Psychosocial risk management
Better public service starts with safer work.
Organisational change, public-facing aggression and competing service demands can create psychosocial risk across government. Give public sector teams clarity, fair processes and meaningful consultation.
The risk is real
15.6%
Public administration and safety accounted for 15.6% of all serious workers’ compensation claims for mental health conditions in Safe Work Australia’s 2021–22 preliminary data.
Industry grouping includes public administration and safety roles; this is not a government employee prevalence estimate.
Read the sourceRecognise. Consult. Act.
Work design, workplace interactions and working conditions can cause psychological or physical harm. Assess how often exposure occurs, how long it lasts and how severe it is.
Risk exposure
Restructures, new systems and shifting reporting lines can increase uncertainty and reduce trust.
Practical controls
Consult early, explain the reasons and impacts, clarify new roles and review whether workloads remain achievable.
Risk exposure
Frontline service and enforcement roles can involve distressing situations or repeated threats.
Practical controls
Assess public-facing environments, provide protective response arrangements and voluntary support following incidents.
Risk exposure
Conflicting priorities or inconsistent decisions can leave people unable to influence their work.
Practical controls
Provide clear decision processes, realistic service priorities and opportunities for workers to shape how tasks are performed.
An illustrative workplace situation
a service team is restructured without clear reporting lines while demand remains unchanged. Clarify responsibilities and resource the transition through consultation—not an email announcement alone.
Improve the conditions around people—not just their ability to cope.
The cost of leaving risks unchecked
>4×
Mental health claims had more than four times the median time lost compared with physical injury and illness claims.
Source and scope>3×
Median compensation for mental health claims was more than three times that for physical injury and illness claims.
Source and scopeReal duties.
WHS regulators can issue improvement or prohibition notices and prosecute breaches. Penalties and powers vary by jurisdiction.
Source and scopeClaim comparisons use Australian serious workers’ compensation claims in 2020–21, reported by Safe Work Australia in February 2024. National figures—not government estimates or predictions of individual harm. Enforcement depends on the applicable law and circumstances.
Australian employers must manage risks to psychological as well as physical health under applicable WHS or OHS laws.
Check your Commonwealth, state or territory regulator. Public administration and safety statistics also include safety and emergency roles.
A course or an employee assistance program does not, by itself, discharge this duty. Check your regulator and seek advice for your circumstances.
A practical starting point
Consult workers and HSRs across roles and shifts. Combine their experiences with incident, workload and absence information.
Assess severity, duration and frequency. Record interacting hazards and who may be affected.
Start with work design, staffing, environment and behaviour. Assign an owner and review date.
Ask workers whether exposure has reduced. Update the risk register when conditions change.
Flourish360 for government
Connect personal growth and wellbeing with psychosocial risk insight. Help people build confidence while making hazards, controls and follow-through easier for leaders to see.
We partner with wellbeing programs for a holistic approach. Flourish360 supports your process—it does not replace consultation, effective controls or professional advice.
See what fits your workplacePrepared by Flourish360 using Australian regulatory and sector guidance. Examples are illustrative, not customer case studies. Statistics describe the stated population and period; they do not predict individual risk. This is general information, not legal or clinical advice. Workplace photographs are AI-generated illustrations.