Nine jurisdictions, one duty
Psychosocial hazard requirements, state by state.
The core duty is the same everywhere in Australia: identify psychosocial hazards, eliminate or minimise them so far as is reasonably practicable, consult your workers, and keep the records. What changes by jurisdiction is which hazards the regulator names, how much weight the code of practice carries, and a small number of specific requirements with big consequences.
Where you operate
What is distinctive in each jurisdiction.
Written for leaders, not compliance officers. Each card gives you the regulator, the governing instruments, and the thing most worth knowing. For the core duties that apply everywhere, see what the law requires.
New South Wales
SafeWork NSW · WHS Act 2011 (NSW) · WHS Regulation 2025 · Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work - Code of Practice
Home of Australia's first psychosocial code of practice (2021), and now one of its best-resourced enforcement programs: the 2025-26 NSW Budget commits $127.7 million over four years to SafeWork NSW - a standalone regulator since July 2025 - including 20 dedicated psychosocial inspectors and a Psychosocial Advisory Service.
The remade WHS Regulation 2025, in force since August 2025, explicitly requires the hierarchy of controls for psychosocial risks - and NSW treats its code as a compliance benchmark.
Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria · OHS Act 2004 (Vic) · OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 · Compliance Code
Victoria runs its own regime outside the model WHS law, with dedicated psychological health regulations in force since 1 December 2025 and its own compliance code. The duties land in the same place - identify, control, consult, review - but the definitions and instruments are Victoria's own.
A separate regulatory regime: multi-state employers cannot simply reuse their model-law mapping in Victoria unchanged.
Queensland
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland · WHS Act 2011 (Qld) · Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work - Code of Practice
Widely regarded as the most prescriptive jurisdiction. Queensland's code carries strong legal weight: follow it, or be ready to justify an equal-or-better alternative.
Since 1 March 2025, a written sexual harassment prevention plan is legally required where the risk is identified. If it is missing, no other strength offsets that gap.
Western Australia
WorkSafe WA · WHS Act 2020 (WA) · Code of Practice: Psychosocial Hazards in the Workplace
WA adopted the model framework with its own code of practice, published in 2022.
WA and Tasmania are now the only two jurisdictions where the hierarchy of controls is not mandated for psychosocial risks. It remains best practice - and higher-order controls still read far better to an inspector than policy and training alone.
South Australia
SafeWork SA · WHS Act 2012 (SA) · WHS (Psychosocial Risks) Amendment Regulations 2023
South Australia's regulations, in force since December 2023, name three hazards beyond the model set - fatigue, intrusive surveillance and job insecurity - and list harassment and sexual harassment separately.
SA's named hazard set is one of the broadest in the country: 17 hazards. Your register and evidence need to cover all of them.
Tasmania
WorkSafe Tasmania · WHS Act 2012 (Tas)
A model-law jurisdiction: the national core duties apply as written, alongside the model code of practice.
As in WA, the hierarchy of controls is not mandated for psychosocial risks in Tasmania - though it remains the expected best practice.
Australian Capital Territory
WorkSafe ACT · WHS Act 2011 (ACT)
A model-law jurisdiction: the national core duties apply as written. Psychosocial risk management is part of standard compliance activity in the ACT.
Northern Territory
NT WorkSafe · WHS (National Uniform Legislation) Act 2011 (NT)
A model-law jurisdiction covering the model hazard set. Remote and isolated work is a prominent exposure across the Territory, and the general duty applies to it in full.
Commonwealth
Comcare · WHS Act 2011 (Cth) · Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work
The Commonwealth jurisdiction covers Australian Government agencies and licensed self-insurers. Its code names fatigue, intrusive surveillance and job insecurity in addition to the model set.
If you are a Comcare employer, your applicable hazard set is larger than the model 14 - plan your register accordingly.
Verified against regulator and government sources. Last reviewed: 6 August 2026. General information, not legal advice - requirements change, so confirm the current position with your regulator or legal adviser before relying on it.
Multi-state employers
Operating across borders? Your evidence has to satisfy every list.
A policy that covers the model 14 can still leave you exposed in South Australia or under Comcare, and compliant paperwork elsewhere will not satisfy Queensland's sexual harassment plan requirement. RiskProof maps every document you upload against each jurisdiction you operate in - so the differences on this page become a scored, ranked work list instead of a research project.
Find out where you stand.
Ten minutes, free, no sign-up. A clear baseline, with your highest-risk areas flagged first.