What a WHS Inspector Will Ask to See About Psychosocial Risk

Most businesses don't find out how their psychosocial risk management looks to an outsider until a regulator asks to see it. By then it's too late to fix the gaps quietly. This guide covers what an inspector is likely to ask for, who they'll want to talk to, and the problems that most often end in an improvement notice, so you can check where you stand before anyone calls.

Why This Is Worth Doing Now

When the psychosocial regulations first came in, regulators put most of their effort into education: guidance material, webinars, information sheets. That has shifted. Over the past year we've seen new legal obligations, more specialist inspectors and a run of decisions showing regulators are prepared to act.

• NSW codes of practice became enforceable on 1 July 2026. A new section 26A of the NSW WHS Act means businesses must either follow an approved code, including the Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work, or manage the risks in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard of safety. Before that, the code was guidance that could be used as evidence.
• Queensland already works this way. Section 26A of the Queensland WHS Act has the same rule, so the Managing the risk of psychosocial hazards at work Code of Practice 2022 has carried that weight since it started in April 2023.
• NSW has more people looking. SafeWork NSW brought on 20 specialist psychosocial inspectors in early 2026 and has flagged psychosocial risk as a priority area.
• Victoria has caught up. Victoria's psychological health regulations under the OHS Act started on 1 December 2025.

How an Inspector Ends Up Contacting You

Most psychosocial inspections start in one of four ways:

• A complaint. A current or former worker, a health and safety representative or a union lodges a request for service with the regulator.
• A notifiable incident. For example, an assault at work that results in a serious injury.
• A targeted campaign. Regulators run proactive programs aimed at particular industries. In NSW, healthcare, education and social assistance have had a lot of attention.
• A visit about something else. An inspector who is on site for a different issue can ask about psychosocial risk while they're there.

First contact might be a letter, a phone call or someone at the front desk. In NSW, SafeWork aims to respond to a psychosocial request for service within 10 working days, and that response can include contacting the business directly. Inspectors can also enter a workplace without notice, so don't count on having weeks to prepare.

What an Inspector Can Ask For

Inspectors have broad powers under the WHS Act. On a psychosocial matter, the ones you're most likely to come across are the power to:

• enter the workplace, with or without notice
• ask for documents and take copies of them
• require people to answer questions
• talk to workers, supervisors and managers, including in private
• issue an improvement notice requiring you to fix a breach by a set date
• issue a prohibition notice where there's a serious and imminent risk

WorkSafe inspectors in Victoria have similar powers under the OHS Act.

The Documents They'll Want to See

There's no fixed list, but requests tend to follow the risk management process in the codes of practice: identify the hazards, assess the risks, control them and review the controls, with consultation running through every step. If your system is built around those steps, you'll already have most of what an inspector asks for.

1. How you identified your hazards

Copying the list of common hazards out of the code of practice isn't hazard identification. An inspector will want to know how you worked out which hazards apply to your business. That might be worker surveys, consultation meetings, complaints and incident data, sick leave patterns, turnover, exit interviews, or simply watching how the work gets done.

2. Your risk assessment

It needs to be specific to your work, your roles and your people. The regulations expect you to consider how long and how often workers are exposed, how severe the hazard is, and how hazards combine. High workload on its own is one thing. High workload plus low control plus a manager who's never around is a different risk, and your assessment should reflect that. Our risk assessment guide walks through it.

3. Your risk register and control plan

For each hazard, the register should show which controls are in place, who is responsible, when they were introduced and what's still outstanding. An inspector will read it alongside the risk assessment, so the two need to line up. If you've rated workload as high risk and the only control listed is "EAP available", expect a follow-up question. See what to include in a risk register.

4. Evidence of consultation

Consultation is a legal duty in its own right, and SafeWork NSW has said it expects businesses to show they have actually consulted workers and taken their views into account. Useful evidence includes HSR or safety committee minutes, toolbox talk records with attendance, survey results, and notes showing what changed because of what workers told you. That last one is where most businesses come up short.

5. Your policies and procedures, and proof you follow them

Expect to be asked for your bullying and harassment policy, your complaints or grievance process, and how you run workplace investigations. Then expect questions about whether those documents match what happens in practice. The Department of Education case turned on exactly this. The guideline existed, but nothing made sure it was followed.

6. Complaints, incidents and investigations

What's been reported, when, how long it took to deal with, what the outcome was, and how the people involved were supported along the way. Long gaps with no updates to the worker will stand out.

7. Training and supervision records

Records showing managers and supervisors have been trained to recognise psychosocial hazards and to respond when someone raises a concern. Induction records should show new starters know how to report a problem.

8. Review records

When you last reviewed your controls, what prompted it and what you changed. Reviews should happen on a regular schedule, and also after a complaint or incident, before a significant change at work, or when workers or an HSR ask for one.

The Conversations They'll Want to Have

Inspectors don't stop at the paperwork. They'll usually want to speak to people at different levels of the business, sometimes privately, to check that what's written down matches what happens day to day. The questions vary, but expect something along these lines.

Workers

• What are the biggest pressures in your job?
• Have you ever raised a concern? What happened after that?
• Do you know how to make a complaint, and would you feel comfortable doing it?
• Were you asked for your views before the last big change at work?

Managers and supervisors

• What are the main psychosocial hazards in your team?
• What's in place to control them?
• What would you do if someone told you they weren't coping?
• Have you had any training on this?

Owners, directors and senior leaders

• How do you know your controls are working?
• What information about psychosocial risk reaches you, and how often?
• When did you last make a decision based on it?

Officers have a personal duty under the WHS Act to exercise due diligence, which is why that last group gets asked. A director who has never seen a report on psychosocial risk will struggle to show they've met it.

Where Businesses Usually Come Unstuck

A policy with nothing behind it

This is probably the most common gap. A well-written policy sitting in a shared drive shows you know the risk exists. It doesn't show you've done anything about it.

Wellbeing programs listed as controls

EAP access, mental health awareness days and lunchtime yoga all have their place, but none of them change the work that's causing the harm. SafeWork NSW's work design guidance says mental health awareness and physical wellbeing programs aren't sufficient as psychosocial risk controls. Victoria's regulations go further and only let you rely solely on training and instruction when nothing higher up the hierarchy of controls is reasonably practicable. If every control you have for high workload is about helping people cope with it rather than reducing it, an inspector will pick that up quickly.

Templates that were never made your own

We sell templates, so we'll be upfront about this one. A template filled in with your actual hazards, your people and real dates is good evidence. One that still has "[Business Name]" in the footer, or lists hazards that have nothing to do with your work, tells an inspector the opposite. The value comes from the thinking you do while you fill it in.

Investigations that drag on

A complaints process that leaves people waiting months with no updates is a psychosocial hazard in itself. Set realistic timeframes, give regular updates, and make someone responsible for checking when a matter runs over.

Consultation that's really just an announcement

Telling staff about a restructure on the day it happens isn't consultation. Neither is a survey whose results nobody ever hears about. Workers need a real chance to have their say before decisions are made, and to see what came of it.

No record of reviews

Plenty of businesses do review their controls, but informally. Without a record, that's very hard to prove. A dated note of what you looked at and what you decided is enough.

If an Inspector Contacts You Tomorrow

1. Find out what it's about. Ask whether the contact relates to a complaint, an incident or a broader campaign, which documents they want, and by when. You may not be told who made a complaint, and you shouldn't try to find out.
2. Pick one point of contact. Nominate one person to deal with the inspector and keep track of what's been asked for and what's been provided. Keep copies of everything you hand over.
3. Gather what you already have. Pull together the documents from the list above. If something is missing or out of date, say so and explain what you're doing about it. That puts you in a far better position than handing over a document that was obviously written last night.
4. Let managers know they may be interviewed. Tell them to answer truthfully and stick to what they know. Don't coach workers or discourage anyone from talking to the inspector. Treating someone badly because they raised a safety concern or helped an inspector is against WHS law.
5. Act on any notice by the due date. An improvement notice will set out what needs fixing and the date it has to be done by. Keep evidence of what you did and when. If you think the notice is wrong you can ask for it to be reviewed, but the time limits are short, so get advice early.
6. Treat it as a review trigger. Whatever the outcome, use the inspector's questions to update your risk assessment and register. They've effectively shown you where they think your gaps are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do inspectors look at small businesses, or just big organisations?

The duty to manage psychosocial risk applies to every business, whatever its size. What's reasonably practicable for a 10-person business is different from what's expected of a large employer, and your records can be simpler. You still need to be able to show you've identified the hazards, controlled them and checked that the controls work. A single complaint can bring an inspector to a small business just as easily as a large one.

Do I have to follow the code of practice?

In NSW and Queensland, you must either follow the approved code or manage the risks in a way that gives an equivalent or higher standard. In the other states and territories that use the model WHS laws, a court can use the code as evidence of what's known about a hazard and what's reasonably practicable, and inspectors can refer to it in a notice. Victoria has its own regulations under the OHS Act. Wherever you are, the code is the benchmark you'll be measured against.

Do we need a written psychosocial risk assessment?

The regulations don't prescribe a particular format, but without written records it's very difficult to show an inspector you've done the work. A documented risk assessment and register is the simplest way to demonstrate compliance, and it's one of the first things you'll be asked for.

What happens if we get an improvement notice?

The notice will say what the inspector believes you've breached and give you a date to fix it by. Not complying is an offence in itself. Inspectors may check back to confirm the issue has been dealt with, so keep evidence of what you did. If you disagree with the notice, you can apply for a review, but the deadline to apply is short.

Disclaimer: This article is general information only and is not legal or professional WHS advice. Requirements differ between states and territories. If you've been contacted by a regulator or issued with a notice, get advice that's specific to your situation.