The new OHS regulations in Victoria are a necessary and powerful step towards protecting mental health in the workplace. They rightly mandate a proactive risk management approach, treating psychological harm with the same seriousness as physical injury.

But as the focus shifts to compliance, a worrying trend is emerging: the push for "real-time data," "custom analytics," and "proactive mental health tools." We are being sold a vision where employee well-being is a dashboard, compliance is a series of green ticks, and a human being is just a collection of quantifiable metrics.

In Victoria, establishing a Psychosocial Safety System is a crucial part of an organisation's duty to manage work health and safety (WHS), specifically the risks arising from psychosocial hazards. This system is designed to integrate the protection of psychological health into core business operations, thereby helping the Person Conducting a Business or Undertaking (PCBU) comply with their obligations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (Vic).

These are the psychosocial hazards in the workplace that arise from how work is designed, managed, and performed, which can cause psychological or physical harm to workers.

The Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025 in Victoria, which take effect on 1 December 2025, establish a mandatory framework that applies equally to all Victorian employers, regardless of size. This means companies with 1 to 500 employees are held to the same foundational standard as the largest corporations, requiring a proactive and systemic approach to managing mental health risks.

While the compliance system must be scaled appropriately for a smaller business, the core duties remain non-negotiable.