Understanding heightened work health and safety legislation for managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work. Presented by, Sam Popple

1. Understanding
heightened work health
and safety legislation
for managing the risk of
psychosocial hazards
at work
Sam Popple
Director Psychological Health Unit

2. We respectfully acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the various lands on which we
meet today and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people participating in this session.
We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging, and recognise and celebrate the
diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their ongoing cultures and
connections to the lands and waters of Queensland.
Acknowledgement of Country

3. Understanding heightened work health and safety legislation for
managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work
1 Starting to uncover the true issue…
2
3 Key WHS principles (Qld)
4
Psychosocial WHS legislation is one lever…
People at Work

4. Why mental health is a growing priority…
Businesses receive an average return on investment of $2.3 per
$1 invested in effective workplace mental health strategies, a
win-win situation for employers and employees. (PwC, 2014)
Mentally unhealthy workplaces are estimated to cost up to $39
billion each year in lost participation and productivity (Productivity
Commission, 2020).
50% of the Australian workforce surveyed had experienced a
mental health condition, and 2 in 5 of those workers report that
their workplace either caused their condition or made it worse
(Superfriend, 2019)
Recent national survey by the Australian Human Rights
Commission revealed 1 in 3 people had experienced sexual
harassment at work in the past 5 years. (AHRC, 2018)

5. 2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
4366
4426
4905
5277
5691
5548
5903
2023-24
(Forecast)
2022-23
(Forecast)
6268
Psychological injury (lodge) claim trends and projections,
2016-2024
Overall, there has been a 78% increase
in accepted psychological claims in the
last five years.
Mental health conditions have the
highest amounts of compensation of
any work-related condition and overall
have the fourth highest total cost each
year.
Psychological claims currently represent
9.1% of total statutory payments ($118.6
million for 2020-21) and have an
average finalised time lost claim cost of
$55,402 ($48,844 in 2019-20).
This cost is over two times the average
time lost claim cost of physical injuries
($23,439 for 2020-21).
Psychological injuries are increasing
Trend:
Why mental health is a growing priority

6. Overall, there has been a 78% increase
in accepted psychological claims in the
last five years.
Mental health conditions have the
highest amounts of compensation of
any work-related condition and overall
have the fourth highest total cost each
year.
Psychological claims currently represent
9.1% of total statutory payments ($118.6
million for 2020-21) and have an
average finalised time lost claim cost of
$55,402 ($48,844 in 2019-20).
This cost is over two times the average
time lost claim cost of physical injuries
($23,439 for 2020-21).
2016-17
2017-18
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
4366
4426
4905
5277
5691
5548
5903
2023-24
(Forecast)
2022-23
(Forecast)
6268
Psychological injury (lodge) claim trends and projections,
2016-2024
Psychological injuries are increasing
Trend:
Recent Superfriend Survey with Finity
• Surveyed over 10,000 employees: 8.9% of people who said they had a
mental health condition believed that it had been caused by work.
• If 8.9% of the whole population of people with a mental health condition
who are employed (2.6m) actually lodged a claim, this would be over
231,000 claims in a year.
• Latest SafeWork Australia stats show 12,200 new psych claims in
2020/21.
• 70% of PCBUs are not addressing any aspect of psychosocial hazards
Why mental health is a growing priority

7. Current state
Mentally healthy work is
NOT just a WHS picture.
• Industrial Relations
• Fairwork
• Human Rights
• Antidiscrimination
• Sex discrimination
• Workers’ compensation
• Mental Health Commissions
• International Labour
Organisation

8. Codes of
Practice
Regulation
Act
Model CoP
Psych
QLD CoP
Psych
Standards
Industry
Standards
Guidance
materials
NSW CoP
Psych
Model
Psychological
Regulations
13 guides & toolkits
E.g. QLD preventing
and managing risks to
work-related psychological
health
SWA Work-related
psychological health
and safety:
A systematic approach
to meeting your duties
3 WA CoP
ISO 45003
Occupational health and
safety management –
Psychological health and
safety at work: managing
psychosocial risks
QLD Regs
Psych
Psychological health policy and legislative landscape

10. What are WHS
responsibilities?

11. How do we get
to here?

12. Stress is the….
mechanism of injury
The design or
management of
work
Plant at a
workplace
Psychosocial hazards
Stress
Response
Physical harm
• Cardiovascular disorders
• Musculoskeletal disorders
Psychological harm
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Burnout
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Suicide
that arise from or relate to
When
frequent,
prolonged
or severe
A work
environment
Workplace
interactions
and
behaviours
WHS
obligations
Context: Evolving understandings

13. Severe
Prolonged
“GOLDILOCKS ZONE”
Job demands Job resources
Workers’ experience that is…..
Stress is…
body’s reaction when a worker
perceives the demands of their
work exceed their ability or
resources to cope Frequent
… leads to harm
Context: Stress

14. Psychosocial hazards
KEY
Cumulative
Event based
Job demands
(Low or high)
Poor support (co-
worker or supervisor)
Poor
environmental
conditions
Low role
clarity
Low job
control
Low
recognition
and reward
Poor
organisational
change
management
Remote or
isolated work
Work-related violence
& aggression
Harassment
including sexual
harassment
Work-
related
bullying
Poor
workplace
relationships
Traumatic
events
Poor
organisational
justice
The design or
management of
work
Plant at a
workplace
A work
environment
Workplace
interactions
and
behaviours
that arise from or relate to…

15. What do psychosocial hazards
sound like?

16. Key principles of Queensland Code of Practice
Managing the risks of psychosocial hazards at work

17. The risk management process
• Duty holders are required to follow the
risk management approach.
• Good risk management is important so
that hazards and their source/s can be
identified.
• Controls must be aimed at eliminating
psychosocial hazards, or where this is
not reasonably practicable, minimising
psychosocial hazards, in order to be
the most effective and sustainable.

18. Hierarchy of Controls
Controlling Hazards

19. Good work design

20. Individual Demands
e.g.
• Family commitments
• Mental or physical health
Individual Resources
e.g.
• Intelligence
• Personality
• Resilience
• Skill
Organisation’s Demands
e.g.
• Time pressure/workload
• Environmental conditions
• Interpersonal conflict
Organisation’s Resources
e.g.
• Volume of people to do the work
• Interpersonal relations
• Broader company policies
• Organisational Resilience
WHS
obligations
Undue focus
on these
Psychological
Job
demands
Job
resources
Psychosocial
Systems and work design

21. a) The likelihood of the hazard or the risk concerned occurring
b) The degree of harm that might result from the hazard or the
risk
c) What the person concerned knows, or ought reasonably to
know about-
a) The hazard or the risk; and
b) Ways of eliminating or minimising the risk; and
d) The availability and suitability of ways to eliminate or
minimise the risk; and
e) After assessing the extent of the risk and the available ways
of eliminating or minimising the risk, the cost associated
with available ways of eliminating or minimising the risk,
including whether the cost is grossly disproportionate to
the risk
Reasonably Practicable
Section 18: Reasonably
Practicable

22. • Improves decision-making about work
health and safety matters.
• Allows workers to identify tasks or
aspects of their work that cause or
expose them to psychosocial
hazards.
• Provides the opportunity for workers
to provide practical suggestions or
potential solutions to address those
hazards.
• If workers are represented by an
HSR- consultation MUST involve that
HSR.
Why consultation is key!

23. Risk assessment tools
PEOPLE AT WORK - RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS
People at Work is a free, validated psychosocial risk assessment survey
available via a self-managed digital platform. The survey assesses several of
the most common psychosocial hazards. People at Work enables workplaces
to identify, assess and control risks to psychological health at work.
People at Work
SUITABLE FOR: Workplaces larger than 20 workers.
RESOURCES REQUIRED: Person/s to manage the
implementation of the process.
PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK ASSESSMENT
A template for conducting a psychosocial risk assessment. The template also
provides a risk management plan to help implement controls for the risks
identified and an evaluation plan to track the effectiveness of controls.
Psychosocial risk assessment
SUITABLE FOR: All businesses.
RESOURCES REQUIRED: Person/s to conduct the risk
assessment and implement controls.
FOCUS GROUP GUIDE
The focus group guide provides help on how to prepare and conduct a focus
group, as well as how to analyse focus group data and report on findings.
Focus groups are a powerful tool to help you engage in consultation with
workers.
Focus group guide
SUITABLE FOR: All businesses.
RESOURCES REQUIRED: Person/s to conduct the focus
group(s) and review data and
implement controls.
Participants allowed work time to
attend the focus group session(s).

24. Risk assessment tools
People at
Work
• People at Work is one tool to help
• People at Work is a five step
process
(identify, assess and control risks
to psychological health at work).
• Validated and evidence based
psychosocial risk assessment
survey tool with benchmarking.
• People at Work is available now!
consisting of resources, interactive
learning modules and automated
reports.
What measures are being used to ensure
workplaces are meeting their ‘reasonably
practicable’ compliance with the Act?

25. Support mentally
healthy workplaces
Inform activity with
data-driven insights
Drive accessibility and
collaboration
Pillars

26. 82
208
366
173 117 149 94 79 92 112 84 41 27 47 84 48 101 95 91 113 135 156 153 92 160 218 286 242
3,645
organisations
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
Monthly Subtotal Cumulative Total
Organisations – Total

27. Responses – Total
14 211 686 1,036 878 1,203 1,116 1,695 1,332 454 731 503 110 934 1,739 1,526
3,891
1,939 2,654 3,631
1,920
3,063 2,059
537 1,097
2,332
11,171
5,175
53,637
responses
-
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
Monthly Subtotal Cumulative Total

28. Responses – Total
14 211 686 1,036 878 1,203 1,116 1,695 1,332 454 731 503 110 934 1,739 1,526
3,891
1,939 2,654
3,631
1,920
3,063
2,059
537 1,097
2,332
9,569
46,860
responses
-
5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000
30,000
35,000
40,000
45,000
50,000
Monthly Subtotal Cumulative Total

29. Subscribe to eSafe e-bulletin
Follow the Workplace Health and Safety
Queensland Facebook page

30. Resources in the Code
• Case studies
• Examples of psychosocial hazards
• Examples of control measures for
psychosocial hazards
• Example of a work-related bullying policy
• Example of a risk register

31. Additional tools and resources… with more to come

32. Questions?