SafeWork NSW's six-week statewide psychosocial compliance operation is an enforcement escalation, not a new WHS duty. The operation commenced across all industries on 9 October 2026. NSW employers should now make sure their existing psychosocial risk controls can be demonstrated through current records and what inspectors can observe and hear from workers.
This briefing focuses on the present compliance operation. For the enduring risk-management framework, use the evergreen guide to managing psychosocial hazards at work rather than duplicating it here.
Why the operation matters
The operation follows SafeWork NSW visits to more than 200 workplaces in May and June that resulted in more than 80 improvement notices. It includes repeat visits to check compliance with those notices. That makes closed actions, verified controls and clear evidence especially important.
SafeWork NSW also reported that 20.5 per cent of requests for service raised psychosocial harm issues. Construction, education and training, healthcare and social assistance, and retail were the top four industries seeking assistance. The operation nevertheless applies across all industries.
What inspectors are looking for
SafeWork NSW says inspectors will look for evidence that organisations identify risks, consult workers, act on work-design and management hazards, and monitor whether psychosocial risks are being managed. A policy alone is unlikely to show this complete cycle.
The NSW Code of Practice is an approved Code under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. The Work Health and Safety Regulation 2025 expressly applies the hierarchy of controls to psychosocial risks where elimination is not reasonably practicable. Higher-order controls, including changes to work design, should be considered before relying on lower-order measures such as training or individual coping strategies.
SafeWork NSW states that reforms effective from 1 July 2026 require businesses to comply with relevant Codes of Practice or use another method that achieves an equivalent or higher standard. Inspectors may refer to the Code when issuing notices. This operation tests how the existing framework is working in practice; it does not create a separate new duty.
Build a practical evidence pack
Review evidence against the way work is actually organised. A useful pack should cover:
- Hazard identification: a current register or assessment that reflects workload, role clarity, remote or isolated work, exposure to traumatic events, poor support, harmful behaviours and other hazards relevant to the business.
- Worker consultation: records showing who was consulted, what workers said, which options were considered and how outcomes were communicated. Include affected teams, health and safety representatives where applicable, and workers on different shifts or arrangements.
- Work-design controls: evidence of changes to staffing, workload allocation, task sequencing, supervision, role design, systems or escalation pathways. Do not present wellbeing training as the only control where the work itself can be redesigned.
- Reporting and escalation: accessible channels for raising concerns, defined response responsibilities, triage steps and records showing matters were progressed without unnecessary delay.
- Control-effectiveness review: scheduled reviews, worker feedback, incident and absence trends, inspections or other checks that test whether controls are working.
- Corrective actions: owners, due dates, status, closure evidence and escalation for overdue actions. Where a previous notice applies, keep the evidence that each requirement was addressed and verified.
- Due-diligence evidence: concise leadership records showing that officers and senior managers receive current risk information, allocate resources, check implementation and follow up gaps.
- Manager training: records of practical instruction on recognising hazards, consulting properly, using escalation pathways and applying controls. Training should support work-design controls, not substitute for them.
Check the lived experience, not just the folder
Before an inspection, ask a small cross-section of workers to explain how they raise a psychosocial risk, what happens next and what has changed after consultation. Compare their answers with the documented process. If the procedure says managers review workload but workers cannot identify when this occurs, the implementation evidence needs attention.
Review high-pressure and non-routine periods as well as ordinary operations. Confirm that supervisors know when to escalate, that confidentiality is managed appropriately, and that corrective actions are tracked to verified closure. Record the review and address inconsistencies promptly.
Blue Safe provides compliant WHS documents tailored to the client's activities, applicable Australian WHS/OHS requirements, jurisdiction and industry. Blue Safe guarantees the document compliance of the WHS documents it provides, including eligible customer documents after Blue Safe has reviewed and upgraded them. The business achieves and maintains operational compliance by actively and correctly implementing the documents, controls, consultation, training, actions, records and evidence.