Between 1 and 4 July 2025, hundreds of SafeWork NSW inspectors conducted unannounced compliance checks at nearly 400 high-risk workplaces across regional and metropolitan NSW. The result: 506 non-compliance notices issued, comprising 435 improvement notices, 61 prohibition notices, and 10 fines worth almost $50,000.

SafeWork NSW described it as the largest proactive and targeted compliance operation in the past decade. It was also the regulator's first major operation since becoming a standalone agency on 1 July 2025, with Janet Schorer appointed as the inaugural SafeWork Commissioner.

Psychosocial hazards among the five priorities

The blitz targeted SafeWork NSW's five regulatory priorities. Psychosocial risks at work, including sexual harassment, were among them. The other four were harms to workers in the healthcare and social assistance sector, exposure to hazardous chemicals including silica, asbestos and welding fumes, unsafe work from heights, and injury from mobile plant, vehicles or fixed machinery.

HRD Australia reports that inspectors carried out 228 psychosocial checks during the blitz. These checks included targeted conversations with employers and workers about psychosocial hazards and the steps taken to eliminate or reduce the associated risks. Employers were also provided with resources, business toolkits and awareness information for the management and prevention of psychosocial hazards.

The top two categories of non-compliance were unsafe work from heights (192 notices) and unsafe operation of mobile plant, vehicles and fixed machinery (285 notices). While the breakdown of psychosocial-specific notices was not published separately, the inclusion of psychosocial hazards as a priority area — and the 228 dedicated psychosocial checks — confirms that these inspections are now a standard part of SafeWork NSW's compliance activity.

This is the published plan in action

This is not ad hoc enforcement. The July 2025 blitz is the operational execution of a published strategy.

SafeWork NSW's Psychological Health and Safety Strategy 2024-2026 commits the regulator to compulsory psychosocial WHS checks during all inspector visits to organisations with 200 or more workers, a 25 per cent annual increase in inspector compliance visits, and a target of 80 per cent sustained compliance. The Strategy is backed by $5.6 million in funding.

The blitz also coincided with the publication of SafeWork NSW's Annual Regulatory Statement for 2025-26, which outlines the regulator's approach to compliance, enforcement, and harm prevention programmes for the year ahead. Minister for Work Health and Safety Sophie Cotsis stated that the government is serious about protecting workers across NSW and described SafeWork NSW's determination to be a visible regulator.

Commissioner Janet Schorer noted that compliance blitzes are an important part of SafeWork NSW's strategy to proactively address high-risk activities across the state.

What organisations should prepare before an inspection

An unannounced SafeWork NSW inspection can occur at any worksite. When psychosocial hazards are a stated regulatory priority, and the regulator has committed to conducting psychosocial checks at every visit to larger organisations, the question is not whether an inspection will include psychosocial matters, but when.

The 228 psychosocial checks conducted during the July blitz involved targeted conversations with employers and workers. Based on what SafeWork NSW has published about its inspection approach, and the requirements of the WHS Regulation 2025 and the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice, organisations should be prepared to demonstrate that they have identified the psychosocial hazards present in their workplace through a documented process. This means being able to show what hazards have been identified, how they were identified, when the identification process last occurred, and what consultation with workers took place.

Organisations should also be able to show that they have assessed the risks associated with identified hazards, considering factors such as the duration, frequency and severity of exposure, how hazards interact, and the design of work. Control measures should be documented, implemented and actively maintained, not just set out in a policy that exists on paper. And there should be evidence of regular review, including in response to specific triggers such as changes to work systems, new hazard information, incident reports, or requests from health and safety representatives.

An inspector conducting a psychosocial check is looking for a functioning system, not a perfect workplace. The difference between an organisation that receives guidance and one that receives an improvement notice is typically the difference between having a documented, active risk management process and having nothing to show.

What the blitz signals

The scale and visibility of this operation signal a clear shift in SafeWork NSW's enforcement posture. The regulator has moved from education and awareness to proactive, unannounced compliance verification. The inclusion of psychosocial hazards alongside physical safety priorities such as falls from heights and mobile plant confirms that psychosocial compliance is now treated as a mainstream WHS enforcement matter, not a specialist programme.

The Law Society Journal notes that the SafeWork NSW clampdown on psychosocial hazards, starting in February 2024 when the agency announced it would boost enforcement activities, was a key focus of the July blitz. Psychosocial hazards have drawn increasing scrutiny from regulators as understanding of psychological harm grows.

For NSW employers, the practical message is straightforward. Inspections are happening. They are unannounced. They include psychosocial matters. And the regulator has stated it will continue to focus on these priorities in the year ahead.

For the full state-by-state breakdown, see the compliance-by-state collection.

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 SafeWork NSW, the NSW Government, HRD Australia, and the Law Society Journal and are current as of the date of publication.