Mentally Healthy FIFO Workplaces: Practical WHS Guide

A mentally healthy fly-in fly-out workplace is one where psychosocial hazards are identified and controlled as part of normal WHS management. For builders, subcontractors and supervisors, this means looking beyond individual resilience and addressing the way work, rosters, travel, accommodation, supervision and site culture are organised.

The WorkSafe WA Code focuses on Western Australian workplaces using FIFO arrangements in resources and construction. Its principles can also help with drive-in drive-out and other work away from home, but local requirements vary and current regulator material should always be checked.

Main FIFO psychosocial hazards

FIFO workers can experience the same psychosocial hazards as other workers, with extra pressure from remoteness and rostered living. Common hazards and risk factors include:

excessive workloads, long shifts or too many consecutive workdays
fatigue, night work and poorly planned shift rotations
limited control over tasks, breaks, rosters or accommodation
unclear roles, conflicting instructions or inadequate supervision
bullying, harassment, aggression, conflict or poor workplace behaviour
isolation from family, friends and usual support networks
unreliable personal communications
noisy, hot, crowded or unpredictable accommodation
poor change management, job insecurity or perceived unfairness
exposure to traumatic events, serious incidents or emergency response work.

Several hazards may occur together. High demands combined with low control, weak support and inadequate recovery time can create a greater risk than any one issue considered alone.

What should be sorted before work starts?

Psychosocial risk planning should begin when the job, roster and mobilisation arrangements are being designed. The PCBU, principal contractor, subcontractors and supervisors should clarify who will manage shared risks and how workers can raise concerns.

Before mobilisation, practical matters usually include:

consulting workers and health and safety representatives about likely pressures
assessing workload, shift length, roster compression, travel and recovery time
confirming responsibilities, reporting lines and supervisor capability
checking accommodation for sleep, privacy, security and temperature control
arranging reliable personal communications and access to support
explaining behavioural standards, reporting channels and confidentiality
planning welfare checks, emergency responses and support after critical events
recording hazards, controls, owners and review dates in the site or project risk system.

The assessment should consider how often exposure may occur, how long it may last, how intense it could be and whether workers have realistic opportunities for relief.

What good controls and documents usually cover

Start with controls that improve work design and remove or reduce hazards at their source. Examples include achievable workloads, adequate staffing, predictable rosters, proper rest opportunities, clear roles, capable supervision and meaningful worker input into decisions.

Accommodation should support sleep and recovery. Reliable communications help workers remain connected with family and social networks. Reporting systems should be trusted, accessible and followed by timely action and feedback.

Useful documents commonly include a psychosocial risk assessment or integrated risk register, fatigue and rostering procedures, consultation records, behavioural policies, training records, complaint and incident processes, welfare-check arrangements, critical-event plans and recovery or return-to-work procedures. Employee assistance and peer-support programs can complement these controls, but they should not replace improvements to the work itself.

Controls should be monitored using information such as hazard reports, complaints, incidents, worker feedback, absenteeism, turnover and direct observations. Review them when work, rosters, staffing, travel or accommodation changes.

When does a SWMS or site-specific document apply?

Use the site's required SWMS for high risk construction work and ensure its work steps and controls reflect relevant fatigue, communication, supervision or work-pressure issues. A separate mental health SWMS is not usually the starting point.

For broader FIFO psychosocial risks, a site-specific risk assessment, project WHS management plan, fatigue plan, roster controls or emergency procedure will often be more useful. Select documents according to the work, jurisdiction, contractual arrangements and the principal contractor's site systems.

Practical warning signs

Warning signs may appear in workers, teams or site data. Watch for unusual irritability, withdrawal, poor concentration, repeated mistakes, conflict, declining work quality, increased absence, fatigue complaints, unsafe shortcuts or a sudden change in behaviour.

Also take repeated complaints, bullying reports, high turnover, missed shifts, unexplained non-attendance and increased incidents seriously. Respond promptly, respectfully and confidentially. Escalate urgent welfare concerns through the site's emergency or crisis arrangements, and call 000 where there is an immediate threat to life.

How Blue Safe can help

Blue Safe provides compliant WHS documents tailored to the client's activities, applicable Australian WHS/OHS requirements, jurisdiction and industry. This can include psychosocial risk assessments, fatigue procedures, consultation processes, emergency arrangements, policies, registers and supporting site documents.

Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them. Customers actively put the compliant documents into practice through controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence.

Official sources

Information current: 8 August 2026. Local requirements vary, so check current regulator material for the jurisdiction and work involved. A national Model Code provides general orientation and is not automatically applicable law unless adopted or otherwise given effect in the relevant jurisdiction.

Mentally healthy workplaces for FIFO workers