What employers need to know about early intervention for psychological injury

SafeWork NSW recently released its Regulatory Statement for 2026-27, confirming the four areas that will drive its inspection and enforcement activity over the next 12 months.

The Statement sets out the work health and safety risks, industries and behaviours that will attract the regulator's attention this financial year. For any business operating in New South Wales, it is a clear indication of where inspector visits, audits and compliance action will be directed.

The priorities are largely consistent with the past two years. SafeWork NSW Commissioner, Janet Schorer, has indicated that this continuity is deliberate, and that businesses in the priority areas should be examining what is working well in their safety systems and what needs to improve.

"Since becoming a standalone regulator, we’ve not seen much of a change in our regulatory priorities between 2025/26 and 2026/27. This signals to me that, while we have work to do as a regulator, it’s also important for businesses in those key priority areas to think really seriously about their work health and safety in terms of what is working well and what needs to be improved."
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- Janet Schorer

Enforceable Codes of Practice

Amendments to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) came into effect on 1 July 2026, giving legal force to approved Codes of Practice. Until now, Codes have operated as guidance material that inspectors and courts could reference when assessing what was reasonably practicable. They are now directly enforceable.

If your safety management system does not align with a relevant approved Code, you will need to demonstrate that your approach provides an equivalent or higher standard of protection, and you will need documentation to support that position.

We suggest a documented gap analysis against each Code that applies to your operations, completed this quarter. Where your systems depart from a Code, businesses should record the rationale and the evidence that your alternative approach meets or exceeds the standard.

Psychosocial risk

Psychosocial risk remains a headline priority, and the supporting data explains why. SafeWork NSW received more than 2,200 requests for service and over 190 incident notifications relating to psychosocial hazards in the past 12 months.

The regulator's focus for 2026-27 falls in two areas.

Risk factors leading to harmful behaviours

This includes bullying and harassment, with attention on high-risk workplaces and occupations.

Preventing violence and aggression towards frontline and customer-facing workers

This has been flagged as a specific sub-priority. Organisations in health, education, retail, hospitality, community services and government should take particular note.

In our experience, the gap for most organisations is not intent but evidence. Policies, values statements and employee assistance programs are valuable, but they do not constitute a psychosocial risk management system, and they will not satisfy an inspector on their own.

Note: The Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work Code of Practice is now the enforceable benchmark in NSW.

A defensible system involves identifying hazards through consultation, surveys and incident data, assessing and prioritising those hazards, implementing controls at the source of the risk rather than relying on individual coping strategies, and reviewing controls as the organisation changes. It also requires leaders and managers who are trained to recognise psychosocial hazards and respond to reports early. Effective risk management requires capability and capacity, at all levels, across operational teams and support functions.

Falls from heights

Falls from heights remains the leading cause of traumatic injury in NSW workplaces, with over 600 incidents and five fatalities reported in the past 12 months. SafeWork NSW will maintain its focus on residential construction and will extend its attention across the construction supply chain, including officers, principal contractors and supervisors.

Businesses that engage contractors should note that their duties extend beyond induction. The regulator expects evidence of capability across the chain, which means verifying that contractors' safe work method statements reflect actual practice rather than sitting in a file.

Hazardous substances

The focus here is exposure to crystalline silica, particularly in tunnelling and infrastructure projects, and asbestos in construction. In the past 12 months, inspectors issued more than 145 silica-related notices and received over 45 reports of silicosis cases.

Businesses with workers engaged in high-risk crystalline silica processing work should confirm strict compliance with the notification requirements of the Silica Worker Register, which commenced on 1 October 2025. This is an area where the regulator is actively checking records, and gaps are straightforward for an inspector to identify.

Mobile plant, vehicles and fixed machinery

Preventing injury from mobile plant, vehicle rollover and access to moving parts of machinery remains a priority, with agriculture, construction and manufacturing named as focus industries. The regulator was notified of over 500 incidents and eight fatalities related to mobile plant in the past year. Traffic management, exclusion zones, guarding and operator competency should all be reviewed against current practice.

Across all four priorities, the Statement reinforces three expectations that apply to every duty holder.

The first is genuine consultation with workers about WHS risks and decisions that affect their health and safety. You must be able to show how that consultation happened. Effective consultation has a visible loop. 

The second is ensuring WHS initiatives are appropriate for groups at higher risk of harm, including apprentices, young workers, migrant workers and culturally and linguistically diverse workers. Training and guidance for these groups should be short, practical and delivered in plain language, with comprehension confirmed rather than assumed. For HR teams, this touches recruitment, induction, supervision and training design.

The third is compliance with the now enforceable Codes of Practice. As covered above, this is the structural change of 2026-27. It converts the other two expectations from good practice into measurable standards, because the relevant Codes describe what adequate consultation and risk management look like in concrete terms.

The common thread is evidence. Each of these expectations is easy to claim and easy for an inspector to disprove, which is precisely why they feature in the Statement.

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Tip: You can download the full 2026-27 Regulatory Statement from the SafeWork NSW website. Map each priority against your current risk register to see where your gaps are before an inspector does.

Key takeaways

Employers in construction, agriculture and manufacturing appear across multiple priority areas and should expect increased regulatory interest this financial year. For all other organisations, the psychosocial hazards Code represents the most immediate compliance exposure, particularly for those with frontline or customer-facing workforces.

The consistent theme of the Statement is documentation. Consultation records, risk registers, gap analyses and training records are the evidence base the regulator will test. Organisations that can produce them are well placed. Organisations that cannot should treat this Statement as the prompt to close the gap while it remains inexpensive to do so.

How Actevate can help

Actevate works with NSW employers to build practical psychosocial risk management systems that meet the enforceable Code of Practice. Our training gives leaders, HR teams and WHS professionals the capability to identify psychosocial hazards, consult effectively and respond to issues with confidence.

If the 2026-27 Statement has raised questions about where your organisation stands, contact us to discuss a psychosocial risk gap assessment or leadership training for your team.

Info: Actevate delivers psychosocial risk training for leaders, HR and WHS teams. See our mental health training programs.

What Is Resilience?

Search the word "resilience" online and you will find millions of explanations. But what does resilience actually mean, why is it important to you, and how can you benefit from resilience training?

We all respond differently to setbacks, failure and trauma. Some people seem to bounce back quickly, while others get caught in a downward spiral of negative thinking. We all know that person: the one who keeps going after every setback, the one who seems to have "Psychological Teflon". Research suggests this is the effect of resilience (1).

At its core, resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity. It is the capacity to find perspective, and even opportunity, in a difficult or challenging situation. In the modern workplace, resilience helps us navigate constant change, hybrid work pressures, rapid technology shifts including AI, competing priorities and growing workloads.

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Why Is Resilience Important?

Beyond the buzz, evidence shows that people with high resilience have a more balanced outlook on life and believe they can learn from mistakes and challenges. Resilient individuals handle adversity better and rebuild more effectively after major life events such as job loss, financial pressure, relationship breakdown or the death of a loved one.

In everyday life, put simply, resilience builds happiness. It helps us make the most of the challenges we face. Resilience will not prevent difficulties, but it prepares us to deal with them more effectively. You may not realise it, but resilience shapes how we respond in almost every situation. There are probably people in your life or workplace who are juggling multiple stressors yet still show up each day with a smile.

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The Cost of Low Resilience in the Workplace

The effects of a non-resilient workplace can be far-reaching. Low levels of resilience have been associated with:

• Increased absenteeism
• Higher accident rates and workers compensation claims
• Reduced morale
• Poor workplace relationships
• Reduced output and performance
• Increased staff turnover

After years of disruption, from the pandemic to economic uncertainty and the rise of AI in the workplace, burnout and change fatigue are at record levels. Being able to identify stressors, and understand the effect they have on you and the people around you, has never been more important. With all of the above creating potentially toxic effects across an organisation, building a culture of resilience through resilience training should be a no-brainer for every employer.

Can Resilience Be Taught?

Some people are naturally more resilient than others, but the evidence is clear: resilience can be learned. Resilience training provides real-world strategies and techniques that help you build your "resilience bank". That way, when a challenge inevitably comes your way, you will have effective tools ready to support you.

Key Takeaways

Resilience is not an extraordinary quality. It is ordinary, attainable and demonstrated by everyday people all around us. But resilience is an active process. We need to keep working on it, for ourselves and for a happy, mentally healthy workforce.

Why Recovery at Work?

The evidence is clear: good work is good for health. Research consistently shows that the longer an injured worker stays away from work, the lower their chances of ever returning. Extended time off is associated with slower recovery, social isolation, loss of confidence, financial stress and a higher risk of developing secondary mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.

Info: The numbers here are confronting. Research endorsed by the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and quoted by Comcare and WorkSafe Queensland, shows that after 20 days off work a person's chance of ever returning is 70%. After 45 days it drops to 50%. After 70 days it is just 35%.

The health effects of staying away go well beyond the original injury. Researchers have estimated the health risk of long-term worklessness as equivalent to smoking 10 packs of cigarettes a day. In contrast, workers who remain connected to the workplace during recovery tend to heal faster, both physically and psychologically. Work provides routine, purpose, social connection and income, all of which are powerful ingredients in recovery. Doctors and workers compensation authorities across Australia now actively promote recovery at work as the preferred approach for most injuries.

The Benefits of Recovery at Work for Employees

For injured workers, recovering at work delivers real, measurable benefits:

• Faster recovery: Staying active and engaged in suitable duties supports physical rehabilitation and prevents deconditioning.
• Better mental health: Routine, purpose and social connection protect against the isolation, low mood and loss of identity that often come with extended time off.
• Financial stability: Remaining at work, even on modified duties, helps maintain income and reduces the financial pressure that can compound stress during recovery.
• Job security and confidence: Workers who stay connected keep their skills current, maintain relationships with colleagues and are far more likely to return to their pre-injury role.
• A sense of control: Being an active participant in your own recovery, rather than waiting passively at home, improves outcomes and wellbeing.

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The Benefits of Recovery at Work for Employers

Recovery at work is not just good for the injured worker. It is one of the smartest investments an employer can make:

• Reduced claim costs and premiums: Shorter time off work means lower workers compensation costs and better claims performance over time.
• Retained skills and experience: Keeping an experienced worker connected, even in a modified capacity, beats recruiting and training a replacement.
• Improved morale and culture: When employees see injured colleagues supported rather than sidelined, trust and engagement rise across the whole team.
• Reduced absenteeism and turnover: Workplaces with strong recovery at work practices see better attendance and retention overall.
• Legal compliance: Employers have obligations under workers compensation legislation to support injured workers and provide suitable duties where reasonably practicable. A structured program keeps you compliant.

Info: A Monash University study of an Australian claims model built on early reporting and worker-centred case management found average compensation days fell from 33.5 to 14.1, and average claim costs dropped from around $6,000 to under $4,000. The savings held across industries and injury types.

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What a Good Recovery at Work Plan Actually Looks Like

Here is the uncomfortable finding from the latest National Return to Work Survey: only about 6 in 10 injured workers report having a return to work plan, even though plans are strongly associated with better outcomes and smoother transitions back to work. Interestingly, far more employers believe a plan is in place than workers do, which points to a communication gap rather than a paperwork gap. A plan the worker doesn't know about is not really a plan.

A genuine recovery at work plan is specific, written down and shared. It should cover:

• Suitable duties matched to certified capacity: Real, productive tasks the worker can safely do now, based on what their doctor has certified, not a guess.
• Agreed hours and an upgrade pathway: Where the worker starts, and how duties and hours will step up as capacity improves, confirmed with the treating practitioner at each stage.
• A named contact: One person responsible for checking in, answering questions and adjusting the plan. Recovery stalls when nobody owns it.
• Scheduled reviews: Set dates to review progress with the worker and their treating team, rather than waiting for something to go wrong.
• Team communication: Agreement with the worker on what colleagues will be told, so they return to support rather than speculation.

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Common Myths About Recovering at Work

Myth: You should be 100 percent recovered before returning to work.
‍Reality: Waiting for full recovery often delays it. For most injuries, safe and suitable work is part of the treatment.

Myth: Returning early risks making the injury worse.
‍Reality: A properly designed recovery at work plan is built around medical restrictions. Duties are matched to capacity and upgraded only with the treating practitioner's support.

Myth: Light duties are demeaning or token work.
‍Reality: Good suitable duties are meaningful and productive. They keep skills current and maintain the worker's value to the team.

Myth: It is easier for everyone if the worker just stays home.
‍Reality: Extended absence is harder on everyone. The worker risks isolation and a longer recovery, while the employer carries higher claim costs and loses a valued team member.

Tip: The hardest part for most employers is identifying suitable duties that are genuinely meaningful. Actevate's return to work consultants work with you, your worker and their treating team to design duties matched to medical capacity, then upgrade them as recovery progresses.

Key Takeaways

Recovery at work is one of the most well-evidenced ideas in injury management. The window matters more than most employers realise, because the odds of a worker ever returning fall from 70% to 35% between day 20 and day 70 off work. Injured workers who stay connected recover faster, protect their mental health and are far more likely to return to their pre-injury role. Employers who support them see lower costs, stronger culture and a more resilient workforce.

An injury does not have to mean isolation. With the right plan, work becomes part of the recovery.

How Actevate can help

Actevate has been an approved workplace rehabilitation provider since 2006, supporting some of Australia's largest employers to get people back to work safely and sustainably.

• Recovery at work planning: Our return to work consultants coordinate the whole process, from suitable duties design through to case conferencing with treating practitioners, for both physical and psychological injuries.
• Catch complications early: Pathways, our digital screening solution, identifies workers whose recovery is likely to be complicated by mental health factors, so we can act before a straightforward physical claim becomes a complex psychological one.
• Prevent the next claim: Our manual handling training and ergonomic assessments reduce the risk of injuries happening in the first place.

If you have a worker off on a claim right now, the clock in that first section is already running. Tell us about the claim and a return to work specialist will call you back within one business day. For everything else, call 1300 663 155 or get in touch.