For years, workplace safety in Victoria has centred almost entirely on physical risks, but that focus has now shifted decisively. With the release of Worksafe Victoria’s new Compliance Code for Psychological Health starting December 1, 2025, the mandate for employers is unequivocal: psychological health regulations in Victoria now require the same rigour and systematic management as physical safety. This isn’t a suggested guideline; it’s a clearly defined framework for how to meet your existing duties under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004.
For businesses already certified to the ISO 45001 Occupational Health & Safety standard, the good news is that your management system provides the perfect framework for integration. In this blog, we provide a step-by-step roadmap to align your current practices with the Code’s specific requirements.
Understanding the Compliance Code: Its Scope and Authority
The Compliance Code for Psychological Health is an essential document of Victoria’s Occupational Health and Safety Framework. Through the following major criteria, we can identify how the Compliance Code provides authority:
- Authoritative Benchmark for Legal Compliance: As an approved compliance code, it establishes expectations of employers to fulfil their obligations under the OHS Act, thus providing employers with a reliable point of reference regarding lawful behaviour.
- Recognised in Legal Proceedings: The code is admissible as evidence in a court of law to support an argument regarding the reasonableness or appropriateness of the employer’s measures taken to manage psychosocial hazards. As such, it represents an additional source of influence during compliance investigations and litigation.
- Clear Expectations for All Duty Holders: The Code sets out a uniform level of responsibility for employers, self-employed persons and anyone who manages and/or controls a worksite.
- Focus on Psychosocial Hazards: The Code describes psychosocial hazards in relation to the design of work and the way we organise our workplaces. Workplaces are extremely complicated places and this code acknowledges the seriousness of the issue: the Psychological health risks associated with psychosocial hazards.
- Reinforces the Importance of Psychological Health: Recognising that psychosocial hazards can cause physical and mental injury. This Code places psychological health on an equal footing with physical health in the context of workplace health and safety legislation.
The Core Duty: A Systematic Approach to Psychosocial Hazards
The fundamental duty defined by the Code is identical to that for physical hazards: you must eliminate psychosocial risks; where elimination is not possible, reduce them as far as reasonably practicable. The Code mandates a systematic risk management process.
Compliance with these obligations will not happen overnight; instead, this is an evolving process that is fully integrated with the organisation’s daily operations. Therefore, it is essential that an organisation have a clear, systematic plan of action to comply with these obligations.
A Step-by-Step Compliance Roadmap
Here is how it maps directly onto your existing health and safety obligations.
1. Consult Your Workforce
Consultation with employees and Health & Safety Representatives is not a final step; it is required at every stage. Your workers are the experts on their own work. They can identify hazards, help assess risks, and develop effective control measures. The Code emphasises that consultation must occur when identifying hazards, assessing risks, deciding on controls, and reviewing their effectiveness.
2. Identify Psychosocial Hazards
You must proactively seek out and identify hazards related to psychological health at the workplace. The Code groups psychosocial hazards into several key areas, including:
- Job demands and complexity
- Low job control
- Poor support
- Lack of role clarity
- Poor organisational change management
- Inadequate reward and recognition
- Traumatic events or materials
- Remote or isolated work
- Poor physical environment
- Violence and aggression
- Bullying
- Conflict or poor workplace relationships
This identification should draw on a combination of methods such as direct observation, workplace inspections, surveys, and analysis of organisational data.
3. Assess the Associated Risks
Once a hazard is identified, you must assess the risk. “Risk” is defined as the combination of the likelihood of a person being exposed to a hazard and the degree of harm that might result. The Code requires you to consider both the frequency and duration of exposure, as well as how the hazards might interact or combine to increase risk.
4. Implement Control Measures
Controls must follow the hierarchy, with priority given to systemic measures:
- Elimination – Complete removal of the hazard where reasonably practicable. Example: Eliminate all situations that cause excessive mental load.
- Organisational Work Design – Organisational design to reduce hazard at its source.
Example: balancing workload, role clarity and adequate resourcing. - Administrative Control – Management of exposure to the hazard.
Example: predictable shifts, formal supervision, and defined anti-bullying policies. - Individual Support – Should be used as supplementary only.
Example: EAPs and Mental Health Training.
5. Review and Maintain Control Effectiveness
Controls must be reviewed and, if ineffective, revised. Regular review should be scheduled and must also occur if a hazard or risk is identified, before a change that may create a new risk, or if consultation indicates a review is needed.
ISO 45001 Synergy: Integrating Compliance into Your System
For ISO 45001-certified workplaces, this roadmap is not a new burden; it is a specific application of your established “Plan-Do-Check-Act” cycle. The Code’s systematic process directly mirrors the ISO 45001 requirements for hazard identification, risk assessment, and operational planning and control.
Your existing processes for consultation, documentation, and management review provide the structure required to meet these compliance obligations. The Code simply provides the detailed Victorian regulatory specifications for the psychological health component of your system. This is where Anitech ensures seamless integration. Our expertise in both the standard and the local legislation helps us in its robust implementation.
How Anitech Helps With This Issue
Anitech assists Australian organisations in navigating complex compliance landscapes through practical, integrated systems. Our services incorporate structured steps that help businesses implement best practices in line with the Compliance Code and meet their legislative obligations.
We provide complete implementation and audit services for ISO 45001 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems while ensuring the requirements for Psychological Health are included within the remit of each organisation. We assist businesses to develop a framework that includes the steps to identify, assess and control psychosocial hazards and to monitor these hazards. This will help ensure compliance with the expectations of the new Victorian Regulations and also enhance the company’s overall resilience.
Our consultants can help you conduct gap analysis against the Code’s requirements. They also help identify gaps or areas of concern within your existing system and support you in fixing these through appropriate controls based on the hierarchy of controls. Our consultants facilitate the full hazard identification and risk assessment process and integrate these required controls seamlessly into your current management system.
We also offer targeted training to build internal competency. This training ensures your team can sustain compliance and foster a psychologically safe workplace. As a result, we help you turn regulatory obligation into organisational resilience.
Conclusion
The Victorian Compliance legislation for Psychological Health marks a definitive shift. It moves psychological risk management from a wellbeing initiative to a core, non-negotiable component of workplace safety.
By leveraging your ISO 45001 foundation and following the specified systematic process, you can not only meet this new regulatory expectation but also build a safer and more productive organisation. For the right assistance, contact Anitech today!
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