The ACT has revised multiple WHS Codes of Practice effective from late 2025, reflecting national model updates. The revisions cover codes across a range of risk areas including noise, confined spaces, construction work and risk controls, ensuring the ACT's guidance remains aligned with the latest nationally agreed model codes published by Safe Work Australia.

These updates sit within a broader programme of regulatory alignment in the ACT. Over the past two years, the Territory has progressively updated its WHS guidance to reflect both the psychosocial hazard provisions adopted in November 2023 and subsequent national developments in codes of practice.

The ACT's psychosocial framework

The ACT adopted the psychosocial hazard provisions on 27 November 2023, when both the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice and the associated WHS Regulation amendments commenced. The Code of Practice provides practical guidance on how to manage the risks associated with psychosocial hazards. The Regulation amendments inserted Regulations 55A to 55D into the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (ACT), which define psychosocial hazard and psychosocial risk, require PCBUs to manage psychosocial risks in accordance with the risk management provisions of Part 3.1 of the Regulation, and set out the matters a PCBU must have regard to when determining control measures.

On 11 November 2024, the ACT approved the Sexual and Gender-based Harassment Code of Practice, based on the nationally agreed model code. At the same time, the Territory revoked the Preventing and Responding to Bullying Code of Practice, on the basis that the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice provides up-to-date and improved guidance for managing those risks.

How Regulations 55A to 55D work

The psychosocial provisions in the ACT follow the model WHS Regulations adopted across all harmonised jurisdictions (every jurisdiction except Victoria).

Regulation 55A defines a psychosocial hazard as a hazard that arises from, or relates to, the design or management of work, a work environment, plant at a workplace, or workplace interactions or behaviours, and that may cause psychological harm, whether or not it may also cause physical harm.

Regulation 55B defines a psychosocial risk as a risk to the health or safety of a worker or other person arising from a psychosocial hazard.

Regulation 55C requires a PCBU to manage psychosocial risks in accordance with Part 3.1 of the Regulation, which includes the requirement to apply the hierarchy of controls under Regulation 36. This means the same risk management process that applies to physical hazards — identify, assess, control, review — applies to psychosocial hazards.

Regulation 55D sets out the matters a PCBU must have regard to when determining control measures for psychosocial risks. These include the duration, frequency and severity of workers' exposure to psychosocial hazards; how hazards may interact or combine; the design of work, including job demands and tasks; the systems of work, including how work is managed, organised and supported; the design, layout and environmental conditions of the workplace; and the information, training, instruction and supervision provided to workers.

What the revised Codes mean in practice

The late 2025 code revisions ensure the ACT's broader WHS guidance is consistent with the most current national model codes. When a code of practice is revised, it updates the practical standard against which compliance is assessed. A PCBU that follows an approved code of practice is taken to have complied with the relevant duty to the extent the code addresses it. A PCBU that does not follow the code must demonstrate that its alternative approach achieves an equivalent or higher standard.

For psychosocial compliance specifically, the interaction between the codes and the regulations is important. The Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice provides practical guidance on identifying hazards, consulting workers, assessing risks, implementing controls and reviewing their effectiveness. The WHS Regulation provisions (55A to 55D) set the legal framework. The revised broader codes ensure that when a PCBU manages a physical hazard (such as noise, manual handling or construction risk) that also creates or interacts with psychosocial risks, the guidance in those codes is current and reflects the obligation to consider psychosocial factors.

For example, a code of practice on construction work that reflects the latest national model will address both the physical risks and the work design factors — such as long hours, isolated work and exposure to traumatic events — that create psychosocial risks in that industry.

WorkSafe ACT's enforcement approach

WorkSafe ACT has embedded psychosocial hazard checks into routine WHS inspections. The regulator has a dedicated team of psychosocial inspectors who respond to worker complaints and secure compliance through regulatory actions. This means psychosocial compliance is not treated as a separate programme — it is part of standard enforcement activity.

WorkSafe ACT has stated that failure to meet the requirements of the psychosocial regulations may lead to regulatory action. In practice, inspectors are assessing not only whether employers have policies in place, but whether those policies translate into action and measurable outcomes. An employer that can produce a psychosocial hazard policy but cannot demonstrate how hazards were identified, what consultation occurred, what controls were implemented, or when those controls were last reviewed, is not meeting the standard the code and regulations set.

The national context

The ACT's code revisions are part of a national pattern. Every harmonised jurisdiction has adopted the psychosocial hazard amendments to the WHS Regulations. Most have adopted the model Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work. Several jurisdictions have also adopted the Sexual and Gender-based Harassment Code of Practice, and codes across other risk areas are being progressively updated to reflect the latest national model versions.

This alignment matters for employers operating across state and territory borders. While the psychosocial provisions are substantively consistent across the harmonised jurisdictions, the timing of code adoption and the specific codes in force can vary. An employer that assumes all jurisdictions are identical without checking may find gaps, particularly where a code has been revised in one jurisdiction but not yet in another.

For the full state-by-state breakdown, see the compliance-by-state collection. For background on the model WHS Regulations that the ACT adopted, see the linked article.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information on psychosocial compliance in Australian workplaces. It does not constitute legal advice. Organisations should consult qualified professionals for advice specific to their circumstances. Regulatory references are sourced from WorkSafe ACT, the ACT Government Chief Minister, Treasury and Economic Development Directorate, and the Australian Institute of Company Directors and are current as of the date of publication.