NSW launches advisory service as psychosocial safety requests rise
22 Sept 2026•BlueSafe Team•Source: SafeWork NSW
The NSW Government has launched a Psychosocial Advisory Service after psychosocial requests for service to SafeWork NSW more than doubled over five years. The service connects workers and employers with trained advisors to help address workplace psychological risks.
Developed with the Black Dog Institute, the Psychosocial Advisory Service provides trauma-informed assistance with workplace bullying, harassment, work-related stress and mental harm. It is designed to help workers and businesses understand and respond to these issues, and prevent them from escalating into serious harm or requiring formal regulatory action.
The service is backed by the NSW Government’s $127.7 million investment in SafeWork NSW’s capability and capacity, which includes 20 additional specialised psychosocial inspectors. It also forms part of the government’s $344 million Workplace Mental Health package, aimed at strengthening workplace mental health support and injury prevention in NSW.
From 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026, SafeWork NSW received 3,145 psychosocial-related requests for service. These represented 20.5% of all requests received, compared with 10% in 2021/22.
The launch follows SafeWork NSW’s largest psychosocial compliance blitz. Inspectors focused on medium to large businesses across industries with higher rates and severity of psychosocial harm. They visited more than 200 workplaces and issued more than 80 improvement notices concerning psychosocial hazards and risk management.
During the inspections, a structured psychosocial checklist guided discussions with businesses and workers. Inspectors assessed how workplaces identified, managed and monitored psychosocial risks in practice. SafeWork NSW also worked with Lifeline Northern Beaches to give staff specialised training in mental health, crisis response and psychosocial risk management.
The service’s launch coincides with changes to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 that took effect on 1 July 2026. The reforms make codes of practice legally binding in NSW, requiring businesses to comply with relevant codes, including the Managing psychosocial hazards at work code of practice, or risk breaching the Act.
The advisory service offers in-depth conversations and practical, structured advice as an early intervention measure. It is intended to support workers facing psychosocial issues and help employers address risks before problems become more serious.
Workers with workplace health and safety concerns can submit a psychosocial request for service through the SafeWork NSW website. They can also contact SafeWork anonymously on 13 10 50 or through the Speak Up Save Lives app. Information about the updated codes of practice is available on the regulator’s website.
How Blue Safe can help: Our free WHS self-check can help you review your approach to workplace health and safety, including psychosocial hazards, and identify areas that may need closer attention. Take the free WHS self-check