Psychosocial hazards have moved from the margins of workplace health and safety policy to the centre of regulatory enforcement in New South Wales. With the commencement of the WHS Regulation 2025 (NSW) and the deployment of a new specialist inspectorate, every employer in the state must now be able to demonstrate not just awareness but active management of psychosocial risks.

Why does it affect our strata and community title schemes? Many schemes are caught by section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) which requires persons conducting a business or undertaking (“PCBUs“) to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers — including their psychological health.

What is new is the level of regulatory precision. The NSW Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (2024) and the WHS Regulation 2025 make psychosocial hazard management a clearly auditable obligation. Together, they provide detailed guidance on identifying, assessing, controlling, and reviewing psychosocial risks, following the same hierarchy of control measures long familiar from physical safety law.

In March 2026, SafeWork NSW deployed 20 specialist psychosocial inspectors backed by a $344 million Workplace Mental Health package. The inspectors have expertise in psychology, anti‑bullying, and trauma-informed practice, and have power to conduct proactive visits, issue on‑the‑spot fines, and investigate psychosocial incidents.

Non‑compliance is not hypothetical.

What Constitutes a Psychosocial Hazard?

According to the NSW Code of Practice, employers must identify and manage 14 categories of psychosocial hazard, including:

• Job demands – excessive workload, time pressure, or emotional labour.
• Conflict or poor interpersonal relationships.
• Poor support – inadequate supervision, training, or resources.
• Fatigue and working hours management
• Workplace violence, bullying, or harassment.
• Low job control – lack of autonomy over work methods or scheduling.
• Lack of role clarity – confusion over duties or reporting lines.
• Poor organisational change management – restructuring without consultation.
• Inadequate reward and recognition.
• Perceived unfairness in decision-making.
• Exposure to traumatic events or material.
• Remote or isolated work.
• Job insecurity.
• Poor environmental conditions.

I’ve highlighted in italics the categories that I believe would be most likely to affect our strata and community title schemes. However, each of these categories must be treated with the same procedural rigor as physical hazards including having demonstrable control measures.

A major compliance pitfall lies in assuming that policies and training sessions alone discharge the WHS duty. Under the hierarchy of controls, employers must prioritise higher‑order interventions — such as redesigning work, improving supervision systems, and moderating workload expectations — rather than relying on awareness campaigns or grievance processes.

Policies and education are important but must now sit at the base of the risk control hierarchy, used only when more direct controls are not reasonably practicable

To demonstrate compliance if SafeWork NSW knocks on your door, if you are a PCBU you may want to ensure that you can produce:

1. A psychosocial risk register identifying and rating key hazards.
2. Evidence of consultation with workers and health and safety representatives.
3. Documented control measures tied to specific hazards and regularly reviewed.
4. Incident response procedures for psychosocial events.
5. Training records that link to, but do not substitute for, systemic controls.
6. Regular management reviews of psychosocial risk treatments.

Psychologically unsafe workplaces have been estimated to cost employers in NSW $2.8 billion annually, and psychological injury claims now comprise a rapidly growing share of workers’ compensation costs — averaging 20 weeks’ absence compared with 6 weeks for physical injuries.

We have already seen successful claims by building managers for bullying and harassment by members of owners corporations and we are likely to see claims being made within strata management firms by their employees. This is not an issue that can be ignored.

Psychosocial risk management is no longer optional. It requires the same approach that is expected for physical hazards. PCBUs who proactively integrate psychosocial considerations into their work design, leadership practices, and governance frameworks will not only meet their legal obligations — they will foster safer, more sustainable performance across their workforce.

This article is provided for general information and does not constitute legal advice. Please seek legal advice that is tailored to your scheme.