With October marking both National Safe Work Month and Mental Health Awareness Month, Australia’s peak workplace health and safety body has warned psychological injuries are among the fastest-growing workplace harms.
Where we work, what we do, and who we work with has a huge impact on our mental health and the Australian Institute of Health and Safety (AIHS) is calling on employers to prioritise worker wellbeing to reduce psychological injury.
AIHS Chair Cameron Montgomery says this month is an important opportunity to check in on your employees, your colleagues, and your leaders to ensure they are receiving the support they need.
“This year’s theme for National Safe Work Month is ‘safety: every job, every day’ and given how prominent mental health complaints are workplace culture and pressures must change to improve worker wellbeing,” he says.
“Mental health can no longer be treated as secondary. Leaders and organisations must take responsibility for building safe, respectful cultures where people are supported to thrive … Make any necessary changes to create a workplace that puts health and safety first.”
A recent webinar hosted by AIHS in partnership with Australian Psychological Services (APS) explored how mental health pressures at work can stem from a variety of factors, including poor relationships, role ambiguity, low recognition, bullying, and poor environmental conditions.
The most recent stats show bullying and harassment accounts for the largest share of serious mental health claims at 27.5%. Alarmingly, claims related to workplace violence and assault increased by 56% in just five years (from 2017-2021) – more than three times the overall growth rate of serious injury claims.
Frontline industries such as retail, healthcare, and emergency services are among the hardest hit.
APS Chief Psychologist Dr Laura Kirby says the claims reflect deeper, systemic issues, rather than one-off incidents.
“The way we design jobs, lead teams, and shape workplace culture has a direct impact on people’s wellbeing,” she says.
“When bullying, harassment or poor management go unchecked, it creates a breeding ground for psychological harm. We need targeted, sustained strategies, not reactive fixes.”
AIHS’ advice for addressing psychosocial hazards in the workplace includes:
- Design work effectively to enable positive, supportive, inclusive, and sustainable workplace cultures.
- Intervene early when individuals and teams report distress.
- Support individuals experiencing a psychological injury, in line with advice from their medical professionals.
- Engage in regular and meaningful communication about mental health risks.
National Safe Work Month is an initiative from Safe Work Australia, supported by AIHS.
