Email: belinda@belindacoghlan.com.au | Phone: 0414 642 921
Perth-based WHS Psychosocial Risk Assessment Audits
WHAT
is a WHS psychosocial risk audit?
A WHS psychosocial risk assessment audit is a structured, evidence-based review of the psychosocial hazards in your workplace — measured against the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), the WHS Regulations 2022 (WA), and the Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work (WA) 2022.
It's not a survey alone, and it's not a policy review alone. A proper audit identifies hazards against all 17 psychosocial hazard categories in the Code of Practice, rates them against the four mandatory r.55 assessment factors — duration, frequency, severity and vulnerability — and maps controls against the hierarchy of controls under s.36 of the WHS Act.
As a consultant in WHS psychosocial risk assessment, we run this as a structured eight-step audit, not an informal review — because a defensible risk assessment needs to be documented, repeatable and legally grounded, not just well-intentioned.
WHO
needs a Psychosocial Risk Audit?
Almost every PCBU (person conducting a business or undertaking) now carries a primary duty of care under s.19 of the WHS Act 2020 (WA) to eliminate or minimise psychosocial risk, so far as reasonably practicable — and officers carry a personal due diligence obligation under s.27.
Why? Because psychosocial hazards are no longer treated as a soft HR issue — they're a WHS compliance matter, and WorkSafe WA is actively enforcing it.
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Organisations going through structural change, restructures or workforce reduction
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Boards and executives needing to demonstrate due diligence under s.27
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Workplaces with rising workers' compensation claims, absenteeism, grievances or legal/insurance costs tied to psychosocial harm
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Anyone whose WHS system addresses physical safety but not psychosocial hazards systematically
Whatever's brought you here, if you need a defensible, evidence-based picture of your psychosocial risk exposure, I'm here when you need me.
HOW
does the audit work
We run the audit against an eight-step WHS Psychosocial Risk Assessment Framework, grounded in the WHS Act 2020 (WA) legislative framework:
The framework incorporates:
❶ The 17 psychosocial hazard categories in the Code of Practice as the hazard identification taxonomy
❷ The four mandatory r.55 assessment factors — duration, frequency, severity and vulnerability — as the risk rating framework
❸ The hierarchy of controls (s.36 WHS Act 2020) as the control design structure
❹ The Academy of Brain-Based Leadership S.A.F.E.T.Y.™ model (Security, Autonomy, Fairness, Esteem, Trust, You) as the psychological safety lens for both hazard analysis and control design
❺ COPSOQ III as the free validated psychosocial risk assessment survey, used to meet worker consultation requirements under ss.47–49 WHS Act 2020
❻ A mandatory baseline risk assessment milestone that establishes the pre-change risk profile and serves as the reference point for all subsequent monitoring.
Where
to apply a Psychosocial Risk Audit?
Wherever psychosocial risk is currently invisible or undocumented in your WHS system, that's where this audit earns its place — informal awareness of a problem isn't a defensible risk assessment.
A completed audit gives you: a documented, legally grounded baseline you can point to if challenged; hazards identified and rated against a consistent, repeatable framework, not ad hoc judgement; controls that address the actual psychological threat mechanism, not just a procedural checkbox; and a foundation the Executive can use to prioritise where to invest in risk minimisation.
This audit connects naturally to my other work. Where it surfaces training gaps, it pairs with Human Skills Training. Where it surfaces a wider change management or culture issue, it feeds into Organisational Development. And where individual leaders need support implementing the psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y.™ controls identified, Executive and Organisational Coaching builds that capability.
WHY
choose me?
My team brings a plethora of skills to a WHS psychosocial risk assessment, with the audit methodology grounded in the Academy of Brain-Based Leadership Psychological S.A.F.E.T.Y.™ model and current WA legislation — not a generic checklist. Over 25 years of organisational development experience sits behind the audit design, meaning findings connect to genuinely actionable controls, not just a compliance document that gets filed away.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between a psychosocial risk audit and general HR advice?
HR advice covers policies, contracts and compliance broadly. A psychosocial risk audit is a discrete, structured WHS process of human factors that cause psychological harm. This includes hazard identification, risk rating and control design - that produces a defensible, documented risk assessment, not general advice.
Do you use a survey as part of the audit?
Where worker consultation is in scope, yes - I use COPSOQ III, an internationally validated psychosocial risk survey with Australian benchmarks, to meet the consultation requirements under ss.47–49 of the WHS Act 2020 (WA).
What do we receive at the end of the audit?
A documented baseline risk assessment, hazards identified and rated against the Code of Practice categories, controls mapped to the hierarchy of controls, and a report with prioritised recommendations you can act on.
Is this only relevant for organisations going through change?
No - organisational change is a common trigger, but the same audit framework applies to any workplace wanting a defensible, evidence-based picture of its psychosocial risk exposure.