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Working in construction can involve exposure to psychosocial hazards and risks to mental health.
Psychosocial hazards are anything that could cause psychological harm (e.g. harm someone's mental health). To assess the risk of harm, the duration, frequency and severity of exposure to psychosocial hazards needs to be considered. Psychological harm may include anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disorders, while physical harm may include musculoskeletal injuries, chronic disease and fatigue related injuries.
Common psychosocial hazards which could cause harm while undertaking construction work, include:
- job demands
- low job control, for example, workers having little say over break times
- poor support, for example inadequate training
- remote or isolated work
- poor physical environment, for example when working long hours in hot conditions
- violence and aggression
- bullying
- harassment, including sexual harassment, and
- conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions.
Safety measures to control psychosocial risks include:
- having regular breaks
- staying in regular contact with workers in remote or isolated locations
- giving workers the things they need to do their work safely, such as safe equipment and sufficient training
- outlining key tasks, responsibilities and expectations clearly
- regularly consulting with workers to keep them informed and protected
- controlling the physical risks to avoid workplace incidents, and
- preventing workplace violence and aggression, bullying and harassment, and controlling harmful behaviours.
As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), you must eliminate or minimise psychosocial risks in the workplace so far as is reasonably practicable.
See Part 3.2, Division 11 of the model WHS Regulations for more information.
PCBU duties |
Worker duties |
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You must eliminate or minimise, so far as is reasonably practicable, the psychosocial risks that arise from psychosocial hazards. This can be done by following the risk management process. For more information, click here. You must also consult workers, any health and safety representatives about WHS. You must consult, cooperate and coordinate with other duty holders. |
Your PCBU has a duty to keep you and your workplace safe from risks associated with psychosocial hazards. You also have a duty to take reasonable care of your own psychological safety and physical health and safety and that of others in the workplace including ensuring your acts and omissions don’t adversely affect others health and safety. Comply with any reasonable instructions, policies and procedure given by your PCBU at the workplace, so far as is reasonably able to. |
Risk management
As a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU), you must eliminate psychosocial risks if it is reasonably practicable or if it is not reasonably practicable, to minimise psychosocial risks in the workplace so far as is reasonably practicable.
To manage psychosocial risks, PCBUs must:
- Identify reasonably foreseeable hazards
- Implement control measures, and
- Maintain and review control measures to ensure they are effective.
See Part 3.1 and Part 3.2, Division 11 of the model WHS Regulations for more information.
Identify the hazards
Common psychosocial hazards which could cause harm while undertaking construction work, include:
- job demands
- low job control, for example, where weather impacts your ability to work
- poor support, for example inadequate training
- remote or isolated work
- poor physical environment, for example when working long hours in hot conditions
- violence and aggression
- bullying
- harassment, including sexual harassment, and
- conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions.
Assess the risks
Assessing the risk will help you work out what is reasonably practicable to control it. To assess the risk of harm, you need to consider the following:
- Duration – how long is the worker exposed to the hazards or risks?
- Frequency – how often is the worker exposed to the hazards or risks?
- Severity – how severe are the hazards and the workers’ exposures?
Control the risks
You must eliminate WHS risks if it is reasonably practicable to do so. If it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate the risks, you must minimise risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
In determining what control measures to use, the PCBU must have regard to all relevant matters under Regulation 55D(2). This includes:
- the duration, frequency and severity of exposure to hazards
- how psychosocial hazards may interact or combine
- the design of work and systems of work
- the design, layout and environmental conditions of the workplace including providing safe means of entry and exit, and facilities for the welfare of workers
- plant, substances and structures at the workplace
- workplace interactions or behaviours, and
- information, training, instruction and supervision provided to workers.
Safety measures to control psychosocial risks include:
- having regular breaks
- staying in regular contact with workers in remote or isolated locations
- giving workers the things they need to do their work safely, such as safe equipment and sufficient training to minimise the risk of poor support
- outlining key tasks, responsibilities and expectations clearly
- regularly consulting with workers to keep them informed and protected, and
- preventing workplace violence and aggression, bullying and harassment, and controlling harmful behaviours.
Monitor and review control measures
The last step of the risk management process is to review the effectiveness of the implemented control measures to check they are working as planned. If a control measure is not working well, it must be changed or replaced.
Reviewing control measures should be done regularly and is required:
- When the control measure is not eliminating or minimising the risks so far as is reasonably practicable
- Before a change at the workplace that is likely to have new or different WHS risks that the control measure may not effectively control
- If a new hazard or risk is identified
- If the results of consultation indicate a review is necessary, or
- If an HSR requests a review because they reasonably believe one of the above has occurred and it has not been adequately reviewed already.
For more information
Model Codes of Practice
Other resources
- Preventing workplace sexual harassment guide
- Preventing workplace violence and aggression guide
- Preventing and responding to workplace bullying guide
- Dealing with workplace bullying – a workers’ guide
- Workplace sexual harassment – advice for workers - information sheet
- Workplace violence and aggression – advice for workers - information sheet
- Preventing workplace sexual harassment - guidance for small business - information sheet
- Family and domestic violence at the workplace - information sheet
- Managing psychosocial hazards at work - infographic
- What psychosocial hazards sound like - infographic
- Safe Work Australia webpage - Mental health
- Safe Work Australia webpage - Workers’ compensation for psychological injuries
- Safe Work Australia webpage - National Return to Work Strategy
External resources
- People at Work: You can use the People at Work online risk assessment tool to identify and manage psychosocial risks and to meet your PCBU duties.
- Ahead for Business – Provides resources, peer support, check-ups and personalised action plans for small business owners on how to ensure mental health and wellbeing.
- Work and mental health - Beyond Blue – provides information and resources in maintaining a mentally healthy workplace.
- NewAccess for Small Business Owners (NASBO) | Beyond Blue – A guided self-help mental health coaching program for small business owners.
