1. Psychological Risk : prevention and response
JASMINA Budisa, Manager
Megan may, principal inspector
PSYCHOSOCIAL SERVICES TEaM
Health & Return to Work, Safework NSW

2. OUTLINE Respond Recover Prevent SafeWork NSW - who we are
Integrated approach
Respond
Recover
Prevent
SafeWork NSW - who we are
Our vision for WHS
Role of the Psychosocial Services Team
Psychological health & risk factors
Legislation
What to do (identify, assess, control & review)
Workplace bullying form
Role of HSRs
Tools and resources
Hi, I am Jasmina Budisa, Manager in the Psychosocial Services Team at SafeWork NSW. The Psychosocial Services Team at SafeWork comprises of 9 inspectors and project management staff. We are based at various offices in Gosford and metropolitan Sydney.
We are very pleased to be here today to be able to present and speak with you about managing psychosocial issues within in the workplace.
For today’s conference, Principal Inspector Megan May and I will be discussing how to manage risks to psychological health in the workplace.
We will be touching on:
What SafeWork NSW and our team does
Psychological health & risk factors
Legislation
Some tools that are available to assess risks.
There will be time for Q&A at the end of the presentation.

3. SAFEWORK NSW
Work health and safety (WHS) regulator responsible for regulating and enforcing WHS laws in NSW
Work with NSW business community to improve WHS
Prevention and response activities:
Information, education and advice
Monitor and enforce compliance with WHS, workers comp laws
Respond to incidents and complaints
Conduct targeted injury prevention programs
Triage process applied to rank in terms of priority and determine type of response

4. OUR VISION FOR WHS
The WHS Roadmap for NSW 2022 is a six year strategy aligned to the Australian WHS Strategy that the NSW Govt committed to. NSW has met and exceeded the original targets and have now set more ambitious targets to achieve a further reduction in fatalities and serious injuries and illnesses, which includes serious mental conditions.
The Roadmap identifies prioritised sectors and harms where the most significant WHS risks exist. The Government Sector is identified as one of those sectors

5. Government sector plan
Launched July 2018
9 key priority areas include:
mentally healthy workplaces
workplace bullying
client and public violence
fatigue
Evidence gathered against objectives to establish a baseline and set lead indicators for improvements

6. Psychosocial Services Team
A specialist team within the Health and Return to Work Directorate whose primary focus is on harms
Our focus is on stakeholders meeting their legal obligations to achieve psychologically healthy and safe workplaces
We deal with work-related:
Bullying
Fatigue
Stress
Violence

7. Psychosocial Services Team
We provide:
Technical advice
Respond to complex matters
Build internal and external capability
Lead and influence state and national policy
Contribute to the implementation of the Mentally Healthy Workplaces Strategy

8. COMPLEX MATTERS Suicide Multiple WHS complaints from same organisation
workplace affected by attempted suicide, death by suicide or risk of suicide
Suicide
more than one from same organisation lodged within a 12 month timeframe where the issue predominately relates to psychosocial matters
Multiple WHS complaints from same organisation
alleged perpetrator is most senior person i.e. for small business - owner/company director; for larger businesses - CEO, CFO etc.
Most senior person in the organisation

9. PSYCHOLOGICAL Health
‘Health’ in WHS Act 2011 means physical and psychological health
WHS laws eliminate or minimise risks to health and safety of workers following a risk management process
Safe Work Australia guidance
Work-related psychological health and safety: A systematic approach to meeting your duties
Preventing and responding to workplace bullying
Dealing with workplace bullying – worker’s guide
Principles of good work design handbook
Code of Practice: How to manage work health and safety risks
SafeWork Australia (SWA) is the national policy body responsible for the development and evaluation of the model WHS laws.
The Commonwealth, states and territories are responsible for regulating and enforcing the laws in their jurisdictions.

10. RISK FACTORS in the design and management of work
High/low job demands
Low job control
Poor support
Low role clarity
Poor workplace relationships
Poor organisational change management
Low recognition and reward
Poor organisational justice
Poor environmental conditions
Remote or isolated work
Violent or traumatic events
SPEAKER NOTE:
Refer to these are known evidence informed risk factors which impact on health. We can assess these.

11. legislation Relevant duties: Primary duty Due diligence Consultation
Guidance material available
Q: Who here manages risks to physical health in their role?
Q: who manages risks for psychological health, and is it different?
A: The risk management process applies to both
S17 - eliminate/minimise risks to health and safety,
S18 - so far as is reasonably practicable taking into account:
Likelihood, the degree of harm, what the person knows, or ought reasonably to know, the availability and suitability of ways after assessing, the costs,
S19 - provision and maintenance of safe systems of work, and
information, training, instruction or supervision that is necessary to protect all persons from risks
S47 – duty to consult workers
WHS Act - s. 46, 47 and 79 related to the duty to consult.
WHS Regulations – Chapter 3 refers to duties to manage risk and details the RM process.
Duty to consult workers
(1) The person conducting a business or undertaking must, so far as is
reasonably practicable, consult, in accordance with this Division
and the regulations, with workers who carry out work for the
business or undertaking who are, or are likely to be, directly
affected by a matter relating to work health or safety.
Penalty:
(a) In the case of an individual—$
(b) In the case of a body corporate—$
(2) If the person conducting the business or undertaking and the
workers have agreed to procedures for consultation, the
consultation must be in accordance with those procedures.
(3) The agreed procedures must not be inconsistent with section 48.
48 Nature of consultation
(1) Consultation under this Division requires:
(a) that relevant information about the matter is shared with
workers; and
(b) that workers be given a reasonable opportunity:
(i) to express their views and to raise work health or safety
issues in relation to the matter; and
(ii) to contribute to the decision-making process relating to
the matter; and
(c) that the views of workers are taken into account by the
person conducting the business or undertaking; and
(d) that the workers consulted are advised of the outcome of the
consultation in a timely manner.
(2) If the workers are represented by a health and safety representative,
the consultation must involve that representative.
When consultation is required
Consultation under this Division is required in relation to the
following health and safety matters:
(a) when identifying hazards and assessing risks to health and
safety arising from the work carried out or to be carried out
by the business or undertaking;
(b) when making decisions about ways to eliminate or minimise
those risks;
(c) when making decisions about the adequacy of facilities for
the welfare of workers;
(d) when proposing changes that may affect the health or safety
of workers;
(e) when making decisions about the procedures for:
(i) consulting with workers; or
(ii) resolving work health or safety issues at the workplace; or
(iii) monitoring the health of workers; or
(iv) monitoring the conditions at any workplace under the
management or control of the person conducting the
business or undertaking; or
(v) providing information and training for workers;
(f) when carrying out any other activity prescribed by the
regulations for the purposes of this section.
GUIDANCE – there is lots of guidance material available to help organisations and workers meet their obligations under the legislation and I will shortly come to that

12. Risk management process
WHAT TO DO:
STEP 1: IDENTIFY HAZARDS
Reviewing relevant information & records
Surveys & focus groups
Consult
At risk groups
STEP 2: ASSESS RISKS
Worker’s views
Known hazards
Risk assessment tool
So what needs doing when we are assessing risks in the workplace:
Step 1. ………………
When we talk about consulting in identifying hazards, who are the best people to ask about the risks associated with the work being done? – Yes, workers
Who can tell me what sort of people make up ‘at risk groups’ – young workers, culturally and linguistically diverse workers, migrants, pregnant workers and labour hire.
Step 2. Assess the risks - Who can tell me what are some of the hazards that may present in your workplaces: •high job demand.
•low job demand.
•poor support.
•poor workplace relationships.
•low role clarity.
•poor organisational change management.
•poor organisational justice.
•poor environmental conditions.
Then there needs to be some sort of a process for actually undertaking an assessment. There are numerous risk analysis and management tools that serve multiple purposes and come in many shapes and sizes across all our workplaces. Most workplaces will have some proforma risk assessment tools, however on our website you will find that SafeWork has
CODE OF PRACTICE | HOW TO MANAGE WORK HEALTH AND SAFETY RISKS – and this can be downloaded at any time.
Risk management process

13. WHAT TO DO STEP 3: CONTROL RISKS STEP 4: REVIEW CONTROL MEASURES
When a new hazard is identified
Risk not minimised
Change
Consultation
Let’s look at the next steps in the process:
Step 3: Control Risks……………….
Step 4: Review control measures……………
Remember our last slide, a pre-cursor to all of this is management commitment – this will be seen through your workplace culture and leadership
It is also important to remember that near misses and early warning signs very important in managing risks to psychological health.
What do you think might reflect early warning signs for that there are psychological hazards presenting in the workplace:
Alcohol in the workplace.
•Body stressing – workers compensation claims
•reports of bullying in the workplace
•Customer aggression
•Driver fatigue
•Remote or isolated work
•Work-related mental stress.
Q: Does anyone have examples of how they have controlled risks in the workplace?
A: from group
These can take the form of work reviews – assessments of work loads
Psychological wellbeing health checks on workers
Reviewing timesheets – looking at hours of work and fatigue
SPEAKER NOTES
You don’t need to change everything for the whole organisation, you can make changes to the specific workgroup you are noticing these hazards (unless they are a risk to other workgroups aswell)

14. WORKPLACE BULLYING FORM
So now lets talk about workplace bullying – Q Tell me, what is workplace bullying:
Workplace bullying is defined as repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers, that creates a risk to health and safety.
Whether it is intended or not bullying in the workplace is a health and safety risk that can come under the jurisdiction of Work Health and Safety legislation.
Repeated behaviour refers to the persistent nature of the behaviour and can refer to a range of behaviours over time.
Unreasonable behaviour means behaviour that a reasonable person, having regard for the circumstances, would see as victimising, humiliating, undermining or distressing.
Types of unreasonable behaviour that may be considered as workplace bullying, when part of a repeated pattern of events, can include:
- abusive, insulting or offensive language or comments
- unjustified criticism or complaints
- excluding, isolating or marginalising a person from normal work activities
- withholding information that is vital for effective work performance
- unreasonably overloading a person with work or not providing enough work
- setting unreasonable timelines or constantly changing deadlines
- setting tasks that are unreasonably below or beyond a person’s skill level
- denying access to information, supervision, consultation or resources to the detriment of the worker
- spreading misinformation or malicious rumours
- changing work arrangements, such as rosters and leave, to deliberately inconvenience a particular worker or workers
Bullying can take different forms including psychological, physical or even indirect - for example deliberately excluding someone from work-related activities. It can be obvious and it can be subtle, which means it's not always easy to spot.
So what you can do? Where possible, try to resolve the situation within your workplace.
You can begin this process by following these steps:
•checking if your workplace has an anti-bullying policy and reporting procedure and following it
•if you feel safe and comfortable, telling the other person that you object to their behaviour and asking that it stop
•talking to someone, eg your supervisor, manager, health and safety representative (HSR) or union representative, about what you are experiencing and what you can do about it.
Who to contact
If you don’t feel comfortable talking to anyone in your workplace, or if discussions break down, there are people and external organisations who can support and advise you.
And, remember you can contact us. If you are being bullied at work and you believe your own or other workers’ health and safety in the workplace is at risk, including from psychological harm, contact us on for advice.
Before you call us just check that what is occurring to you is workplace bullying. If it falls outside our definition, we won’t be able to help you. However, in most situations of workplace bullying we will be able to help.
You can complete our workplace bullying form online or call What we do is then take the information you give us and we triage (just another word for assess) what can be done on the information provided.
It is vital when you do contact us and either give verbal advice or complete the online form, that you give us examples of the bullying that you have experienced or witnessed. Be specific. Include how the bullying made you feel. Were you anxious, fatigued, distressed by the behaviour or treatment you experienced. Name witnesses, recall dates, times, events as best as you possibly can, as this will inform the triage officer of the most appropriate course of action.
It is also important to identify WHAT IS NOT CONSIDERED WORKPLACE BULLYING?
There are also some categories of behaviour that may not be considered workplace bullying such as:
Reasonable management action - There are times where persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) may take reasonable management action to effectively manage the operation of their business. These actions are usually not considered to be bullying if they are reasonable in nature and carried out in a reasonable manner, taking the particular circumstances into account.
Examples of reasonable management action can include:
- setting realistic and achievable performance goals, standards and deadlines
- fair and appropriate rostering and allocation of working hours
- transferring a worker to another area or role for operational reasons Workplace violence - Work-related violence occurs when a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances relating to their work. Unlike bullying, it does not need to be repeated to be considered violence. Work-related violence creates a risk to health and safety.

15. BULLYING RESPONSE SERVICE STANDARDS
What we can do
What we cannot do
WHAT WE CAN DO
We can only act on situations that fall within the scope of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act).
This includes verifying an employer or business (or other PCBU) is:
consulting with workers about work health and safety
providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
providing and maintaining safe systems of work
monitoring the health and safety of workers and the conditions at the workplace, to ensure that work-related illnesses and injuries are prevented
providing appropriate information, instruction, training or supervision to workers and others at the workplace, to allow work to be carried out safely.
WHAT WE CANNOT DO
There are some things we cannot do.
These include:
mediate between the workplace parties involved
provide legal advice
provide counselling
order the employer or business (or other PCBU) to discipline the alleged bully or terminate their employment
take sides
deal with industrial matters or discrimination
issue an order to stop bullying behaviour-the Fair Work Commission have powers to issue these orders if required.
So WHAT WILL BE SAFEWORK’S ACTIONS: SafeWork NSW will assess the information you provide before deciding on the most appropriate course of action, which may include:
- writing to the employer in regards to the complaint and provide advice on how to prevent and respond to bullying
- referring the matter to another agency if it falls outside SafeWork NSW jurisdiction
- referring the complaint to an inspector who may contact or visit the workplace
- take no further action
If the complaint is allocated to an Inspector, the inspector will make an initial response within ten (10) working days of receiving the complaint.
If you provide your name and contact details at the time of lodging the complaint, you will be advised of the actions taken by SafeWork NSW.
Further information in regards to what we can and cannot do, and what you can expect from us when you raise a bullying issue with us is available on our website.

16. Role of the Health and safety representatives (hsr)
So, by a show of hands, who here :
Is a HSR
Does anyone not know who their HSR is, or does not have a HSR in their workplace?
Who knows if there is a Health and Safety Committee (HSC) in your workplace?
Is anyone here a member of their department’s HSC?
A HSR is one person you can talk to about WHS issues including bullying. The HSC is where your employer should be negotiating WHS policies and procedures with its staff. This includes policies and procedures to prevent and manage bullying.
HSRs are elected to represent workers on health and safety and matters have responsibilities under WHS legislation.
It is a serious role and has powers and responsibilities under the sections 68 and 69 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.
An HSR and deputy HSR play a pivotal role in gathering information about what the health and safety issues are for their work group. They can work out ways to resolve issues in consultation with PCBU representatives such as managers, supervisors as well as committees and other HSRs.
If an HSR has completed approved HSR training they can direct a worker in the work group to stop unsafe work if they reasonably believe workers would be exposed to a serious risk to their health and safety. This stop-work direction can only be given if the issue has not been resolved by consultation, or if the risk is so serious and immediate or imminent that it's unreasonable to consult first.
An HSR can issue a Provisional Improvement Notice (PIN) if they reasonably believe there is a contravention of the Act.

17. EMPLOYER obligations to a hsr
As an employer, you must support the HSR by:
giving them time off at normal pay, and any necessary facilities and assistance, to enable them to fulfil their role
talking with them about health and safety issues
giving them access to all information regarding hazards and risks affecting the work group
allowing them to attend interviews about work health and safety, if the worker consents
allowing a person assisting the HSR to enter the workplace, if that assistance is necessary
permitting them to accompany an inspector on an inspection of areas where the workers they represent work
giving them five days training and a one-day annual refresher course, if requested.
An HSR can be disqualified if they exercised a power or performed a function as an HSR for an improper purpose, or used or disclosed any information acquired as an HSR that is not connection with the role of an HSR.
S85 A Health and safety representative may:
direct a worker who is in a work group represented by the representative to cease work if the representative has a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the worker to a serious risk to the worker’s health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.
However, the health and safety representative must not give a worker a direction to cease work unless the matter is not resolved after consulting about the matter with the employer for whom the workers are carrying out work, and attempting to resolve the matter
The health and safety representative may direct the worker to cease work without carrying out that consultation or attempting to resolve the matter if the risk is so serious and immediate or imminent that it is not reasonable to consult before giving the direction.
The health and safety representative must carry out the consultation as soon as practicable after giving a the direction and the HSR must inform the employer of any direction given by the health and safety representative to workers under this section.
A health and safety representative cannot give a direction under this section unless the representative has:
(a) completed initial training prescribed by the regulations referred to in section 72 (1) (b), or
(b) previously completed that training when acting as a health and safety representative for another work group, or
(c) completed training equivalent to that training under a corresponding WHS law.
Even if you aren’t represented by a HSR, s84, a worker may cease, or refuse to carry out work if the worker has a reasonable concern that to carry out the work would expose the worker to a serious risk to the worker’s health or safety, emanating from an immediate or imminent exposure to a hazard.
86 If a worker notifies that they will be ceasing work, they must:
(a) as soon as practicable, notify the person conducting the business or undertaking that the worker has ceased work under this Division unless the worker ceased work under a direction from a health and safety representative, and
(b) remain available to carry out suitable alternative work.

18. INTERNATIONAL Tools https://www.guardingmindsatwork.ca/
There are a number of free resources and tools available nationally and internationally.
I’m going to mention a few that are relevant for large businesses.
Guarding work
What is it? A complete approach which includes resources designed to protect and promote psychological health and safety in the workplace
Health & Safety Executive
What is it? The tool and workbook help PCBUs meet legal duty to assess the risks to its employees from work-related stress and gives advice and practical guidance on how to manage work-related stress
Work positive
What is it? Work Positive is a completely confidential psychosocial risk management process. It involves a ‘whole workforce’ approach which can be rolled out over a three to six month period and be re-used every few years.

19. AUSTRALIAN Tools
QLD mental health toolkit
What is it? Toolkit providing practical tools and resources for employers, managers and leaders to create workplaces that are mentally healthy
PAW
What is it?
A reliable and valid Australian psychosocial risk assessment tool
resources to support PCBUs implementing a psychosocial risk management approach & evaluating the effectiveness of chosen interventions
Work-related stress tip sheets
What are they?
The stress tip sheets provide information on managing the organizational risk factors known to contribute to the risk of psychological injury
Heads Up
What is it? Website which provides businesses with resources to create mentally healthy workplaces

20. ANY QUESTIONS? Feedback email megan.may@safework.nsw.gov.au
Thank you for your time today and I wish you all the best in managing risks to psychological health in your workplace.
For more information and resources please fee free to send me an .