Preparing for the transition to Victoria’s new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations

Understanding the Challenge

The Essential Services Commission (ESC) works to protect the long-term interests of Victorians, making sure essential services are fair in price, high in quality and consistently reliable. Like many large Victorian organisations, ESC wanted to prepare for the transition to Victoria's new Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) regulations coming into effect on December 1, 2025.

They required a thorough understanding of their current psychosocial risk landscape and a clear strategy to achieve compliance.

Our Approach

In line with WorkSafe Victoria’s Compliance Code (Psychological Health), we collaborated with the organisation to deliver a thorough 10-week psychosocial risk management project, designed to provide clarity, build internal capability and establish a foundation for ongoing compliance.

1. Stocktake and Review

We began with a comprehensive desktop review of the organisation's existing policies, practices and available data.

2. Consultation and Risk Identification

To ensure a consultative approach that met regulatory consultation requirements, we conducted focus groups and in-depth interviews to gather further data on identified risks, including suggestions around controls, and a dedicated session with the People and Culture team.

3. Risk Register and Recommendations

We delivered a practical, ready-to-use risk register that included: identified psychosocial hazards, risk assessment and rating, current controls already in place, and recommendations for future controls with implementation guidance.

This collaborative process ensured we captured the lived experience of employees while empowering the P&C team with the knowledge and skills to continue this work independently.

Gagan Mudhar, TW's Head of Consulting and Advisory (NSW)

What Made This Approach Effective

Human-first and deeply collaborative

We prioritised education and confidence-building within the People & Culture team, ensuring they understood not only what to do but also how and why, enabling them to sustain this work long-term.

Keeping it simple

Rather than complicating the process, we focused on delivering practical tools the organisation could utilise immediately: a ready-to-use risk register and clear recommendations that translated directly into actionable steps.

Time-efficient process

The 10-week timeframe allowed the organisation to quickly gain comprehensive insight into their organisation's psychosocial risk landscape, while still being thorough and consultative.

Building internal capability

By involving P&C throughout the process, we ensured the organisation has the skills and confidence to continue risk identification, consultation, and management beyond our engagement.

Our Impact

Regulatory confidence

The organisation now has clarity on their psychosocial risks and confidence that it meets baseline regulatory expectations ahead of the December 1 deadline.

Empowered People & Culture team

The P&C team gained independent validation of the challenges they face and the supports they need, along with the capability to continue this work effectively, in ensuring the ongoing monitoring, review and revision of risks to ensure it is not set and forget!

Foundation for ongoing partnership

The risk register and recommended controls provide a clear pathway for ongoing psychosocial risk management, including potential for annual reviews and division-specific assessments.

We appreciated the collaborative approach taken during our psychosocial risk review. Our feedback was considered and incorporated into the final register to create a tailored solution that reflects our current organisational landscape. The risk register, together with the final report’s recommendations, ensures we are well positioned to comply with the new regulations.

Noora Willis, Senior People and Culture Advisor

Psychosocial Risk Management for Your Organisation

With Victoria's new OHS (Psychological Health) regulations coming into effect, organisations need to demonstrate active management of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.

Our psychosocial risk management approach provides:

Independent, expert assessment of your current practices
Comprehensive risk identification through consultation and assessment
Practical, ready-to-use risk register and recommendations
Internal capability building to take sustained and reasonably practicable action
Clear transformation pathway to meeting regulatory requirements

If your organisation requires support in preparing for the transition to the new regulations or wishes to understand its current position, please reach out to discuss how we can assist.

Contact us

Email: info@transitioningwell.com.au

Phone: 1300 824 808

Transitioning Well is a national team of registered workplace psychologists with extensive experience in psychosocial safety consulting. We have partnered with WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW, and numerous government agencies to deliver evidence-based, human-centred workplace mental health programs.