The Victorian Government's proposed Occupational Health and Safety Amendment (Psychological Health) Regulations (Vic) (the Proposed Regulations) are expected to commence on 1 July 2022.
The Proposed Regulations contain strict obligations for employers in the management of risks to employees' mental health, including duties to identify and control psychosocial hazards and to implement "prevention plans".
Given that State and Territory Work Health and Safety (WHS) Ministers agreed in May 2021 to implement regulations focused on mitigating risks to employees' mental health, some other states and territory governments will likely follow Victoria's lead.
The focus of the Proposed Regulations is the identification and mitigation of "psychosocial hazards". The term is defined to mean any factor or factors in:
the work design; or
the systems of work; or
the management of work; or
the carrying out of the work; or
personal or work-related interactions;
that may arise in the working environment and may cause an employee to experience one or more negative psychological responses that create a risk to their health and safety.
Examples of psychosocial hazards contained in the Proposed Regulations include bullying, sexual harassment, aggression or violence, and exposure to traumatic events or content. However, the list of examples also includes "high job demands", "low job demands", "low job control", "poor support", "poor organisational...
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