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Psychosocial hazard
The workplace factor creating risk: high job demands, low control, poor support, bullying, role confusion, traumatic exposure and more.
Psychosocial Risk Register
Better Humans. Safer Workplaces
A living record of the psychosocial hazards you've found, the controls you've put in place and the people responsible for them.
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Definition
More than a spreadsheet. A living record of workplace psychosocial risk.
A psychosocial risk register is a structured record used to identify, assess, control and monitor and review psychosocial hazards and risks in the workplace, with consultation at every stage.
It tracks what hazards have been identified, who may be exposed, the level of risk, what controls are in place, what further action is required, who is responsible and when the risk needs to be reviewed.
The goal isn't to create a document and file it away — it's to understand what's really happening for your people, act on it, and keep checking that it's working.
A good register answers:
- What risks have we identified?
- Where are those risks occurring?
- What controls do we have in place?
- Who is responsible for managing them?
- Are those controls actually working?
- What needs to happen next?
Why it matters
Psychosocial risks change. Your register should keep up.
01
Workloads shift
Deadlines tighten, headcount changes and priorities move.
02
Teams change
New managers, structures and relationships alter the risk profile.
03
Pressures emerge
People may face new demands, or lose the support they had.
04
Controls age
What worked six months ago may not be effective today.
Psychosocial risk management is an ongoing process, not an annual task. A register keeps the risks you've found — and the action you're taking — in one honest, current place.
What to include
Nine things a useful psychosocial risk register should capture
Keep it simple enough that people actually maintain it — and specific enough that it stands up when someone asks what you did about it.
02
How the risk was identified
Consultation, wellbeing check-ins, surveys, incident reports, manager observations, HSR feedback and workplace trend data.
03
Who may be exposed
The team, work group, location, role or demographic most likely to experience the hazard.
04
Risk level
Likelihood, severity, frequency, duration and number of workers potentially affected.
05
Existing controls
Controls already in place to eliminate or minimise the risk.
06
Additional controls
Further actions needed to reduce the risk so far as reasonably practicable.
07
Responsibility
A named owner for each action or control so nothing sits in limbo.
08
Review date
When the risk and controls should next be reviewed, not just filed away.
09
Control effectiveness
Evidence that the control is actually reducing risk — or a flag that it needs to change.
Example
Psychosocial risk register example
A simple register can look like this. What matters is that it stays active and current.
| Hazard | Risk | Existing controls | Further action | Owner | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High job demands | Excessive workload and pressure | Workload monitoring and manager check-ins | Review staffing and workload allocation | Operations | 30 days |
| Low role clarity | Confusion about responsibilities | Position descriptions | Review responsibilities with team | Manager | 60 days |
| Poor support | Employees unable to access appropriate support | EAP available | Increase awareness and manager training | HR | 90 days |
| Bullying & harassment | Psychological harm and reduced psychological safety | Policies and reporting processes | Review consultation results and team culture | HR | 30 days |
01
Identify
Surface hazards early through conversations, everyday signals and workplace information.
02
Assess
Understand risk across the recognised hazard categories.
03
Control
Implement controls that address the source of the risk.
04
Monitor & Review
Check controls with your people, review the evidence and improve what is not working.
Consult with your people at every stage.
A simple, engaging approach to psychosocial risk management.
Register vs assessment
One understands the risk. The other keeps managing it.
Both form part of a broader psychosocial risk management process. The register turns assessment insight into an ongoing management tool.
Psychosocial risk assessment
Examines a particular hazard or situation and helps determine the level of risk and appropriate controls.
Understand the riskExplore risk assessment →Psychosocial risk register
Provides an ongoing record of multiple risks, controls, actions and reviews across the organisation.
Manage it over time
How Flourish360 helps
From employee experience to risk intelligence
Traditional registers depend on someone typing information in after a survey, incident or formal assessment. Flourish360 takes a more connected, human-first approach.
Employee experience→Risk signals→Psychosocial hazards→Controls→Actions→Review
Flourish360 is a personal growth and wellbeing app people genuinely want to open. Behind participation, controls and reporting. Our wellbeing app supports personal growth; what people choose to share is privately aggregated to show team-level patterns, never individual scores.
The science behind the signal
WHO-5 Wellbeing Index meets Self-Determination Theory
SDT focuses on three fundamental psychological needs that give real context to what your people are experiencing at work.
A
Autonomy
A sense of choice, control and ownership over work.
C
Competence
Feeling capable, effective and able to grow.
R
Relatedness
Feeling connected, supported and valued by others.
For example: signals around job demands rise in one team. Instead of just recording it, Flourish360 connects that signal to the relevant hazard, the trend behind it, manager conversation guidance, consultation, potential controls, reporting and review.
Australian law
Is a psychosocial risk register required in Australia?
Australian WHS laws require organisations to manage psychosocial hazards and risks, with specific requirements varying between jurisdictions.
A register is an important tool for documenting that work — but on its own it doesn't show you're effectively managing psychosocial risk.
Read the Safe Work Australia model code →- Identifying hazards
- Consulting workers
- Implementing controls
- Monitoring risks
- Reviewing whether controls are effective
Where the information comes from
Employee consultation and HSR feedbackWorkplace observationsHazard and incident reportsComplaints and grievancesEmployee surveys and validated psychosocial hazard toolsWorkload and work-design informationRelevant workplace data and trendsManager and supervisor observations
Jurisdictions
How many hazards are you actually tracking?
Your register should cover the hazards that apply to your workplace. Under the national model there are 14, Victoria lists 16 and Commonwealth workplaces under Comcare work with 17 — so a register built for one jurisdiction can quietly miss hazards in another.
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
Common hazards
What are examples of psychosocial risks?
A psychosocial risk occurs when exposure to these workplace factors creates a risk of psychological or physical harm. Explore the hazards in detail.
Excessive workloads
01High work demands
02Low autonomy or control
03Poor role clarity
04Poor organisational change
05Inadequate recognition
06Poor support
07Poor workplace relationships
08Bullying
09Harassment
10Violence
11Traumatic exposure
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The limitation
Why traditional risk registers aren't always enough
A spreadsheet can record a risk. It can't tell you what's happening for your people right now.
Example scenario
Hazard: High workload
Control: Regular workload reviews
Six months on, people are still reporting excessive workload. Is the control being used? Is it reducing risk? Has the situation changed? What else is needed?
That's why psychosocial risk management works best as a continuous process — not a static register.
The Flourish360 difference
Connecting the risk register to the everyday employee experience
Employees get
Personal growth, wellbeing tools, relevant content and practical support.
Managers get
Conversation guidance, consultation insights and early sight of emerging risk.
Executives get
Aggregated risk intelligence, trends and reporting across the organisation.
People love using it. Businesses benefit from it.
Free resources
Templates, PDF guide and risk assessment tool ready for you to download
Enter your work email to unlock practical resources for building and maintaining your psychosocial risk register.
Free toolkit
Psychosocial Risk Assessment Toolkit
Step-by-step guidance to identify, assess and record psychosocial hazards in your workplace.
Free template
Psychosocial Safety Policy Template
An editable Word document to help you draft a clear psychosocial safety policy.
Free guide
Psychosocial Risk Assessment Guide
A practical PDF guide to psychosocial risk assessment, controls and ongoing review.
FAQ
Psychosocial risk register questions, answered
What is a psychosocial risk register?
A psychosocial risk register is a structured record used to document and manage psychosocial hazards, risks, controls, actions, responsibilities and reviews within a workplace.
What should a psychosocial risk register include?
It should generally include the hazard, affected workers or groups, risk assessment, existing controls, additional actions, responsibility, review dates and information about control effectiveness.
What are the main psychosocial hazards?
Examples include high job demands, low job control, poor support, poor workplace relationships, bullying and harassment, poor role clarity, organisational change and traumatic exposure.
How often should a psychosocial risk register be reviewed?
There isn't one universal review period for every risk. Risks and controls should be reviewed when circumstances change or when information indicates that existing controls may not be effective.
Can a psychosocial risk register help with compliance?
Yes. A risk register can help document an organisation's psychosocial risk-management activities. However, it should form part of a broader process that includes identification, assessment, consultation, control, monitoring and review.
What is the difference between a psychosocial risk register and a psychosocial risk assessment?
A psychosocial risk assessment examines a particular hazard or situation to determine the level of risk and appropriate controls. A psychosocial risk register provides an ongoing record of multiple risks, controls, actions and reviews across the organisation.
Can Flourish360 replace a psychosocial risk register?
Flourish360 is designed to support psychosocial risk management through employee engagement, risk signals, trend information, management guidance and organisational reporting. It should complement an organisation's broader WHS and psychosocial-risk processes rather than replace its legal responsibilities.
Where can I get a psychosocial risk register template?
You can download free psychosocial risk resources, including a risk assessment toolkit, safety policy template and risk assessment guide, from the resources section on this page.
Build a proactive approach
Better humans. Safer workplaces.
A psychosocial risk register shouldn't be a spreadsheet reviewed once a year. Flourish360 helps you see emerging risk early, understand what's driving it and connect those insights with the people who can act.
Book a 30-minute discovery call→Explore risk assessment
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