Beyond bullying: understanding psychosocial risks

Psychosocial risks are firmly in SafeWork NSW's sights. From job design and workplace culture to worker consultation, here's what employers need to know about the regulator's priorities for 2026-27.

We’ve (almost) wrapped up our Navigating Workplace Wellness ‘Deep Dive Series’. I say ‘almost’ because I lost my voice and had to cancel two of the 10 webinars. They’ll be pre-recorded soon. 

So, what’s the Deep Dive Series all about?  

As well as explaining introductory topics (what ‘psychosocial’ means and our take on the risk management process), it was designed to dig a bit deeper into each of the main psychosocial hazards, four ‘environmental’ hazards and four ‘interpersonal’ hazards. 

Unlike physical hazards (usually readily identifiable standalone events), psychosocial hazards tend to interact with each other or can operate as a chain of events.  

It’s worth noting that in its Regulatory Statement 2026-27, SafeWork NSW has identified psychosocial risks as a regulatory focus area. As I explained during the Deep Dive Series, SafeWork NSW is not just looking at certain interpersonal behaviour (such as bullying or harassment) in isolation. Instead, it is focusing on risk factors that lead to harm or harmful behaviours like bullying and harassment. 

So, what does that mean? 

The most obvious (and immediate) risk factor is job design. If people have too much to do, without sufficient time and resources in which to do them, they are going to get a bit cranky (not to mention stressed). An inspector will be on the lookout for that. 

Then, if the workplace culture is poor and either people don’t feel they can call out rude or unacceptable behaviour or simply put a colleague’s inappropriate comments down to “oh, that’s just Frank, he always talks like that, don’t worry about it”, that too, will be picked up by the inspector. 

How?

Because another regulatory focus will be on how well a PCBU (person carrying on a business or undertaking) consults with its workers. Inspectors won’t just be asking you, the PCBU, how well you consult with your workers, they’ll be talking directly to the workers.  

Speaking of workers, yet another regulatory focus will be whether WHS initiatives within a workplace are appropriate for those cohorts commonly more at risk of harm. They include young workers and apprentices, migrants and culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workers, older workers and workers new to the job, to name a few.  

Finally, don’t forget that as of 1 July 2026, there is a new WHS duty for PCBUs to comply with NSW Codes of Practice.  

If this all seems a bit overwhelming, don’t worry. A good first step will be to watch the Deep Dive Series of webinars (and while you’re at it, to look at the two Lysander series, which cover off on stress, workplace culture, communication, conflict management and change management). We have also prepared some guides and articles to explain the various legal concepts and regulatory frameworks. 

 Learn more