WHS Due Diligence for CEO’s, Directors and Managers – NSW edition
Topic: DUTY TO MANAGE PSYCHOSOCIAL RISKS
The WHS Act defines ‘health’ to mean both physical and psychological health.
The WHS Act section 19
The PCBU must manage risks to both physical and psychological health, so far as is reasonably practicable.
The WHS Regulation sections 55C & D,
These sections require a PCBU to manage psychosocial risks and to have regard to a range of matters when determining control measures to implement, including, but not limited to:
- How psychosocial hazards and risks may interact and combine to create harm; and
- The sources of psychosocial risk, including the design of the work, design and layout of the workplace, how work is organised, workplace behaviours & interactions and other matters.
The Hierarchy of Control & Psychosocial Risks
While a PCBU is not obliged to use hierarchy of control (HoC) measures under clause 55C of the WHS Regulation, a PCBU may use HoC measures if this helps you choose and communicate the most effective control measures to decision makers and workers in the organisation. Importantly, it is worth noting that this exception (not being obliged to use HoC) only applies with reference to psychosocial risks.
Resources
There are a range of tools available from various regulators to assist duty holders in meeting their obligations including, but not limited to:
- SafeWork NSW – Code of Practice – Managing psychosocial hazards at work
- SafeWork NSW Guide – Designing Work to Manage Psychosocial Risks
- SafeWork Australia – Principles of Good Work Design: a WHS Handbook
- People at Work – Psychosocial Risk Assessment Survey Tool
- Fair Work Commission – What does “reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner” mean?
Ensuring a systematic process to manage psychosocial hazards and risks will help the PCBU and duty holders meet their WHS responsibilities. It will also decrease organisational disruptions and costs resulting from work-related harm and may improve WHS and broader organisational performance and productivity.