Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute

Most organisations still rely on engagement or opinion surveys to understand the state of their workplace. It is familiar, accessible and often part of organisational reporting. But when it comes to psychosocial safety, it is also one of the most common sources of confusion. Engagement surveys measure sentiment. Psychosocial risk assessment measures hazard exposure. Those two functions are not interchangeable. In this month’s WHS Psychosocial Safety Newsletter, we break down why engagement tools, including PMES, cannot be relied on as psychosocial risk assessments, what WHS law actually requires, and how validated hazard based tools give leaders the defensible evidence they need. For employers, the distinction between experience and risk is not technical. It is central to prevention, compliance and safe systems of work. You can read the full edition here! #WHSNewsletter #PsychosocialSafety #PsychosocialRisk #SafetyLeadership #WorkHealthAndSafety #RiskManagement #AustralianWorkplaces #OrganisationalPsychology #PeopleAndCulture #SafeWorkAustralia

Our laws make it clear that controls must alter the conditions of work, not depend on workers staying composed under strain. Training, EAP and encouragement have a place, but none of them reduce exposure to the hazard itself. Prevention lives in system design: workflows, structures, decision clarity, staffing, and the way strain is generated or removed. When leaders act at this level, they meet their due-diligence responsibilities and create workplaces that genuinely prevent harm. Dive into the full article to see how leaders can move from hopeful intention to compliant, measurable control. #PsychosocialSafety #Leadership #WHS #WorkplaceSafety #WorkplaceWellbeing

Tony Morris is a WHS force. Director of SafeTM Pty Ltd, Tony brings over 20 years of legal and practical experience in WHS law, governance and risk management. From the NSW Police Force to prosecuting for WorkCover NSW, leading at Ashurst and a Big 4 firm, Tony has advised and challenged Boards and executives on their duty of care. Today, he’s best known for leading SafeTM’s WHS Mock Courts. A powerful, high-impact learning experience where leaders step into the courtroom, face the consequences of poor systems and learn what it really takes to comply with WHS law. We’re proud to have Tony and SafeTM as a Corporate Partner of the Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute. Want to collaborate with industry leaders, showcase your expertise and help shape the future of psychosocial safety? Comment ‘COLLECTIVE’ to join us!

We've made some exciting changes as we close out 2025 and prepare for an even bigger 2026. We're shifting from monthly to bi-monthly magazines to give you more depth, better content and the space to actually implement what you're learning. Quality over quantity - always. New Corporate Partners  We're excited to welcome incredible new partners to the Psychosocial Safety Collective, including: MITCH WALLIS (Heart On My Sleeve) - global psychology thought leader on a mission to change 1 billion lives Lizzie Williamson - Australia's go-to for motivation, mindset and movement. What's ahead  The 2026 Psychosocial Safety Summit, Workshop and Awards (9-10 September, Tweed Heads) is already taking shape with incredible speakers (see inside for details). Super Early Bird pricing is available until 31 December. More inside this edition: - Beyond Resilience Training: Your Legal Duty to Design Out Stress - Today We Talk About Mental Health - Tomorrow We Go Back to Work by Dr Caroline Howe - The Real Risk of Lazy Inclusion - feature article thanks to Cameron Carr - The Cost of "Just Joking": Why Incivility is Never Harmless - When Helping Hurts: Protecting the Helpers in HR and WHS by Amy Christopherson - Plus new tools and resources for leaders. We also wrap up the Safe Work and Mental Health Month activities held by the Institute and our incredible partners. Read the full magazine 👇

The pressures we’re seeing in today’s workplaces aren’t mysterious or sudden, they’re the downstream effects of decades of design decisions that treated human limits as inefficiencies. When we removed buffers, blurred boundaries, and dissolved role clarity, we thought we accelerate work; but in reality, we rewired the conditions people rely on to stay healthy. This article traces how the modern workplace slowly shifted from managing visible physical hazards to embedding invisible psychosocial risks directly into its operating model. The result is a system optimised for output, not for human capacity. If organisations want different outcomes, they must redesign the system itself, not coach individuals to cope with environments that were never built for sustained wellbeing. Read the article and see how we can structurally correct the system to make work safe again. #PsychosocialSafety #Leadership #HR #WorkplaceWellbeing #WHS

David Belcher is an inclusion leader. Senior Lived Experience Consultant with DisCo Hunter, David empowers organisations and communities to embrace genuine disability inclusion through practical strategies, training and advocacy. DisCo Hunter, powered by Community Disability Alliance Hunter, exists to professionalise lived experience expertise - ensuring people with disability are respected, recognised and properly valued for their insights. Together, David and DisCo Hunter are reshaping how organisations approach inclusion. We’re proud to have David Belcher and DisCo Hunter as part of the Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute’s Corporate Partners. Are you ready to collaborate with industry leaders, showcase your expertise and help shape the future of psychosocial safety? Comment ‘COLLECTIVE’ to join us!

Co-founder and CEO of TANK - ending burnout, Helen Lawson Williams is an Organisational Psychology PhD and former management consultant dedicated to ending burnout and building purposeful productivity. TANK is the world’s first personalised anti-burnout system, helping individuals and organisations counteract chronic stress, improve recovery and strengthen the skills needed to thrive. Helen’s mission is clear: burnout is not inevitable. With TANK, she’s showing what’s possible when psychology, impact investment and ethical tech come together to solve one of the biggest challenges of modern work. We’re proud to have Helen Lawson Williams and TANK as Corporate Partners of the Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute. Are you ready to collaborate with industry leaders, showcase your expertise and help shape the future of psychosocial safety? Comment ‘COLLECTIVE’ to join us!

"I don't think I can do this anymore" We've heard this so many times, from: - Creatives pumping out work at the pace of machines, - Parents juggling kids, career, and a never-ending to-do list, - Nurses and carers holding so much space for others that there's none left for themselves, - Founders and side-hustlers wearing too many hats to stop and breathe, - Leaders navigating new responsibilities while quietly wondering if they're up to the task Burnout is a systemic issue that affects people from different backgrounds, careers, work types, and personalities. If it's hitting you or your team hard, we're here to help. The good news is that you don't need to sacrifice performance for wellbeing. The TANK system helps teams find the sweet spot where good stress delivers great work, and good recovery makes it sustainable. You get: - Research-backed tools that fit existing team routines - Skills to spot and reverse burnout patterns - Insights to drive the small weekly improvements that make burnout history If you're a leader looking to support your team to do their best work, sustainably - learn more about working with us here: https://lnkd.in/gJEYJBPx  

David Laarhoven is a safety strategist. Founder of Get Fire Training, David blends emergency preparedness expertise with a unique focus on both physical and psychological safety. From high-risk sites to community spaces, his message is clear: plans only work if they protect everyone. David’s Person-Centred Emergency Planning and best-practice ECO training empower staff to lead confidently in a crisis, accounting for diverse needs and reducing trauma. His work ensures emergency plans aren’t just documents, but living systems that save lives. We’re proud to have David and Get Fire Training as a Corporate Partner of the Psychosocial Safety and Leadership Institute. Are you leading an organisation who wants to collaborate with industry leaders, showcase your expertise and help shape the future of psychosocial safety? We’d love to connect and explore how you can join the Psychosocial Safety Collective as a Corporate Partner. Comment ‘COLLECTIVE’ to join us!