Psychosocial Hazards: What the 2026 Key WHS Statistics Tell Us
The 2026 WHS stats are in, and psychosocial risk is the standout trend.
- Mental health claims have nearly tripled since 2014–15, outpacing every other injury type.
- Each mental health claim costs four times more and lasts five times longer.
- Bullying, work pressure and violence drive over three-quarters of mental stress claims.
- Managing psychosocial hazards is a legal WHS obligation, not just a wellbeing initiative.
- Fix how work is designed first; EAPs and resilience training are a backstop.
Download our guide to managing your teams mental health
Safe Work Australia is the national body that leads work health and safety and workers' compensation policy, while state and territory regulators enforce the laws.
Its annual report draws mainly on workers' compensation data from every state, territory and Commonwealth scheme.
The figures below focus on serious claims, meaning accepted claims with a week or more off work, and the 2024–25 numbers are preliminary.
The headline psychosocial stats
- 17,900 serious claims for mental health conditions in 2024–25, or 12.2% of all serious claims.
- 17,000 serious claims caused by mental stress, or 11.5% of all serious claims.
- Three causes drive most mental stress claims:
- work-related harassment and/or bullying: 5,400 claims (31.6%)
- work pressure: 4,500 claims (26.5%)
- exposure to violence and harassment: 3,000 claims (17.7%).
- 34.8 weeks median time off work for a mental health claim, almost five times the 7.0 weeks for other serious claims.
- $68,600 median compensation per mental health claim, more than four times the $16,100 for other serious claims.
- 169% growth in a decade. Mental health claims rose by 11,300 since 2014–15, compared with 29% growth across all other injury types.
- Women are more affected. Mental health conditions make up 17.5% of women's serious claims, compared with 8.2% for men.
How the picture is changing
A small dip doesn't change the trend
Mental health claims fell by 580 (3.2%) over the past year. That is welcome, but it is a small move against a decade of steep growth. No other injury type has grown as fast since 2014–15.
Psychological harm is a bigger slice of the pie
Diseases and conditions, where mental health sits, now account for one in three serious claims. A decade ago it was closer to one in four. Workplace harm is shifting from purely physical injury towards conditions that are harder to see and slower to resolve.
Recovery is getting harder
Return-to-work rates are trending down. In 2014, 92.8% of injured workers were back at work within 52 weeks. By 2024 that figure had fallen to 87.0%. Mental health claims, with their long recovery times, are a major part of that challenge.
Physical injuries carry a psychological cost too
New analysis of the HILDA survey shows that workers who spend a month or more off work after an injury see their mental health drop by around 7%. Five years later, it still hasn't returned to pre-injury levels. Any serious injury can become a psychosocial issue if recovery isn't well supported.
The workforce is shifting
Women's share of serious claims has grown by 6.2 percentage points over the decade. Older workers are also making up a larger share of claims. Both trends point to more psychosocial exposure in the years ahead.
What businesses need to think about and do
The top causes of mental stress claims are bullying, work pressure and exposure to violence and harassment. Each of these is shaped by how work is organised. That makes psychosocial risk something businesses can manage, not just react to.
Treat psychosocial risk like any other WHS risk
WHS laws now explicitly require businesses to identify and control psychosocial hazards. The positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act also requires employers to take active steps to prevent sexual harassment. This is no longer a wellbeing nice-to-have. It is a compliance obligation.
Know where your exposure sits
Health care and social assistance accounts for the largest share of serious claims in Australia (20.8%). Community and personal service workers account for the largest share by occupation (23.2%). Client-facing, care and frontline roles tend to carry higher exposure to aggression, emotional demands and workload pressure. Look closely at the teams in your business that fit this profile.
Start with a proper risk assessment
Map the hazards in your workplace: high job demands, low control, poor support, unclear roles, poorly managed change, bullying, harassment and client aggression. Talk to your people directly through surveys, focus groups and health and safety representatives. They will usually know where the pressure points are.
Fix the work, not just the worker
The most effective controls change how work is done. Think workloads, rosters, staffing levels, role clarity and reporting lines. Training and support come next. Employee assistance programs and resilience workshops have a place, but they should be a backstop, not the strategy.
Make it safe to speak up
Give workers confidential, trusted ways to raise concerns about bullying, harassment and workload. Then act on what you hear, quickly and visibly. A reporting system that leads nowhere does more harm than good.
Equip your managers
Most of the top causes play out in day-to-day management. Train leaders to spot early warning signs, have supportive conversations, handle conflict and model reasonable workloads.
Watch the early warning signs
Don't wait for claims to tell you there's a problem. Track turnover, absenteeism, overtime, complaints, engagement survey results and exit interview themes. These leading indicators surface issues before they escalate.
Intervene early and support recovery
When someone is struggling or injured, early contact, suitable duties and a clear return-to-work plan make a real difference. This applies to physical injuries too, given their lasting psychological impact.
Keep reviewing
Psychosocial risk changes as your business changes. Revisit your controls after incidents, restructures, new survey results or shifts in workload. Keep a record of what you did and why.
The bottom line
Mental health claims cost four times more and last five times longer than other serious claims, and they have nearly tripled in a decade. Businesses that manage psychosocial risk proactively will protect their people, meet their legal obligations and avoid some of the most expensive claims in the system.
Source: Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2026, released 12 October 2026. Workers' compensation figures for 2024–25 are preliminary. Median time lost and compensation figures are for 2023–24.
Answers to the frequently asked questions.
Our last EAP was barely touched. Why would this be different?+
Most EAPs go unused because of how they're accessed, not because staff don't need them. Phoning a stranger, explaining yourself, then waiting weeks is enough to stop most people before they start. Foremind removes all three steps: staff see real counsellor profiles, pick someone themselves, and book the same day.
If you already have a provider, the question worth asking is what your current utilisation is. Most traditional EAPs sit in low single digits, which means you're paying for cover your people aren't reaching. If yours is being used, staff can get seen quickly, and it covers your psychosocial obligations, there's no reason to move. If not, it's worth knowing what you're getting for the spend.
Do you offer 24/7 support?+
Yes. A 24/7 after-hours crisis line means staff can reach someone immediately at any hour, including nights and weekends.
Counselling appointments are also available outside standard business hours, so shift-based and on-call teams aren't limited to a nine-to-five window. Those are two different things, and it's worth checking any provider offers both rather than just the crisis line.
Are your EAP counsellors based in Australia?+
Yes. Every practitioner on the platform holds current membership with an Australian professional body and practises under Australian standards, codes of ethics and disciplinary frameworks. There are no offshore call centres.
Practitioners hold membership with the Australian Counselling Association, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, or the Australian Association of Social Workers, along with a current Working with Children or Vulnerable People Check.
How much does an EAP cost?+
Pricing is usually per employee per month, based on total headcount rather than how many people use the service. Costs vary widely depending on whether sessions are bundled in and whether compliance tooling is included.
A more useful comparison is cost per employee who actually uses it. An EAP with 2% utilisation can work out several times more expensive per person helped than one that gets used. Foremind offers pay-as-you-go, inclusive session plans and compliance-inclusive plans, with discounted pricing for not-for-profits and charities.
For full breakdown of our plans, see our EAP pricing page or request a quote for a tailored proposal.
What information does an employer receive about EAP usage?+
Nothing that could identify anyone. All counselling is completely confidential and all reporting is anonymous - you'll never see who booked, when, or what was discussed.
What you do see is the aggregated picture: how many people are using it, what psychosocial risks are prevalent in the business, and which teams are under pressure. Enough to know the investment is working and where to act, never enough to identify a person. Reporting thresholds mean small teams can't be reverse-engineered from the data.
Does having an EAP meet an employer's psychosocial duty of care?+
No. An EAP is a control measure, and a valuable one, but it only addresses harm after it has occurred. It doesn't identify hazards, assess risk, or evidence that controls are working.
Australian WHS law requires you to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the risk, control it so far as is reasonably practicable, and review whether those controls are working — with documented evidence at each step. Offering counselling on its own leaves three of those four steps undocumented.
Foremind covers both in one platform. See how the compliance side works in our product tour.