Melbourne – 17 March | Canberra – 5 May | Sydney – 13 May | Perth – 26 May | Auckland – 8 June
08.30-15.30
Psychosocial regulations are now embedded across all Australian jurisdictions, and effective psychosocial risk management now requires interventions that reduce risk and improve the way work is designed and experienced. A huge range of psychosocial hazards continue to present complex challenges for organisations, while regulators are placing greater pressure on proactive prevention, consultative design, and evidence of effective controls.
This Workshop will take you beyond merely compliance toward designing, implementing and evaluating psychosocial risk interventions. Designed as a practical deep dive to bolster your learnings from the 11th WHS Law Congress, this workshop will provide you the opportunity to critically evaluate your current approach, work through contemporary and emerging challenges, and develop a strong and sustainable psychosocial risk management strategy.
Led by the outstanding Dr Tessa Bailey of The Opus Centre for Psychosocial Risk, you will explore evidence-based approaches, practical intervention strategies and leading insights on psychosocial risk management. With a focus on translating regulatory requirements into meaningful action, key learnings include:
- Moving beyond compliance to build a proactive and prevention-focused psychosocial risk strategy
- Diagnosing psychosocial risk at its source and identifying the organisational factors driving exposure
- Designing targeted interventions that address specific hazards, workforce needs and organisational contexts
- Strengthening your psychosocial risk controls in line with contemporary WHS expectations and evidence-based practice
- Responding effectively to realised psychosocial risk, including sensitive and appropriate incident investigation
- Embedding employee participation and consultation into the design of meaningful interventions
- Measuring what matters — evaluating whether psychosocial interventions are genuinely reducing risk
- Turning data and insights into action through continuous improvement and targeted prevention
- Building sustainable psychosocial safety into everyday systems, work design and organisational practice
Module One: Factors Impacting Workers Mental Health and Providing Support
This module introduces participants to the main factors impacting worker health and wellbeing. It examines job design components including job demands, resources and supports that impact worker health and productivity outcomes. Participants will learn how to apply models for worker psychological health relevant to the context in their own organisation.
- Work-related psychosocial factors impacting worker mental health
- Creating a climate for psychological health and safety
- Understanding psychological models for worker health and motivation
Activity: Identify factors impacting worker mental health in your organisation
Module Two: Achieving your Legal Obligations through Best Practice Psychosocial Risk Management
Participants will review the latest regulations and codes of practice and learn how they can be applied through best practice psychosocial risk management in their organisation. This will include tools and methods for risk assessment, hazard management, consultation, evaluation and documentation. Participants will learn how to apply the policy and practice based on their organisational contexts.
- Legal obligations and international best practice psychosocial risk management
- How to apply the latest codes of practice and regulations in your region
- Review of tools for risk assessment including ISO 45003 audit, Guarding Minds, People@Work, PSC and PRC16
Activity: Examine existing regional codes and guidelines and how they can be applied based on industry and organisational contexts.
Module Three: Designing Evidence-based Control Strategies to Reduce Risk and Improve Wellbeing
This module examines some the of latest scientific evidence behind best practice psychosocial risk management, including how to design an intervention that will be effective at reducing risk. It will include examples of reasonable and practical controls at the organisational, leadership, job design, and individual levels that have proven to be effective at reducing risk to worker mental health and increase organisational productivity outcomes.
- Using the Psychosocial Safety Hierarchy of Control to examine existing safety systems
- Identifying gaps for targeted psychosocial risk and hazard management
- Case study review for evidence-based intervention design
Activity: Examine your organisations existing policy, procedure and practice and identify gaps for potential intervention
Module Four: Effective Integration for Sustainable Psychosocial Risk and Hazard Management
Participants will examine longitudinal case studies that demonstrate best practice process for psychosocial risk management and identify factors for successful implementation. This will include development of a psychosocial safety action plan for implementation including process for consultation, documentation and evaluation that can be integrating into the WHS systems in their own organisation.
- How to integrate psychosocial risk management into existing WHS systems
- Facilitators and barriers for reducing risk to worker health and promoting wellbeing
- Processes for consultation, documentation, and evaluation for ongoing continuous improvement
Activity: Draft a psychosocial safety action plan for implementation in your own organisation
Don’t miss this opportunity to ensure you don’t fall behind! Protect the mental wellbeing of your workforce, above and beyond your obligations!
About your Workshop Leader:
Dr Tessa Bailey, Principal Consultant, Director, OPUS Centre for Psychosocial Risk
Dr Tessa Bailey is a registered psychologist and leading researcher who completed her PhD on Psychosocial Safety Climate & Psychosocial Safety Factors at Work, for which she received the 2019 Ian Davies award for the most outstanding PhD thesis in the University of SA. Dr Bailey has 20 years experience working in the areas of human resource management, injury prevention, and injury management in both public and private sectors across a wide range of industries including health, social services, and aviation.
She was also a Research Fellow on the Australian Workplace Barometer (AWB) project at the University of South Australia which collected and analysed data on working conditions, worker health, and productivity for over 7000 workers from across all Australian states and territories since 2011.
Dr Bailey’s current appointment as Principal Consultant at OPUS focuses on applied practice engaging with industry to build the capacity of Workforce Health and Safety systems to provide a safe environment, protect worker health, and promote wellbeing.
Testimonials from Dr Bailey’s past clients
“I would recommend all business leaders, WHS professionals, government inspectors enrol in this masterclass. I liked the fact that it was practical and examples I could relate to were used. It was also full of exercises… everything I wanted covered was actually covered in detail.”
Assistant Director Psychosocial, Psychological Health WorkSafe ACT
“I highly recommend this masterclass which guides participants through the scientifically validated steps to identify and understand psychosocial hazards at work assess the risks and put in place practical actions to improve psychological safety for everyone. I came away full of ideas and inspiration. A much needed addition to the ubiquitous physical safety interventions.”
Wellbeing & Employee Experience Specialist, Chisholm Institute
“You will use this information again and again, so be prepared to take lots of notes”
Senior Advisor – Wellbeing, Department of Communities and Justice