New trials to reduce psychological injuries at work

The large-scale innovative projects, spanning the healthcare and social assistance, early childhood education and training, and public administration and safety industries will share $6.9 million in funding through the Psychological Health Industry Trials program.

Each three-year trial will bring together workers, employers, unions, industry experts and psychological health specialists to design practical, evidence-informed interventions that help prevent and manage psychosocial risks at work.

WorkSafe Chief Health and Safety Officer Sam Jenkin said the projects were selected to target Victorian industries with high rates of mental injury claims.

“Finding the right way to address psychosocial hazards in the workplace is not always simple and many industries need tailored solutions to respond to persistent challenges,” Mr Jenkin said.

“By bringing industry experts together with workers and employers we’re developing practical solutions that reflect the real experiences of workers, meet the needs of workplaces, and are informed by evidence about what works.”

Funding recipients and industry trials include:

• Bayside Health – working with inpatient units at Alfred Health and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne to improve worker safety in mental health services by reducing restrictive interventions and adapting a trauma-informed approach that has seen an 80 per cent reduction in occupational violence at Peninsula Health.
• Barwon Health – delivered across Barwon Health and the Royal Women’s Hospital, this industry trial will aim to control and reduce exposure to vicarious trauma among workers in healthcare support roles.
• Griffith University – working with Victoria Police in selected regional and metropolitan locations to improve organisational systems and supports, workplace safety culture, and leader capability to identify and control risks.
• University of Melbourne – working with 10 kindergartens and 10 daycare centres in regional and metropolitan Victoria to develop tools to improve safety culture, through job design, work scheduling, and prevention focused risk management approaches.

Psychosocial hazards, such as bullying, poor support, aggression or violence, and exposure to traumatic events or content, continue to cause significant harm in Victorian workplaces.

In 2025, WorkSafe accepted more than 2,400 claims from workers who experienced a psychological injury, including 682 in health care and social assistance, 644 in public administration and safety, and 322 in education and training.

Under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations, which took effect on 1 December 2025, Victorian employers have specific obligations to identify and control psychosocial hazards and risks in their workplaces.

The trials support WorkSafe’s purpose to reduce injuries and improve outcomes for injured workers and deliver on a recommendation of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System.