Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld)
Sets the primary duty to protect workers' physical and psychological health so far as reasonably practicable.
Queensland · Employer guide
Psychosocial hazards in the workplace QLD
Safer work starts with your people.
What Queensland law requires — and how to protect your people.
Hazard examples
14
Your regulator
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland
Your duty
Identify · Assess · Act · Monitor
Understand your obligations
What are the rules in Queensland?
Quick answer
In Queensland, psychosocial hazards in the workplace are regulated under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) and the WHS Regulation 2011. Since 1 April 2023 the Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2022 has applied, requiring businesses to identify hazards, assess and control risks, and review controls. The code recognises 14 common psychosocial hazards.
The legal framework
The laws that apply in QLD
Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (Qld)
Amended to include specific duties to manage psychosocial risks.
Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2022
Commenced 1 April 2023 and is admissible in court as evidence of what is known about a hazard and how to control it.
Key milestones
How we got here
2022
Queensland approves its psychosocial Code of Practice.
1 Apr 2023
Code of Practice and regulation amendments commence.
Ongoing
WHSQ inspectors assess psychosocial risk management during workplace visits.
Recognise the risk
Common psychosocial hazards in Queensland workplaces
Hazards rarely appear alone — they stack, and the combined effect drives harm.
- Job demands (high or low)
- Low job control
- Poor support
- Lack of role clarity
- Poor organisational change management
- Inadequate reward and recognition
- Poor organisational justice
- Traumatic events or material
- Remote or isolated work
- Poor physical environment
- Violence and aggression
- Bullying
- Harassment, including sexual and gender-based harassment
- Conflict or poor workplace relationships
Local context matters
What's different in QLD?
The code carries legal weight
Courts can rely on the Queensland code to judge whether a business did what was reasonably practicable.
Remote and regional work
Mining, agriculture and FIFO work make remote or isolated work and fatigue especially relevant across Queensland.
Heat and environment
Poor physical environments — including heat — can compound job demands and stress for outdoor and regional workers.
People, not paperwork
How Queensland employers can manage psychosocial risk
Flourish360 helps people become better humans at work — and gives you the evidence trail to show your risk management in action.
01
Identify
Surface hazards early from everyday signals, not annual surveys.
02
Assess
Understand risk across the recognised hazard categories.
03
Act
Implement controls that address the source of the risk.
04
Monitor
Keep a live, evidence-backed record that proves the work.
Jurisdictions
How many psychosocial hazards are there in Australia?
It depends on which WHS laws cover your workplace: 14 under the national model, 16 in Victoria and 17 for Commonwealth workplaces under Comcare. None of the lists is exhaustive — they're a starting point.
14
Model WHS laws
Safe Work Australia's model Code of Practice names 14 common psychosocial hazards — the baseline most states and territories work from.
16
Victoria
WorkSafe Victoria's Psychological health compliance code gives 16 examples of psychosocial hazards under Victoria's own OHS laws.
17
Commonwealth (Comcare)
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
Your questions, answered
FAQs: psychosocial hazards in Queensland
When did Queensland's psychosocial Code of Practice start?
The Managing the Risk of Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2022 commenced on 1 April 2023.
How many psychosocial hazards are there in QLD?
Queensland's code recognises 14 common psychosocial hazards, consistent with the national model.
Who regulates psychosocial hazards in Queensland?
Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) regulates most workplaces; mining has its own resources safety regulator.
Source: Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. General information only, not legal advice.
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