Psychosocial Risk Surveys

Know what hazards exist across your workforce, not just how people feel about work

An engagement survey measures how workers feel. The regulation requires your organisation to identify what specific psychosocial hazards exist, where they concentrate, and how frequently workers are exposed. These are different things, and a regulator will not accept the first as evidence of the second. ReFresh psychosocial risk surveys are structured around the 17 Code of Practice hazard categories, producing the data a regulator would recognise as evidence of psychosocial hazard identification.

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code of practice aligned

Psychosocial risk surveys structured around the 17 Code of Practice hazard categories

Identify specific psychosocial hazards across your workforce with surveys that map to every category defined in the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024, from job demands and role clarity through to bullying, harassment, and poor organisational change management, producing structured psychosocial risk assessment data that aligns with what a regulator will ask about during an inspection rather than sentiment scores from an engagement survey that measures a different thing entirely.

templates and customisation

Pre-built psychosocial survey templates and custom survey creation

Choose from pre-built psychosocial survey templates that cover the full hazard set, customise individual questions to reflect your organisation's specific context and workforce structure, or build entirely bespoke psychosocial risk surveys from scratch with multiple answer types that capture the depth of data your psychosocial risk assessment requires, so your surveys reflect the reality of your organisation rather than a generic template.

A people-and-culture lead in her early 30s working at a large monitor in a bright, modern co-working-style office.

A people-and-culture manager in his mid-30s leaning back in his chair at a tidy desk in a bright, open-plan professional services office, hands behind his head, looking at a monitor with an expression of quiet satisfaction — the look of someone checking on a process that is running itself.

scheduling and tracking

Psychosocial survey distribution that gives your team their time back

Set send dates, automate reminders, and track psychosocial survey completion rates by team, role, and location so your team has visibility into who has responded and who has not, without spending hours manually following up on incomplete surveys or compiling results into a spreadsheet after the fact.

connected data

Psychosocial survey data that feeds your compliance programme, not a standalone report

Connect psychosocial survey data to the rest of your compliance programme automatically, with results feeding into your risk register, analytics dashboard, and reporting modules rather than sitting in a standalone survey tool that nobody connects to the controls, evidence, and governance activity that the regulation requires.

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Psychosocial hazards

Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work which have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. The Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024 identifies 17 psychosocial hazards. This section provides information on what they are, the risks they pose and how to eliminate or minimise them in your workplace.

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Psychosocial hazards

Job Demands

Job demands are one of the most common sources of workplace stress and psychological harm.

Job Demands

Job demands are one of the most common sources of workplace stress and psychological harm.

Fatigue

Fatigue can lead to serious short-term and long-term health effects on workers.

Fatigue

Fatigue can lead to serious short-term and long-term health effects on workers.

Low Job Control

Low job control is when workers have little control over how or when their job is done, or if their work is tightly managed.

Low Job Control

Low job control is when workers have little control over how or when their job is done, or if their work is tightly managed.

Job Insecurity

Job insecurity refers to employment where workers lack the assurance that their jobs will remain stable from day to day, week to week, or year to year.

Job Insecurity

Job insecurity refers to employment where workers lack the assurance that their jobs will remain stable from day to day, week to week, or year to year.

Poor Support

Poor support includes not providing workers with adequate support including practical assistance and emotional support from managers and colleagues to complete a task or job.

Poor Support

Poor support includes not providing workers with adequate support including practical assistance and emotional support from managers and colleagues to complete a task or job.

Lack of Role Clarity

Lack of role clarity, which can include unclear, inconsistent or frequently changing roles, responsibilities or expectations and a lack of important job-related information can be a mental health risk for workers.

Lack of Role Clarity

Poor Organisational Change Management

Change is constant in working life and if managed well, can bring positive results for organisations and workers.

Poor Organisational Change Management

Change is constant in working life and if managed well, can bring positive results for organisations and workers.

Inadequate Reward and Recognition

Jobs where there is an imbalance between workers’ effort and recognition or rewards, both formal and informal can create a psychosocial risk.

Inadequate Reward and Recognition

Jobs where there is an imbalance between workers’ effort and recognition or rewards, both formal and informal can create a psychosocial risk.

Poor Organisational Justice

Poor organisational justice, which can involve a lack of procedural justice, informational fairness or interpersonal fairness, can create a psychosocial workplace hazard.

Poor Organisational Justice

Poor organisational justice, which can involve a lack of procedural justice, informational fairness or interpersonal fairness, can create a psychosocial workplace hazard.

Traumatic Events or Materials

Witnessing, investigating or being exposed to traumatic events or material is considered a workplace psychosocial hazard.

Traumatic Events or Materials

Witnessing, investigating or being exposed to traumatic events or material is considered a workplace psychosocial hazard.

Remote or Isolated Work

Working alone or remotely increases the risks to physical and psychological health in any job.

Remote or Isolated Work

Working alone or remotely increases the risks to physical and psychological health in any job.

Intrusive Surveillance

Intrusive surveillance refers to the use of unreasonable surveillance methods or tools used to monitor and collect information about workers.

Intrusive Surveillance

Intrusive surveillance refers to the use of unreasonable surveillance methods or tools used to monitor and collect information about workers.

Poor Physical Environment

Exposure to unpleasant, poor quality or hazardous working environments or conditions can have a negative impact on workers physical and mental health.

Poor Physical Environment

Exposure to unpleasant, poor quality or hazardous working environments or conditions can have a negative impact on workers physical and mental health.

Violence and Aggression

Workplace violence can be any incident where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances arising out of, or in the course of their work.

Violence and Aggression

Workplace violence can be any incident where a person is abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances arising out of, or in the course of their work.

Bullying

Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour towards a worker or workers, creating a risk to health and safety.

Bullying

Bullying is repeated, unreasonable behaviour towards a worker or workers, creating a risk to health and safety.

Harassment Including Sexual Harassment

Harassment is a harmful behaviour that creates a risk to health or safety.

Harassment Including Sexual Harassment

Harassment is a harmful behaviour that creates a risk to health or safety.

Conflict or Poor Workspace Relationships or Interactions

Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions can refer to a breakdown of individual and team relationships, conflict arising from tasks or relationships, violence and incivility.

Conflict or Poor Workspace Relationships or Interactions

Conflict or poor workplace relationships and interactions can refer to a breakdown of individual and team relationships, conflict arising from tasks or relationships, violence and incivility.

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Frequently asked questions

How are psychosocial risk surveys different from engagement surveys?

Engagement surveys measure how workers feel about their workplace, their manager, and their role. Psychosocial risk surveys identify what specific hazards exist, where they concentrate across your organisation, and how frequently workers are exposed, which is what the regulation requires and what a regulator will ask about during an inspection. For a detailed comparison, see engagement surveys vs psychosocial compliance.

Can we customise psychosocial survey questions?

Yes. Start from pre-built templates aligned to the Code of Practice, customise individual questions, or create entirely bespoke psychosocial surveys with multiple answer types tailored to your organisation's specific context.

How do psychosocial survey results connect to the rest of the platform?

Results flow directly into your risk register and analytics dashboard, linked to hazard categories, teams, and locations, so the data feeds your compliance programme rather than sitting in a standalone tool.

Can we run recurring psychosocial surveys on a schedule?

Yes. Set send dates, configure automated reminders, and schedule recurring psychosocial surveys so your organisation maintains ongoing visibility into psychosocial risk rather than relying on annual snapshots.

What psychosocial hazard categories do the surveys cover?

All 17 psychosocial hazard categories defined in the Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice 2024, from job demands and role clarity through to bullying, harassment, and poor organisational change management. For the full list, see the definitive guide to psychosocial compliance.

Can we track who has and has not completed a psychosocial survey?

Yes. Completion is tracked by team, role, and location, giving your team visibility into response rates across the organisation without compromising individual confidentiality where anonymous responses are used.

How does ReFresh compare to the People at Work survey tool?

The People at Work survey is a free assessment tool from Safe Work Australia. ReFresh psychosocial surveys provide the same hazard category coverage with additional features including custom question creation, automated scheduling, completion tracking, and direct integration with your risk register and compliance programme.

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