Psychological Health and Safety for School Staff

The OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations came into effect on 1 December 2025 to recognise that psychological health and safety is just as important as physical health and safety. The regulations introduce measures designed to support psychological health in the workplace but they do not change the way that principals and their Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) delegates undertake OHS risk management in schools.

Policy

This policy outlines the practical steps schools can take to proactively control and manage risks from psychosocial hazards while supporting psychological health and safety in all school workplaces. This policy is about obligations to employees, contractors and volunteers in the workplace. Student mental health and wellbeing is covered by the Mental Health in Schools policy.

Summary

• As with physical hazards, schools must take steps to control health and safety risks associated with psychosocial hazards. Schools are to use existing OHS processes to do this, which include these steps:
  • Identify psychosocial hazards.
  • Assess the risk of harm from these hazards.
  • Control hazards to eliminate the risk where practicable, or to reduce the risk of harm as far as possible, without relying solely on the provision of information or training.
  • Investigate any psychosocial incident or complaint and record corrective actions in eduSafe Plus.
  • Provide staff with regular information and training on psychological health and safety including the Health, safety and wellbeing training for school leaders delivered through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership.
  • Monitor and review controls at least annually.
  • Keep records and communicate outcomes appropriately, maintaining confidentiality.
  • Consult with staff and Health and Safety Representatives (HSR; where elected) on health and safety risks encouraging them to report hazards and incidents in eduSafe Plus.
• The department has identified the common psychosocial hazards and controls to be included in a school’s OHS risk register and has updated the pre-populated OHS risk register with this information.
• The Psychological health and safety procedure explains how to undertake these steps and should be referred to in conjunction with other OHS resources.
• School staff, volunteers and contractors also have an obligation to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and cooperate with OHS requirements.
• There are a number of department policies that schools must follow that provide controls for managing psychosocial risks, including sexual harassment, workplace bullying, managing and reporting school incidents.
• For specific information on preventing, managing and responding to health, safety and wellbeing risks posed by work-related violence and other unsafe behaviours in schools, refer to the Work-Related Violence in Schools policy, Workplace Bullying policy, School Community Safety Orders, Behaviour – Students and Sexual Harassment – Employees policy.
• For a full list of related policies please refer to the updated prepopulated OHS risk register, Psychosocial hazards and DE controls library in the Resources tab and the related policies section on this page.

Details

All employers, including schools, must provide and maintain a working environment for their staff that is safe and without risks to health, including psychological health, as far as is reasonably practicable¹. By creating a workplace that provides psychological health and safety, schools contribute to improving the mental health and wellbeing of their staff, and also foster healthier environments for students and the wider school community.

There are a number of work-related factors that can influence workplace psychological health and safety. When these factors are managed well, it can lead to a range of positive outcomes for staff and workplaces, including:

• improved mental health and wellbeing
• reduced work-related stress, absenteeism and turnover
• enhanced morale, motivation and job satisfaction
• improved productivity
• positive impact on staff-student, staff-parent relationships and student learning outcomes
• increased staff engagement
• a decrease in the number or severity of mental injuries.

However, when not effectively managed, these factors can present psychosocial risks and have the potential to cause psychological distress, mental and/or physical injury.

Psychosocial hazards can result from how work is designed and managed, or from interactions between people at work. When these hazards are managed poorly, it may create a risk to health and safety.

Schools are dynamic and challenging work environments. While it is difficult to guarantee that a work environment will be completely free of psychosocial hazards, it is possible to take steps to mitigate and, manage psychosocial hazards effectively, and minimise harm.

An extensive list of common psychosocial hazards in schools can be found in Chapter 3 of the Procedure, Preventing and proactively managing psychosocial hazards. These include, but are not limited to:

• work-related violence or aggression
• high job demands
• sexual harassment
• workplace bullying
• exposure to traumatic events, information or content.

Roles and responsibilities in promoting psychological health and safety

Under the OHS Act 2004 (Vic) and OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic), managing the risks related to psychological health and safety is a shared responsibility between the department, the principal or their delegate and school staff.

Department roles and responsibilities

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing policy outlines the department’s commitment to support, promote and protect the health, safety and wellbeing of all school staff.

As the relevant duty holder, the department (or school council, for school council employees) has primary responsibility for OHS in all department workplaces. This means providing and maintaining:

• safe systems of work, including policies for the way workplaces run and staff are managed
• safe workplace facilities and infrastructure
• resources that assist schools to deliver their duties under the OHS Act and related regulations
• oversight of the psychosocial risks having the greatest impact on schools and opportunities to improve the control measures available.

The department also provides a range of resources that enable principals and school staff to achieve psychologically healthy and safe workplaces and support their own wellbeing including the:

• Employee Wellbeing Support Services which provides free and confidential advice to proactively support Victorian government school staff wellbeing
• Principal health and wellbeing supports to protect and promote the mental and physical health and wellbeing of Victorian school principals
• OHS Advisory Service or Statewide OHS Services team which can provide free general advice and hands-on support in relation to psychological risk management in the school. For enquiries email the respective contact in your school region: NEVR.OHS@education.vic.gov.au, NWVR.OHS@education.vic.gov.au, SEVR.OHS@education.vic.gov.au or SWVR.OHS@education.vic.gov.au
• Workplace Psychosocial Safety Service that provides specialist advice and hands-on support to identified school leadership teams presenting with a significant psychosocial risk school profile to implement controls. Schools who are experiencing more complex, high-risk environments will be contacted by the department. For enquiries email workplace.psych.safety@education.vic.gov.au
• Health, safety and wellbeing training for school leaders, a full day program offered through the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership. This training covers effective management of health, safety and wellbeing in schools, and development and maintenance of an OHS risk register. The Academy also offer other relevant programs including Principal Mentoring, Preventing and Managing Conflict, and Trauma-Sensitive Practice in Education.

Refer to Further expert health, safety and wellbeing supports for additional supports and information.

Principal or delegate roles and responsibilities

As the appointed delegate of the Secretary to the department, the principal (or their delegate) has responsibility to implement and uphold safe practices for staff in their school according to department guidance. Principally, by using the department’s prepopulated OHS risk register to implement, plan, and review relevant controls for risks and hazards.

Leaders play a critical role in shaping the psychological health and safety culture in a workplace. The principal or their delegate must, in consultation with school staff, and HSRs (where elected), identify, assess, control, monitor and review psychological health and safety risks and hazards relevant to the school’s particular environment. The principal or their delegate must be aware of and respond to new and existing hazards raised with them as per the OHS Risk Planning and Management policy.

It is also a leader’s role to:

• demonstrate a commitment to recognise and take steps to manage psychosocial risk in the workplace and foster staff health, safety, and wellbeing
• manage the conduct of employees, contractors, and volunteers, especially where the conduct is creating a psychosocial hazard for other employees
• consider staff health, safety, and wellbeing in school planning and reporting processes, in consultation with staff
• ensure staff are informed about how to identify hazards and report concerns and protections from victimisation should they choose to report or raise a concern
• provide staff with the resources they need to complete their role tasks and participate in school-related activities
• engage and consult staff in the risk management process and ensure consideration of feedback about the effectiveness of existing processes and risk controls.

School staff roles and responsibilities

While at work, school staff, and contractors and volunteers, must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and the safety of others who may be affected by the things they do or fail to do. School staff must support ongoing prevention and management of psychological health and safety by:

• co-operating with actions of the principal or their OHS delegate to comply with OHS requirements
• reporting hazards, risks and incidents in the workplace using eduSafe Plus (staff login required). Contractors or volunteers must report these to the principal or delegate to log them in eduSafe Plus on their behalf
• contributing overall in a positive manner, as much as possible, towards fostering a psychologically health and safe working environment, including following any policies, information or instruction provided.

Key requirements to enable a psychologically healthy and safe workplace

In line with existing OHS risk planning and management requirements, principals or their delegates must take steps to identify psychosocial hazards in the school, implement effective controls, and monitor and review risk controls in consultation with school staff who are or are likely to be affected, and HSRs (where elected).

Principals or their delegates must maintain an OHS risk register that includes:

• 5 common and high-impact psychosocial hazards that every school must include in their risk register:
  • work-related violence or aggression
  • workplace bullying
  • sexual harassment
  • exposure to traumatic events
  • high job demands
• other psychosocial hazards relevant to the school environment
• a combination of controls that will be most effective in controlling the risk, starting with those that remove the hazard completely. Where that isn’t possible, focus on safety measures that reduce the risk of harm as much as possible.

It is also recommended that they continue to:

• encourage all staff to report psychosocial hazards, incidents and near misses in eduSafe Plus (staff login required) and role model this behaviour by logging one’s own experiences of psychosocial hazards as a staff member
• communicate and demonstrate to school staff controls in place to manage psychosocial risk in the school, for example by sharing the school’s OHS risk register with staff
• continue to communicate the mental health supports available to staff.

The Psychological health and safety procedure contains detailed, practical information about how schools can meet these key requirements.

Related definitions

Mental or psychological health
A state of mental wellbeing that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realise their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and wellbeing that underpins our individual and collective abilities to make decisions, build relationships and shape the world we live in (World Health Organisation, 2022). For the purposes of the OHS (Psychological Health) Regulations, any references to ‘health’ in the OHS Act include psychological health.

Mental or psychological injury
Defined by WorkSafe Victoria, and under section 3 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, as an injury that:

• causes significant behavioural, cognitive or psychological dysfunction
• is diagnosed by a medical practitioner in accordance with the most recent version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

Psychological health and safety
A framework for employers to take all reasonable care for ensuring the mental health and wellbeing of their staff is protected during the course of their work, and that all staff can enjoy a workplace free from psychological injury and harm. Note that ‘psychological health and safety’ is a broader concept than ‘psychological safety’, which refers to a team culture of speaking up without fear of consequences.

Psychosocial hazards
Factors in the way that work is organised, designed or managed, or in interactions between people in the workplace, that may cause an employee to experience a negative psychological response and create a risk to their health and safety.

Related policies

• Behaviour – Students
• Complaints, Misconduct and Unsatisfactory Performance
• Flexible Work
• Health, Safety and Wellbeing
• Inclusive Workplaces
• Medical Advisory Service
• Mental Health in Schools
• Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools
• OHS Consultation and Communication
• OHS Risk Planning and Management
• Principal Health and Wellbeing
• Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies)
• Respectful Behaviours within the School Community
• Respectful Workplaces
• School Community Safety Orders
• Sexual Harassment – Employees
• Workers’ Compensation
• Workplace Bullying
• Work-Related Violence in Schools

Relevant legislation, regulations and compliance codes

• Compliance code: Psychological health – WorkSafe Victoria
• Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic)
• Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 (Vic)
• Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 (Vic)
• Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)

Notes

¹ WorkSafe Victoria, Compliance Code: Psychological Health, 1st edn, 2025, 6.

Procedure

This Psychological health and safety for school staff procedure sets out the practical steps to implement the Psychological Health and Safety policy, and comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 and the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025. This procedure must be implemented in consultation with school staff, health and safety representative/s (HSR) (where elected), and the school health and safety committee or equivalent (if established).

The procedure contains the following topics:

1. Understanding psychologically healthy and safe workplaces
2. Effective consultation and communication for psychological health and safety
3. Identifying psychosocial hazards
4. Assessing psychosocial risk
5. Controlling the risks
6. Monitoring and reviewing controls
7. Reporting hazards, incidents and injuries
8. Record keeping

1. Understanding psychologically healthy and safe workplaces

A psychologically healthy and safe workplace is one that promotes staff mental health, safety, and wellbeing by reducing work-related risk factors and psychosocial hazards, actively prevents and addresses mental injury and illness and supports recovery.

Psychosocial hazards are factors in the way that work is organised, designed or managed, or in interactions between people in the workplace, that may cause an employee to experience a negative psychological response and create a risk to their health and safety.

It is the shared responsibility of the department, school leaders, and all school staff to contribute to a psychologically healthy and safe workplace.

As part of a schools’ OHS management practices, the principal or their delegate, in consultation with staff and HSR/s where elected, must, so far as is reasonably practicable:

• identify psychosocial hazards
• assess associated risks to health or safety
• control the risks
• monitor, review and, where necessary, revise risk controls.

What is ‘reasonably practicable’ will depend on the circumstances, organisation and environment. To determine what is ‘reasonably practicable’, you can ask yourself the following questions (either about yourself, or someone else involved):

• How likely is it that the risk or hazard I’m concerned about could occur?
• If the risk or hazard did occur, could someone suffer harm? how serious could that harm be?
• How aware or knowledgeable am I about the hazard or risk?
  • What training or information have I received that is relevant to it?
  • What measures, if any, were put in place to reduce or eliminate the hazard or risk?
• Are there ways that I could eliminate or reduce the hazard or risk?
  • If so, what is available and practical?
  • If so, what is appropriate to the circumstance?
  • Are there any costs involved in eliminating or reducing the hazard and risk? Would any such cost prevent you from being able to eliminate or reduce the hazard or risk?

For further information refer to How WorkSafe Victoria applies the law in relation to Reasonably Practicable.

The diagram below outlines the ongoing OHS risk management process to identify hazards, assess risk, control risk, review controls, and consult with employees throughout.

Psychologically healthy and safe workplaces can greatly improve an individual’s experience of work and increase individual mental health and wellbeing. When staff feel safe at work, issues and risks are likely to be raised early, understood and addressed before they cause an injury.

There are a number of department policies that schools must follow that provide controls for managing psychosocial risks, including sexual harassment, workplace bullying, managing and reporting school incidents. For a full list of related policies please refer to the updated OHS risk register, Psychosocial Hazards and DE Controls Library in the Resources tab and the related polices section in the Policy section on this page.

It is the responsibility of all staff to contribute to a psychologically healthy and safe workplace.

There are several factors that can contribute towards building psychologically healthy and safe workplaces. This includes proactive and supportive leadership, positive culture, inclusivity, and effective consultation and communication.

For further information on proactively managing psychological health and safety, refer to Preventing and proactively managing psychosocial hazards in this policy.

What are the benefits of a psychologically healthy and safe working environment?

Encouraging and supporting mental health and wellbeing is important for both staff and school leaders. Potential benefits from improved mental health and wellbeing include:

• positive impact on staff-student, staff-parent relationships and student learning outcomes
• increased staff engagement
• reduced work-related stress, absenteeism and turnover
• enhanced morale, motivation and job satisfaction
• improved productivity
• reduced WorkCover claims.

2. Effective consultation and communication for psychological health and safety

Consultation is a required part of managing OHS risks in the workplace. An environment with effective consultation and communication increases the confidence of staff to raise issues, express views and contribute to decision-making and can lead to better outcomes.

In establishing ways of consulting and communicating with staff, the principal or their delegate may choose to use existing staff consultative structures or establish dedicated channels for consulting on psychological health and safety, depending on what is most appropriate in the school’s circumstances.

Principals or their delegates must consult and communicate with staff about psychosocial risks and controls, including HSRs where elected. This can be achieved through:

• regularly and openly discussing psychological health and safety in staff meetings and promoting channels for communication and action
• role modelling and encouraging staff to report psychosocial hazards and incidents on eduSafe Plus (staff login required), allocating time for staff to make reports and communicating outcomes of reports that have been made
• school leadership being available for confidential discussions when needed
• providing anonymous feedback opportunities, for example, through the School Staff Survey
• using leadership and staff meetings to develop and regularly review the school’s OHS risk register including initiatives that improve psychological health and safety in the workplace
• sharing information about common physical and psychosocial hazards school staff may encounter in their work as captured in the OHS risk register (refer to WorkSafe Victoria’s practical guide for school leaders)
• encouraging, supporting and role modelling school leaders and staff to undertake training or professional development in understanding psychosocial risks and how to prevent them in the workplace
• providing information about existing department resources, supports and strategies (including Employee Wellbeing Support Services) available to staff, as well as local mental health services, and how to access them.

Principals are encouraged to utilise the opportunities provided by the department to give feedback and generate useful data, for example, by completing the Principal Check-In Survey and encouraging all staff to complete the annual School Staff Survey.

Individuals respond to psychosocial hazards differently

Warning signs that a person may be at risk of harm from a psychological hazard can include changes in:

• cognition (thinking) such as difficulty making decisions, forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, negative thought patterns
• emotions such as irritability, worry or anxiety, anger, emotional numbness
• behaviour such as decreased work performance, emotional outbursts, frequent or unexpected crying, avoidance, withdrawal, absenteeism
• physical health, such as headaches, fatigue, aches and pains, stomach upsets, high blood pressure.

When these signs are present and exposure to the psychosocial hazard/s continue or become severe, they can result in mental injury or illness, including depression, anxiety, trauma-related, sleep, or substance use disorders. They can also contribute to physical injury or illness, such as cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke, immune disorders, gastrointestinal conditions, or musculoskeletal disorders.

Some staff have the potential to be impacted by psychosocial hazards more than others:

• a staff member living with mental illness, trauma or major life stressors may be confronted by certain situations or experience unique triggers
• staff returning from an extended period of leave may experience challenges in the adjustment returning to work
• staff from diverse cultural or linguistic backgrounds may experience difficulties as a result of their background or experience
• First Nations staff may have difficulties accessing cultural and ceremonial leave to attend to Sorry business
• LGBTIQA+ staff may be subject to increased harassment and discriminatory behaviours from students or families
• staff with disability may face difficulty accessing adjustments or supports.

The above examples are not exhaustive and do not account for intersectionality of experience. It is important to recognise that staff will face different challenges and have different experiences in respect of psychosocial hazards as a result of their personal circumstances.

To create an environment where staff feel safe to identify hazards and provide feedback, it is important to:

• communicate clearly and transparently to keep staff informed about issues that relate to their psychological health and safety
• encourage choice, collaboration, and involvement of staff wherever possible
• build trust and rapport so staff feel confident opening up
• follow up after conversations to ensure staff feel heard and valued
• actively listen in conversations, through noticing words, tone and body language
• allow for open-ended questions
• respect individuals’ privacy and communicate any limits to confidentiality
• avoid assumptions and judgement
• show empathy and understanding.

As well as the principal and their delegate/s, it is important to involve other roles that may manage staff or who provide psychological support to staff, such as wellbeing co-ordinators, business managers, leading teachers, learning specialists, team leaders, or education support managers, and ensure they have access to information and resources to support them to do so. This is especially important in larger schools, where school leadership may be distributed among more staff members. Although primary responsibility will still sit with the principal, by empowering other school leaders to actively reach out to their staff and promote information and resources available to them, schools can:

• contribute to a positive safety culture
• enhance the support provided to staff
• increase opportunities for supporting psychological health and safety
• create a more sustainable and comprehensive support system in the school.

The OHS Consultation and Communication policy supports schools to set up effective communication channels that can be tailored to the school environment.

Referring staff to proactive supports

Managing mental health in the workplace can be complex. Principals are not responsible for managing factors outside of the workplace impacting on staff mental health. However, it is important to recognise that external stressors may make certain individuals more susceptible to psychological harm from factors within the workplace.

There are a range of supports school leaders can refer or provide to staff experiencing psychological distress from work-related or personal matters, including:

• Employee Wellbeing Support Services (EWSS)
• Conflict Resolution Support Service
• flexible working arrangements
• leave entitlements
• further expert health, safety and wellbeing supports.

Supports for principals and people managers

Manager Support is a dedicated coaching support service for all people managers, including principal-class, business managers, leading teachers, and anyone who has responsibility for managing staff on:

• staff wellbeing matters
• having difficult conversations
• developing leadership competencies
• leading through change
• any other people management matters.

Call 1300 291 071 to book a session, or refer to the Employee Wellbeing Support Services page for more information and options for making an appointment.

Principals should also refer to the Managing Conduct and Unsatisfactory Performance in the Teaching Service policy when addressing conflict, conduct, or performance matters in the workplace. Under Part 1 of that policy, certain conduct must be reported to the Conduct and Integrity Division, including sexual harassment.

There are also dedicated services available to support principal-class employees including Proactive Wellbeing Support, Principal Mentoring Program, Principal Health Check Program and the Early Intervention Program. Refer to the Principal Health and Wellbeing page.

3. Identifying psychosocial hazards

Psychosocial hazards in schools include, but are not limited to:

• workplace bullying
• exposure to traumatic event/s or content
• gendered violence
• high job demands
• low job control
• low job demands
• low recognition and reward
• low role clarity
• poor environmental conditions
• poor organisational justice
• poor organisational change management
• poor supervisor or co-worker support
• racism or other discrimination
• remote or isolated work
• sexual harassment
• team conflict or poor workplace relationships
• work-related violence or aggression.

These hazards can occur alone or in combination and may accumulate and interact to increase the risk of harm.

The department’s pre-populated OHS risk register includes a list of hazards and controls for all of the above psychosocial hazards. Schools must review their OHS risk register at least annually, and consider any common psychosocial hazards that need to be managed in their school context. Refer to 6. Monitoring and reviewing controls further in this procedure.

The department has identified 5common and high-impact psychosocial hazards that every school must include in their OHS risk register. These are:

• work-related violence or aggression
• workplace bullying
• sexual harassment
• exposure to traumatic events
• high job demands (including workload).

When identifying psychosocial hazards, it is recommended that schools consider that:

• some hazards may be present all the time, others only occasionally
• some hazards can cause injury with a single exposure event, particularly where there is threat to life or physical safety
• other hazards can increase in impact over time, where apparently ‘minor’ incidents occur on a prolonged, regular or repeated basis and the effect accumulates over time (such as witnessing, hearing about or experiencing negative behaviour on a regular basis)
• the impact of events can be delayed, sometimes by weeks, months, or even years
• staff will react differently, and the absence of a reaction cannot be assumed as the absence of a hazard.

Principals are required to manage the conduct of employees, contractors and volunteers in accordance with the Managing Conduct and Unsatisfactory Performance in the Teaching Service policy, especially where the conduct is creating a psychosocial hazard for other employees. The Conduct and Integrity Division provides support to principals in managing conduct concerns. Under Part 1 of that policy, certain conduct must be reported to the Conduct and Integrity Division, including sexual harassment.

To identify further hazards in the workplace, the principal or their delegates can consider the following methods.

a. Observing staff behaviour

These include:

• increasing, excessive and/or unusual patterns of sick leave
• high staff turnover and/or burnout
• staff withdrawal or avoidance of certain situations
• change in behaviour or appearance (for example, deteriorating physical appearance)
• behaviours that are inconsistent with a person’s usual characteristics.

b. Reviewing hazard and incident notifications and data

A range of data points can indicate the presence of psychosocial hazards, including:

• eduSafe Plus injury, incident and near-miss reports of all severity (from low to extreme), for example, an unusual increase in personal physical injuries such as musculoskeletal disorders, or a high number of student safety incidents
• workers’ compensation claims
• staff complaints or investigations
• records of hours worked (that is, patterns of extra hours indicating high work demands)
• absenteeism and worker turnover data, including exit interviews
• health and safety committee meeting records, or, where a specific committee isn’t established, records from staff meetings where health and safety is discussed
• school staff survey data (particularly indicators around school culture, work environment and staff health, safety and wellbeing).

Principals must encourage their staff to report all workplace psychosocial hazards and incidents in eduSafe Plus (staff login required). Training is available: Search ‘eduSafe’ in LearnEd (eduPay) to find relevant courses.

Alerts from eduSafe Plus will notify the principal or the delegate of incidents or near-misses involving staff, unless the staff member specifically allocates it to a different manager. Some of these incidents may be related directly to a psychosocial hazard (for example, challenging student behaviour), but it is still important to consider the psychological impact of other hazards and incidents.

It is also important to consider the cumulative effects of exposure to what might initially be identified as a minor incident. If minor incidents are occurring often, this can lead to psychological injury. Common examples include challenging behaviour from students that may not seem significant when considered in isolation but can have a significant impact when they occur on a regular basis.

For more information on how to examine workplace data, see Workplace Health and Safety Queensland mentally healthy workplaces How to examine and interrogate workplace data guide (PDF).

c. Staff feedback

Identification of hazards can be significantly strengthened when combined with good communication and consultation. Given the sensitive nature of psychosocial hazards, it is recommended that employees have an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback where possible.

When collating or collecting data relating to psychological health and safety, it is crucial that the privacy of personal, sensitive, or health information is maintained. Refer to the Privacy and Information Sharing policy for more information.

Refer to the Effective consultation and communication for psychological safety section for further information on seeking staff feedback.

4. Assessing psychosocial risk

When psychosocial hazards are identified, the school’s OHS risk register can be used to assess and document the current level of risk based on the controls that are already in place at the school.

It is recommended that principals or their delegate review risk ratings in consultation with staff, based on the school’s circumstances, including:

• whether there is increased frequency, duration, or severity of incidents that may increase the risk of psychological harm
• if there are individuals, particular roles or staff cohorts who are more highly impacted in the school
• if there are likely to be other situations taking place in the school that could make the impact of the hazards unusually severe
• how effective the current controls have been in the past, or whether there is evidence indicating that the current controls are ineffective, such as staff feedback or repeated incidents.

The OHS advisory service and Statewide OHS Support team are available to provide hands-on support to schools in understanding risks related to psychological health and safety in the workplace. Further information on assessing psychosocial risk is also available in WorkSafe Victoria’s Compliance Code.

5. Controlling the risks

Once a psychosocial hazard has been identified and assessed, controls must be put in place to reduce the risk as far as is reasonably practicable.

Controls must be determined by the principal or their delegate, in consultation with affected staff and HSR/s where elected and recorded in the school’s OHS risk register.

By implementing department policies that relate to specific psychosocial hazards, for example, Work-Related Violence in Schools, Workplace Bullying, Sexual Harassment – Employees, schools will be enacting controls to reduce the risk of those hazards.

A work environment completely free of psychosocial hazards can be difficult to achieve, however controls must be selected to eliminate or reduce the risk as far as possible. It is good practice to begin by identifying as many controls as possible, before selecting those that will be most effective and practical in your school.

Where possible, eliminating the hazard or preventing exposure to the hazard will be most effective. Where elimination or prevention is not possible controls must be chosen that bring the biggest reduction in the risk of negative psychological impact possible in the school’s circumstances.

The greater the risk, the more controls that will be needed, and this may require using as many controls as your school’s resources and circumstances allow. A combination of controls is usually required to reduce risk. The use of training and the provision of information can be considered but must not be the only controls implemented. Information and training may only be used in combination with other controls that eliminate exposure, prevent or reduce harm.

When recording risk controls in the OHS risk register, it is also important to capture activities already underway at the school level that may contribute to preventing or reducing psychological harm from that hazard, for example following HR policies or programs to develop supportive staff culture, build leadership capability.

The OHS advisory service and Statewide OHS Services team are available to assist schools to select and implement controls.

6. Monitoring and reviewing controls

Due to their complexity it is important that psychosocial hazards and risks are managed on an ongoing basis.

The principal or their delegate must monitor and review the effectiveness of risk controls. The department has pre-populated it’s OHS risk register with psychosocial hazards and controls. The register must be reviewed at least annually. However, additional reviews of risk controls may be necessary when:

• a new hazard is reported or a potential hazard is identified (for example, through a report on eduSafe Plus, or in discussions with a staff member)
• a severe incident, including a WorkSafe notifiable incident, occurs. Reviewing controls after a severe incident, or an incident impacting students or school operations must also follow the Managing and Reporting School Incidents policy
• a staff member/s is psychologically injured at work.

In reviewing the effectiveness of controls, factors to consider include whether the controls are targeting the right aspect of the task or situation, whether it is achieving what it intends to, and ensuring it does not have unintended consequences. Where appropriate it is also encouraged that principals share what has been learned about the effectiveness of controls with their peers and other principals, for example through principal network meetings.

Schools must also follow the OHS issue resolution process outlined in the OHS Consultation and Communication policy, including opportunities for staff and elected HSRs to raise issues in relation to how psychosocial risk is controlled.

The OHS advisory service and Statewide OHS support team are available to support schools in monitoring and reviewing controls.

7. Reporting hazards, incidents and injuries

The principal or their delegate must ensure all psychosocial hazards, incidents and injuries are reported on eduSafe Plus (staff login required). This is done through ensuring all relevant psychosocial hazards are recorded in the OHS risk register, and incidents and injuries are reported on eduSafe Plus using the incident report function. For further information on the reporting of incidents, refer to the Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Management in Schools policy and the Managing and Reporting School Incidents (Including Emergencies) policy.

Employees have obligations under the OHS Act to take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others who may be affected by their acts or omissions at a workplace. Reporting psychosocial hazards, incidents and injuries can assist in complying with these duties.

The department strives for a workplace culture where all staff are willing to report hazards, near misses and incidents honestly, openly and without fear. All principals and their delegates must encourage and support their staff to make eduSafe Plus reports, including the provision of time during work hours to complete reports.

It is important for staff to know that they can choose an alternative manager (for example, regional director, assistant principal) to be the incident review manager if they do not wish for the report to go directly to their line manager. This may be needed, for example, when the incident involves the direct line manager. Directions for how to select a different line manager can be found on the eduSafe Plus (staff login required) reporting form.

8. Record keeping

The principal or their delegate must ensure that adequate records are kept during the process of identifying, assessing and controlling psychosocial hazards and risks.

In addition to incident and hazard reports in eduSafe Plus and the school’s OHS risk register, this may take the form of agendas and minutes for OHS committee, leadership, governance group or team meetings, action plans or reports of investigations related to psychosocial hazards, such as staff culture activities, human resources matters or complaints. Confidentiality of staff information must be maintained at all times.

Please also refer to the Records Management policy for further guidance on record keeping, including retention periods.

Resources

Supports

• Supporting student mental health – refer to the Mental Health in Schools page on PAL for more information on the role of schools in promoting the mental health and wellbeing of students
• Employee Wellbeing Support Services – free and confidential advice to proactively support the wellbeing of eligible department staff. Staff can make appointments to receive tailored support across 8 different service streams and 6 specialist helplines. Further information is available on the Employee Wellbeing Support Services Policy Advisory Library page
• Manager Support – provides dedicated coaching support to principal-class employees, business managers and other school leaders for coaching and advice on staff wellbeing matters, having difficult conversations, leading through change, developing leadership competencies and any other people management matters. Further information is available on the Employee Wellbeing Support Services Policy Advisory Library page
• Principal health and wellbeing services – a range of initiatives to promote a safe and supportive environment for school leaders to be their best
• Managing trauma resources – Managing Trauma Guide (PDF) and Managing Trauma online modules (LearnED) to support schools with the effective management of trauma

Templates and guides

• OHS risk register – templates available on the OHS Risk Planning and Management resources page
• Psychological safety guide for schools (DOCX) – provides further guidance that outlines the OHS requirements for the management of psychosocial hazards and supports the psychological safety and risk management procedure
• Psychosocial risk assessment template (DOCX) – schools can use this template to assess and further understand psychosocial risk in the workplace
• Psychosocial hazards and DE controls library (DOCX)
• Psychological health and safety FAQ (DOCX)
• Psychological health and safety FAQ (PDF)

Useful external websites

• Psychological health – WorkSafe Victoria
• WorkWell Toolkit – WorkSafe Victoria
• Resources and programs on workplace mental health – Beyond Blue
• Evidence-based mental health resources and support – The Black Dog Institute
• Head to health – a free confidential service from the Australian Government to find information, supports, and wellbeing resources
• Preventing and managing work-related stress: A guidebook for employers – WorkSafe Victoria, April 2016
• VicHealth 2012, Reducing stress in the workplace (An evidence review: summary report) (PDF) – Victorian Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne, Australia
• WorkSafe provide further information on their website into psychosocial hazards contributing to work-related stress