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Skodel Newsletter · October 2026
What To Expect From SafeWork NSW's Biggest Psychosocial Compliance Blitz
In this newsletter
| 1 | A common question |
| 2 | Inspection Readiness |
| 3 | What You Should Have Ready |
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Key Figures
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20.5%
of all SafeWork NSW service requests now raise psychosocial harm
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80+
improvement notices issued after inspectors visited 200+ workplaces in the May and June 2026 blitz
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1. A common question
"Will inspectors just ask to see our policy document?"
No. According to guidance from inspectors themselves, this is not a checklist exercise. There is no standard form being worked through. The approach is designed to test whether a business has a working system for psychosocial risk, whether that system is actually understood by the people in it, and whether it gets applied in practice. That means plain spoken questions, not a document review, and they go to workers as well as management.
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Quick reference
WHS Act 2011 (NSW) s26A. Since 1 July 2026, a business must comply with an approved code of practice, such as Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (approved under s274), or manage the risk another way that meets an equal or higher standard. This is the "comply or justify" change. The Code is now a legal benchmark, not background reading.
WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW), Division 11, clauses 55A to 55D. In plain English: identify the hazard, assess the risk, apply the hierarchy of controls, and review.
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| 2. Inspection Readiness |
SafeWork NSW Psychosocial Compliance Operation |
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On 9 October 2026, timed to World Mental Health Day, SafeWork NSW announced its largest ever compliance operation targeting psychosocial hazards. It is a six week program of proactive inspections, already underway, across construction, education and training, healthcare and social assistance, and retail.
It is not a first attempt. In May and June 2026, inspectors visited more than 200 workplaces and issued more than 80 improvement notices on psychosocial risk management. This operation includes repeat visits to those same businesses to check the notices were actually actioned, plus new proactive visits elsewhere.
Guidance from inspectors describes a standard approach checking that businesses are aware of their obligations and acting on them, tested through plain questions put to more than one person. Expect something like:
- How do you identify a psychosocial hazard?
- Give an example of one, and how it has been managed under the Regulations.
- To a worker or health and safety representative, separately from management: do you know what a psychosocial hazard is, and how to report one?
- What actually happens when someone raises a psychosocial issue at work?
The gap between what management says the process is and what a worker on the floor actually knows is exactly what gets tested. If there is a mismatch, notices can follow.
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3. What You Should Have Ready
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Five things inspectors tend to look for, in practice. This is a starting point, not a complete list, and the paperwork alone is not the point. What matters is that each one is genuinely in place, understood by the people doing the work, and something you can actually show if asked.
1 |
WHS Policy
Names psychosocial hazards specifically, not just safety in general, and is something staff can actually point to.
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2 |
Risk Management Plan
Shows how hazards are identified, assessed, controlled and reviewed, built in consultation with your own workers, not copied from another business.
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3 |
Risk Assessment Process
Hazards identified, rated for likelihood and impact, controlled using the hierarchy of controls, and reassessed at least yearly or after a major change.
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4 |
Incident Reporting and Investigation Records
A simple, confidential way for staff to report a concern, and a record of what was actually done about it.
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5 |
Training Records
Evidence that managers and workers actually know what a psychosocial hazard is and how to raise one, not just that a session was held.
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PAW Decommissioned. Platform Closed 2 October 2026
Looking for a PAW alternative?
Skodel makes it easy to replace your PAW survey and is cost effective, helping you maintain an up to date risk assessment process without significant admin burden.
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Skodel · Psychosocial risk assessment for Australian workplaces · skodel.com
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