The short answer
There is no single number. Australia has 14 common psychosocial hazards under Safe Work Australia's national model Code of Practice, 16 examples in Victoria's compliance code, and 17 in Comcare's 2024 Code of Practice for Commonwealth workplaces. Every list is a starting point, not a limit — you still have to manage any hazard that could harm your people.
At a glance
Three numbers, one duty of care
The counts differ because Australia has nine sets of workplace safety laws — one for each state and territory, plus the Commonwealth.
Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice names 14 common psychosocial hazards — the baseline most states and territories work from.
WorkSafe Victoria's Psychological health compliance code gives 16 examples of psychosocial hazards under Victoria's own OHS laws.
Commonwealth workplaces under Comcare work with 17, adding fatigue, job insecurity and intrusive surveillance such as digital tracking.
Sources: Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice, WorkSafe Victoria's Psychological Health Compliance Code and Comcare's psychosocial hazards guidance. See the full hazard list
Why the number changes depending on where you work
Australia doesn't have one workplace safety law. It has nine. Most jurisdictions adopted the model WHS laws developed by Safe Work Australia, then approved their own codes of practice. Victoria runs its own Occupational Health and Safety Act. The Commonwealth regulator, Comcare, wrote a newer code in 2024 that goes further.
So an HR manager in Melbourne, a site manager in the Pilbara and a team leader in a Commonwealth agency in Canberra can each read a different "official" list — and each be right. That's the confusing part. The reassuring part is that the duty underneath them is the same: find what could harm people at work, fix it so far as is reasonably practicable, and check that the fix works.
The list tells you where to start looking. It never tells you where to stop.
The national baseline: 14 common psychosocial hazards
Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work (2022) names 14 common hazards. NSW, Queensland, WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT all work from this list.
State by state: who recognises what
Here's how each jurisdiction frames it, with a link to the regulator's own guidance so you can check the detail.
Commonwealth (Comcare)
WHS Act 2011 (Cth) · Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024
Adds fatigue, job insecurity and intrusive surveillance to the national list.
Victoria
OHS Act 2004 · OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 · Psychological health compliance code
Victoria isn't on the model WHS laws. Its compliance code gives 16 examples of hazards; the regulations commenced 1 December 2025.
New South Wales
WHS Act 2011 (NSW) · Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work
NSW published Australia's first psychosocial code in 2021 and works from the national list.
Queensland
WHS Act 2011 (Qld) · Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022
In force since 1 April 2023, using the 14 common hazards.
Western Australia
WHS Act 2020 (WA) · Code of Practice: Psychosocial hazards in the workplace
Follows the national framework, with strong focus on FIFO and resources work.
SA, Tasmania, ACT & NT
Model WHS laws as adopted in each jurisdiction
Work from the national model framework. Always check your local regulator for the approved code.
Commonwealth workplaces: 17 hazards
Comcare's Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024 covers Commonwealth agencies and businesses licensed under the Comcare scheme. It keeps the national 14 and adds three that many workers will recognise straight away:
Fatigue
Long hours, shift work and too little recovery time wear people down — mentally and physically.
Job insecurity
Not knowing whether your job will still be there next month is a real, ongoing source of stress.
Intrusive surveillance
Excessive digital tracking and monitoring of workers can erode trust and wellbeing.
These aren't new risks — they exist in every state. Comcare simply names them. If your teams work shifts, face restructures or use monitoring software, it's worth treating them as hazards wherever you operate.
Where the confusion actually hurts people
The numbers themselves aren't the problem. The problem is what happens when a business picks one list and stops there:
- A national employer copies one state's checklist across every site, and misses hazards another state's regulator expects to see.
- A team ticks off the 14 named hazards and never asks about fatigue, insecurity or monitoring — the very things wearing their people down.
- Risk registers become a compliance exercise instead of a conversation with the people doing the work.
Regulators have been clear that their lists aren't exhaustive. Getting the count "right" won't protect you — or your people — if a hazard that's actually present goes unmanaged.
What to do about it: five practical steps
Know which law applies to each site
Map every location and workforce to its regulator — state, territory or Comcare.
Start from the widest list
Build your register around all 17 Commonwealth hazards, then map them back to each local code.
Ask your people
Consultation is required under every jurisdiction. Workers will tell you about hazards no code names.
Control at the source
Fix the design of work first — workloads, rosters, role clarity — before relying on training or EAP.
Review and keep evidence
Check your controls work, record what you did, and revisit after change, incidents or complaints.
Need a starting point? Our free psychosocial risk assessment toolkit and risk register guide walk you through it, and our psychosocial hazards guide explains each hazard in plain English.
Frequently asked questions
How many psychosocial hazards are there in Australia?
It depends on which law covers your workplace. Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice lists 14 common psychosocial hazards, Victoria's compliance code gives 16 examples, and Comcare's 2024 Code of Practice for Commonwealth workplaces identifies 17. None of the lists is exhaustive.
What are the 3 extra Commonwealth psychosocial hazards?
Comcare's Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024 adds fatigue, job insecurity and intrusive surveillance (such as digital monitoring of workers) to the 14 hazards in the national model code.
Why does Victoria have a different number?
Victoria hasn't adopted the model WHS laws. It regulates workplace safety under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, and its Psychological Health Regulations 2025 and compliance code set out its own list of 16 hazard examples.
If a hazard isn't on my state's list, do I still have to manage it?
Yes. Every list is a set of common examples, not a limit. Your duty is to identify and manage any psychosocial hazard that could reasonably cause harm in your workplace, whether or not it is named.
We operate in several states. Which list should we use?
Each site must meet the law where it operates. Many national employers build their register around the widest list (the 17 Commonwealth hazards) and map it back to each state's code, so nothing falls through the gaps.
Sources: Safe Work Australia model Code of Practice (2022); Comcare Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024; WorkSafe Victoria Psychological health compliance code; SafeWork NSW; WorkSafe Queensland; WorkSafe WA. This article is general information, not legal advice — check your regulator's current guidance for your situation.
Stop counting. Start caring for your people.
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