Psychosocial Safety Is Now a Legal Duty (Australia): What Leaders Must Do in 2023+

Philippa Scott introduces a new Unapologetic Edge series on psychosocial safety, asking leaders when they last felt genuinely confident their organisation isn’t harming employees in a way that would withstand inspection, a claim, or legal scrutiny.

She explains that in 2023 WorkSafe Australia updated model WHS regulations to explicitly include psychosocial hazards, making psychosocial risk a legal duty of care like physical risk, with 14 hazard categories organisations must identify, assess, control, and review.

Scott argues most organisations manage few or none and often rely on engagement surveys, EAPs, or wellbeing programs, which support individuals but don’t meet legal obligations or address structural causes.