Psychosocial Health and Safety Policy Template
Document your organisation's commitment to psychosocial safety.
What's in this psychosocial health and safety policy template
A complete, customisable policy template covering everything Australian organisations need to meet their WHS obligations on psychosocial health. Includes:
- Purpose, scope, and legal context
- Policy statement and organisational commitments
- Roles and responsibilities across management, supervisors, workers, and HR
- All 14 psychosocial hazard domains
- Implementation and risk management framework
- Incident reporting and investigation procedures
- Worker support and EAP information
- Customisation checklist to make sure nothing gets missed
Ready to edit and implement.
How to use this resource
Download the template, insert your organisation's details - names, dates, reporting methods, contact information - and adjust the wording to suit your structure and existing WHS systems.
Get sign-off from senior leadership, then share it with your workforce and integrate it into your WHS documentation and training.
Keep the completed policy on file. When regulators investigate, a signed, dated policy showing your organisation's commitments and procedures is evidence you took psychosocial safety seriously before harm occurred.
Why having a Psychosocial Health and Safety Policy matters
Under Australian WHS law, managing psychosocial hazards carries the same legal weight as managing physical safety. Same enforcement. Same penalties. A policy doesn't just demonstrate intent - it establishes the responsibilities, systems, and procedures that prove your organisation is actively managing the risk.
Without one, there's no documented framework. No clear accountability. No evidence for regulators that psychosocial safety was treated as anything more than good intentions.
The problem most organisations have isn't that they don't care. It's that care without documentation doesn't hold up when WorkSafe investigates. A policy is the foundation everything else sits on.
FAQs
Do we need a separate policy for each state?
The template is built on national WHS legislation with state variations noted. One policy covers most organisations — your WHS advisor can confirm if your state requires anything additional.
Is a policy enough to satisfy our compliance obligations?
No - and be cautious of anything that suggests it is. A policy documents your commitment. You still need to identify hazards, assess risks, implement controls, and review their effectiveness. The policy is the foundation. The work happens after.
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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.