The ten psychosocial hazards every youth work organisation should know
Psychosocial hazards in youth work have been clearly articulated for years. Our CEO spoke about these at the 2013 AYAC Conference. Our youth workers are carrying risks that your policies probably do not see. Most of those risks are now called psychosocial hazards. Australian work health and safety law requires you to manage them like any other hazard (Safe Work Australia, 2022).
Ten psychosocial hazards in youth work do most of the damage. They are job demands, low job control, poor support, lack of role clarity, poor change management, traumatic events or material, remote or isolated work, violence and aggression, bullying, and harassment. This guide explains what each one looks like on shift and what you can do about it.
What are psychosocial hazards?
Psychosocial hazards are aspects of work that can cause psychological or physical harm. They come from how work is designed and managed, the working environment, equipment, and workplace interactions or behaviours. Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice lists 14 common hazards. Employers must eliminate or minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
The cost of getting this wrong is high. Mental health conditions made up 12% of serious workers’ compensation claims in 2023-24, a 161% rise over ten years (Safe Work Australia, 2025). The median time lost on these claims was 35.7 working weeks, almost five times the median for all serious claims. Health care and social assistance is one of six industries that together account for 61% of serious claims. For a youth service, one psychological injury claim can leave a roster line vacant for most of a year. That is why these hazards deserve the same attention you give to manual handling or infection control.
What the law expects of youth work organisations management of psychosocial hazards
Managing psychosocial hazards in youth work is a legal duty, not a wellbeing extra. Under the model WHS laws, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable. Where that is not possible, they must minimise them (Safe Work Australia, 2022). The duty covers everyone who works for you, including casuals, students and volunteers. You must also consult those workers when you identify hazards and choose controls.
The model WHS laws apply everywhere except Victoria, which has its own OHS Act and, since 1 December 2025, its own psychological health regulations. Under the Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations 2025, Victorian employers must identify psychosocial hazards. They must then take reasonable steps to eliminate or control the risks (WorkSafe Victoria, 2025a). WorkSafe has published a Psychological health compliance code to support them (WorkSafe Victoria, 2025b). The hazards are the same in practice wherever you operate. What changes is the legislation you report against.
The 10 Psychosocial hazards that impact youth work the most
| Hazard | What it can look like in youth work | One control to consider |
|---|---|---|
| 1Job demands | Double shifts, sleepovers followed by day shifts, crisis-heavy caseloads | Roster recovery time between high-intensity shifts |
| 2Low job control | Every decision about a young person needs layers of approval | Set clear decision rights at the level closest to the young person |
| 3Poor support | No supervision, managers out of reach, support services that do not understand the work | Regular reflective supervision and a sector-matched EAP |
| 4Lack of role clarity | Casual staff left holding clinical risk with no clear escalation path | A written "who decides, who to call" guide for every shift |
| 5Poor organisational change management | Program redesigns and funding changes announced without consultation | Consult the workers affected before decisions are final |
| 6Traumatic events or material | Disclosures of abuse, critical incidents, distressing case files | Planned debriefs and critical incident response |
| 7Remote or isolated work | Solo sleepovers, outreach, regional travel | An on-call manager who answers, plus scheduled check-ins |
| 8Violence and aggression | Threats or assaults from young people in crisis or their families | Individual risk plans and staffing matched to risk |
| 9Bullying | Repeated unreasonable behaviour from colleagues, young people or families | Early, consistent responses to reports |
| 10Harassment, including sexual harassment | Sexualised comments or behaviour that teams treat as "part of the job" | Name it, record it, and respond every time |
1. Job demands
Job demands become a hazard when the effort a job requires is intense, sustained or poorly matched to recovery time. The Code includes high emotional effort, high vigilance and shifts that do not allow enough sleep. It also includes long idle periods followed by sudden spikes (Safe Work Australia, 2022). Youth work has both: quiet nights, then a crisis that needs three people. Look at your roster, not just your caseload numbers, because demand builds across consecutive shifts.
2. Low job control
Low job control means workers have little say in how or when they do their work. The Code names prescriptive processes that stop workers using their skills and judgement (Safe Work Australia, 2022). In youth work this often shows up as approval chains. A worker who knows a young person well still cannot change a plan without sign-off from people who have never met them. Experienced staff find this demoralising, and it slows down responses to young people.
3. Poor support
Poor support covers inadequate practical and emotional help from managers and colleagues, and inadequate training, tools or resources. When we onboard new clients, we interview their staff. Youth workers at one organisation told us their previous EAP did not understand the sector. One counsellor told a worker the sector was unsafe and they should leave it. I have heard versions of that story at every organisation we have worked with. Support that does not understand the work is not a control. It can make the hazard worse. Read more in our article on poor support as a driver of workplace stress.
4. Lack of role clarity
Role clarity becomes a psychosocial hazard in youth work when responsibilities are ambiguous, conflicting or keep changing. In youth work, the riskiest version is unclear ownership of risk. A casual worker may not know whether a decision about a young person’s safety is theirs to make. They may not know who to call when it is not. Write it down. Every shift should have a clear answer to “who decides, and who do I call?”
5. Poor organisational change management
Change becomes a hazard when it happens without consultation, information or support. Youth services live with constant change, from funding rounds to program redesigns and new reporting systems. The Code names insufficient consultation and poor communication during change as part of this hazard (Safe Work Australia, 2022). You cannot stop funding cycles. You can involve frontline staff before decisions are final and tell them early what is changing.
6. Traumatic events or material
The Code includes reading, hearing or seeing accounts of abuse or neglect, and supporting victims of trauma (Safe Work Australia, 2022). That describes a normal week in youth work. The danger is that teams treat this exposure as “just part of the job”, so nobody plans for it. Critical incidents need a fast, structured response. Ongoing exposure needs planned debriefs, supervision and attention to caseload mix. Our article on managing exposure to traumatic events or material covers the controls in more detail.
7. Remote or isolated work
Remote or isolated work means working where help, resources or communication are hard to reach. Years ago, I worked casual sleepover shifts in youth residential mental health placements. One night, as the only staff member on shift, I was woken at 1am by police. They were looking for a young person who had not come back to placement. Handover had been brief, and the notes did not tell me the risk. I was holding risk I did not know about, and when I did know, no one would help. That night combined isolation, poor support and unclear roles on one shift. See our article on remote or isolated work.
8. Violence and aggression
Violence and aggression includes threats, intimidation and assault from colleagues, clients or anyone else at work (Safe Work Australia, 2022). Young people in crisis can escalate quickly, and so can families. Many youth workers stop reporting incidents because they see aggression as unavoidable. Under-reporting hides the true risk from your register. Make reporting simple, respond to every report, and match staffing to each young person’s risk plan.
9. Bullying
Bullying is repeated unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker or group that creates a risk to health and safety. The Code is clear that it includes bullying by clients and visitors as well as colleagues (Safe Work Australia, 2022). In youth work, watch the power gap between long-standing permanent staff and newer casuals. Early, consistent responses stop patterns from setting in.
10. Harassment, including sexual harassment
Harassment covers unwelcome conduct based on personal characteristics, and sexual harassment of any kind. The Code also covers harmful behaviour that falls short of bullying, such as single incidents (Safe Work Australia, 2022). Youth workers can face sexualised comments or behaviour from young people, and teams often minimise it because of the young person’s history. Understanding the behaviour does not remove your duty to the worker. Name it, record it and respond every time.
Get in touch with Ultimate EAP
Find out how our counselling and return-to-work services can work alongside action on your workplace
Contact UsWhy psychosocial hazards in youth work rarely arrive one at a time
The Code says workers are usually exposed to a combination of hazards, and that hazards can interact to increase risk (Safe Work Australia, 2022). Most risk registers still assess them one by one. A single sleepover can combine isolation, traumatic material, high vigilance and poor support. Assessed separately, each might look manageable. Together they can put a worker at real risk. This is why our Psychosocial Hazard Audit assesses real shifts and rosters, not hazards one at a time. The good news follows from the same logic. One well-chosen control, such as an on-call manager who actually answers, can reduce several hazards at once.
What about the other four psychosocial hazards in youth work?
Safe Work Australia’s list has four more: inadequate reward and recognition, poor organisational justice, poor physical environment, and conflict or poor workplace relationships. They are part of your duty too, so include them in any psychosocial risk assessment. Conflict deserves special mention. We see it in most of the teams we work with, often where policies do not match the realities of the work. Our article on conflict and poor workplace relationships explains how to manage it before it escalates.
One thing you can do this week
Pick one roster line that worries you, such as a weekend sleepover or a solo outreach shift. It only has to be one psychosocial hazard in youth work, not all of them. Walk through it with a worker who does it, and ask four questions:
1 Which of the ten hazards above show up on this shift?
2 Who can you call at 2am, and will they answer?
3 What happens after a hard incident, before your next shift?
4 What would make this shift safer that we could change this month?
Record the answers in your risk register and assign one control to an owner with a date. That single conversation also meets part of your duty to consult workers.
Frequently asked questions
How many psychosocial hazards are there?
Safe Work Australia’s model Code of Practice lists 14 common psychosocial hazards. The list is not exhaustive. The Code says how you group hazards matters less than a shared understanding of what is happening (Safe Work Australia, 2022). Victoria’s compliance code describes them in its own terms.
Who is responsible for managing psychosocial hazards?
The organisation holds the legal duty, as the PCBU under the model WHS laws or the employer in Victoria. Managers put controls in place day to day. Workers must be consulted when hazards are identified and controls are chosen.
Is an EAP enough to manage psychosocial risk?
No. The Code lists employee assistance programs as one control for traumatic events or material (Safe Work Australia, 2022). The most effective controls change the design of work, the systems of work and workplace interactions. A good EAP supports workers. It works best alongside changes to rosters, supervision and support systems.
Do these duties cover casual staff and volunteers?
Yes. Under the model WHS laws, workers include employees, contractors, labour-hire workers, students and volunteers (Safe Work Australia, 2022). In youth work, casuals often work the most isolated shifts, so include them in your assessment.
Where to start with psychosocial hazards in your youth work organisation
Knowing the ten psychosocial hazards is the first step. The next is seeing how they stack up on your own rosters. Ultimate EAP’s Psychosocial Hazard Audit looks at real shifts and rosters and gives you a prioritised plan you can act on. Our employee assistance program is delivered by qualified social workers with frontline experience, with critical incident response included as standard.
References
Safe Work Australia. (2022). Model code of practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-08/model_code_of_practice_-_managing_psychosocial_hazards_at_work_25082022_0.pdf
Safe Work Australia. (2025). Key work health and safety statistics Australia 2025. https://data.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/insights/key-whs-statistics-australia/latest-release
WorkSafe Victoria. (2025a, December 1). New regulations make psychological health a priority. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/news/2025-12/new-regulations-make-psychological-health-priority
WorkSafe Victoria. (2025b). Compliance code: Psychological health. https://www.worksafe.vic.gov.au/compliance-code-psychological-health-how-use-compliance-code
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