New Commonwealth Code of Practice

The Australian Government has recently approved a new Code of Practice – Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work under section 274 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth). The new Code is largely based on Safe Work Australia’s model code of practice of the same name, but there are some important differences. 

A summary of key differences between the new Commonwealth Code and Safe Work Australia’s model code are set out below:

1. The Commonwealth Code introduces three new common examples of psychosocial hazards: Job insecurity, Fatigue and Intrusive Surveillance.
2. Job insecurity is described in the Commonwealth Code as “Employment where workers lack the assurance that their jobs will remain stable from day to day, week to week, or year to year.  Workers are engaged in insecure, precarious, and contingent work arrangements such as fixed-term contracts, seasonal, casual, freelance and gig work.”  The Commonwealth Code sets out examples of control measures for job insecurity at pages 51-52, most significantly: “Where reasonably practicable, avoid insecure, precarious and contingent work arrangements (e.g. move long-term casual or fixed-term workers to permanent, ongoing employment contracts”).
3. Intrusive surveillance is described in the Commonwealth Code as “Excessive surveillance methods/tools to monitor and collect information about workers at work. Examples: unreasonable level of supervision, tracking of when and how much a worker is working, tracking calls made and movements made by the workers (using CCTV and trackable devices), the use of keyboard activity trackers, technology that allows the PCBU to remote access and take screenshots of a workers' computer, GPS monitoring of workers’ movement in company vehicles for the purpose of work performance monitoring, as opposed to other reasons such as safety considerations”.  Examples of control measures for intrusive surveillance are listed on pages 62-63 and 68 of the Code and include “develop a clear policy on appropriate monitoring that is not excessive or punitive” and “consult with employees about the use of satellite tracking systems or devices and the purpose of the tracking and limits for privacy purposes”.
4. Fatigue is identified as a common psychosocial hazard in the Commonwealth Code, with examples given including “jobs where there are high cognitive demands (such as sustained concentration or extended work hours); lack of recovery periods between shifts; roster cycle or shift length (e.g. long shifts and not enough time to recover between shifts) and environmental stressors at work (e.g. light, noise, climate, vibration).”) Examples of control measures for fatigue are listed on pages 48-49, including establishing hours of work guidelines e.g. maximum shift length, minimum break/rest periods and maximum overtime, and incorporating fatigue management into work practices to allow for adequate rest and recovery.
5. The Commonwealth Code inserts a new Part 8 regarding responding to reports, complaints or incidents, including a list of 10 principles to be applied. The 10 principles are: act promptly, ensure immediate safety, treat all matters seriously, use a trauma informed approach, maintain confidentiality, be neutral, support all parties, do not victimise, communicate process and outcomes, and keep records (see pages 39-42). This new Part 8 of the Commonwealth Code is in addition to Part 9 regarding WHS investigations to be undertaken into reports of incidents involving psychosocial hazards (which is based on Part 8 of the model Code).   
6. The Commonwealth Code contains more information regarding using work design to eliminate psychosocial hazards and requires the application of the hierarchy of controls to psychosocial hazards, which is excluded from 55C of the model WHS Regulations (see pages 30-35).