Victoria has recently introduced some of the most significant workplace safety reforms in years. The new Occupational Health and Safety Psychological Health Regulations 2025, which came into effect on 1 December, now require every Victorian employer to identify and control psychosocial hazards with the same level of rigour applied to physical risks.
The obligations are already in force and WorkSafe Victoria has indicated that employers must move quickly to comply. Many businesses do not yet have systems that meet these requirements. Psychological hazards such as bullying, sexual harassment, unreasonable job demands, exposure to traumatic content and poorly managed organisational change must now be treated as enforceable safety risks, yet many businesses do not yet have compliant systems in place.
Holding Redlich Partner Charles Power can speak to:
- what the new regulations require and why existing HR policies are no longer enough
- how these changes align with national reforms and rising enforcement across Australia
- what WorkSafe Victoria is likely to scrutinise in audits and investigations over the coming months
- practical steps Victorian employers can take to comply.
WHS rules require Queensland employers to have a formal prevention plan but compliance remains low
Queensland employers are under growing pressure as mental health claims surge and regulators tighten expectations around psychosocial risks. With these claims rising faster than physical injury claims, businesses are facing a clear warning: unmanaged psychological hazards now carry real legal, financial and organisational consequences.
In 2025, changes to the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld) required employers to implement a formal, written prevention plan addressing sexual harassment and sex or gender-based harassment as workplace safety risks. Yet a year on, many businesses are still not fully compliant, with some relying on general misconduct or harassment policies that do not meet the specific requirements of the Regulation.
Holding Redlich Partner Louise Hogg can discuss:
- the extent of non-compliance among Queensland employers and the consequences
- why generic policies do not satisfy the mandatory prevention plan requirement
- the areas regulators are likely to examine
- practical steps for developing or strengthening a prevention plan.
New WHS duties for digital work systems in NSW
NSW businesses using automated rostering, performance tracking and workplace surveillance systems may soon face new safety duties. The Work Health and Safety Amendment (Digital Work Systems) Bill 2025 is expected to pass this year and will require employers to assess the safety impacts of algorithms, AI, automation and workplace surveillance tools. The Bill reflects growing concern about psychosocial risks created by digital systems, including unreasonable workloads, excessive monitoring and discriminatory outcomes. As regulators across Australia intensify enforcement of psychological safety obligations, it is essential for businesses to consider how technology driven management practices will face further scrutiny under WHS law in 2026.
Holding Redlich Partner Michael Selinger and Senior Associate Jessica Alamyar can discuss:
- how digital work systems such as AI, automated scheduling and performance tracking are captured under the proposed framework
- types of psychosocial risks the Bill targets, including unreasonable workloads, excessive monitoring and discriminatory system outputs
- how existing WHS duties will apply to the design, allocation and monitoring of work generated by digital systems
- compliance challenges created by undefined terms such as unreasonable workloads and excessive monitoring.
