain effective through:
As of 1 April 2023, Federal legislation under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 requires employers to manage psychosocial hazards. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 requires psychosocial risks to be managed using the hierarchy of controls and operates alongside existing duties to consult with workers when identifying hazards and implementing control measures.
State-level changes, including South Australia’s December 2023 regulatory update, have reinforced the positive duty on businesses to eliminate or minimise psychosocial hazard exposure through a consultative risk management approach. The Comcare guidance on psychosocial hazards provides a useful reference for Commonwealth employers navigating these obligations.
Failure to comply can result in:
Psychosocial hazards training helps organisations demonstrate due diligence, meet their legal obligations, and build mentally healthy workplaces.
This course is designed as a practical, enterprise-ready training program that supports legal compliance and real workplace improvement. It’s delivered via Salt Compliance LMS, GRC Solutions’ compliance learning management system built for regulated industries.
Regular refresher training is recommended to ensure staff remain competent and aware of updated procedures, particularly following organisational change. The course complements broader Work Health and Safety training programs and integrates into existing compliance frameworks.
| Feature | Psychosocial Hazards Training | General WHS Training |
|---|---|---|
| Core focus | Psychological health and safety | Physical safety |
| Legal relevance | High and current | Established |
| Skills taught | Risk assessment, control measures, leadership | Safety procedures |
| Regulatory priority | Increasing | Ongoing |
Organisations that invest in psychosocial hazards training benefit from:
Creating a mentally healthier workplace not only minimises risks to employee health but leads to improved productivity and outcomes for organisations overall. The Black Dog Institute’s guidance on managing psychosocial hazards in your workplace offers additional evidence-based context on why this investment matters.Why Choose GRC SolutionsGRC Solutions delivers enterprise-ready compliance training trusted by organisations across Australia.
Explore our broader workplace risk and mental health training, including:
Pricing and Delivery OptionsEnterprise Licensing
Customisation Options
Is This Training Right for Your Organisation?This training is a strong fit if your organisation:
Contact us to protect your people, meet your WHS obligations, and build a safer workplace.
This training is essential for employers and employees. Everyone has a responsibility to contribute to a safe workplace and to identify the environmental and social aspects of work that can give rise to psychological (as well as physical) injury.
Psychosocial hazards arise from work design, management, and social interaction and can cause psychological harm. Common examples include high job demands, low job control, bullying, sexual harassment, and exposure to traumatic events. They can lead to anxiety, depression, burnout, and physical illness if unmanaged.
Psychosocial hazards training is not mandatory by name, but employers must manage psychosocial risks under WHS law. Training is often required to support compliance and due diligence, alongside higher‑order controls such as changes to work design and systems
Effective psychosocial risk management follows a four-step process: identify hazards, assess risks, implement control measures, and review control measures over time. This process must be consultative, involving workers and health and safety representatives. Safe Work Australia’s Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work provides the authoritative framework.
Managers, leaders, HR, WHS professionals, safety representatives, and workers involved in managing people and risk. It’s particularly relevant for organisations in regulated industries including financial services, government, health care, and education.
Regular refresher training is recommended, particularly following organisational change, incidents, or updates to WHS legislation.
Yes. This course is fully online, delivered through the Salt Compliance LMS or your LMS, and scalable across organisations of all sizes.
Psychosocial hazards affect psychological health and mental wellbeing rather than physical safety, but they carry the same legal weight under the WHS Act. They must be identified, assessed, and controlled using the same risk management approach applied to physical hazards.
This course is exclusively for organisational clients and is not available for individual purchase.
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