Echo psychosocial risk resource

Psychosocial Risk Assessment Template

A practical worksheet for identifying, assessing, controlling, and reviewing work-related psychosocial hazards. Use it with worker consultation, incident data, operational data, and site leadership input.

Document details

Organisation

Site / workgroup

Assessment owner

Review date

How to use this in 30 minutes

1. Pick one workgroupStart with a crew, ward, project, roster, or contractor group.

2. List the top hazardsUse consultation, incidents, rosters, absenteeism, grievances, and worker voice data.

3. Rate exposureLook at who is exposed, how often, how long, and how serious the harm could be.

4. Choose controlsPrioritise work design, staffing, supervision, communication, and prevention before awareness-only responses.

5. Set review evidenceName the owner, due date, proof needed, and trigger for review.

Important: This template is general guidance, not legal advice. Check current WHS laws, Regulations, approved Codes of Practice, and regulator guidance in your jurisdiction. Consult workers and health and safety representatives at each stage.

1. Workgroup and consultation record

Record who contributed to the assessment and what evidence was used.
Field	Notes
Workgroup / location / shift
People consulted
Consultation method and date
Evidence reviewed	Examples: incidents, grievances, sick leave, overtime, turnover, exit interviews, Echo themes, toolbox talks, surveys, client aggression records.
Unresolved concerns

2. Identify psychosocial hazards

Use plain language. Describe the work condition that could cause harm, not the personal weakness of a worker.

Prompt questions

What is happening in the work?
Who is affected?
Where, when, and how often does it happen?
What evidence or feedback supports this?
Could this hazard combine with another hazard?

Common hazard prompts

High or low job demands, fatigue, poor recovery time.
Low job control, role ambiguity, poor support.
Remote or isolated work, poor communication, delayed assistance.
Violence, aggression, bullying, harassment, trauma exposure.
Poor change management, organisational injustice, conflict.

Hazard identification worksheet
Hazard	Evidence/source	Affected cohort	Where/when	Combined hazards

3. Assess the risk

Rate the risk after considering duration, frequency, severity, affected groups, and whether hazards interact. If uncertain, choose the more cautious rating and gather better evidence.

Risk matrix. Do not rely on colour alone; each cell includes the rating text.
Likelihood / Consequence	Insignificant	Minor	Moderate	Major	Catastrophic
Rare	Low	Low	Medium	Medium	High
Unlikely	Low	Medium	Medium	High	Extreme
Possible	Medium	Medium	High	High	Extreme
Likely	Medium	High	High	Extreme	Extreme
Almost certain	High	High	Extreme	Extreme	Extreme

Risk assessment worksheet
Hazard	Consequence	Likelihood	Exposure notes	Risk rating	Priority

4. Choose and assign controls

Controls should change the work, not only ask workers to cope better. Training, EAP access, and awareness sessions may support workers, but they are usually not enough if unsafe work design, staffing, supervision, violence, or isolation remains.

Control action register
Hazard	Current controls	New or improved control	Hierarchy level	Owner	Due date	Evidence required
			Eliminate / substitute / engineering / administrative / support

5. Review and verify

Review controls after incidents, workplace changes, new information, worker feedback, or evidence that controls are not working. Set a planned review date even if nothing changes.

Verification log
Review trigger	Date	Evidence checked	Effective?	Follow-up action	Next review
			Yes / partly / no

Evidence pack checklist

Completed assessment and risk matrix.
Consultation notes with workers, HSRs, unions, contractors, or workforce forums.
Incident, grievance, absenteeism, overtime, turnover, and support-service trend data where relevant.
Action register with owners, due dates, status, and completion evidence.
Training, supervision, communication, roster, staffing, audit, or field-leadership evidence.
Board/officer summary showing material risks, overdue controls, and verification outcomes.

Completed example

Example: maintenance crew working remote 14-day swings
Field	Example entry
Hazard	High job demands and fatigue during shutdown work, combined with remote isolation and occasional passenger aggression during transfers.
Evidence	Three fatigue reports in six weeks, overtime above roster plan, two near misses, Echo check-ins mentioning poor recovery and transfer aggression.
Affected cohort	Maintenance crew B, night shift, fly-in fly-out contractors.
Risk rating	Major consequence, likely exposure, extreme risk.
Controls	Rebalance roster, cap overtime exceptions, add supervisor fatigue check, improve transfer escalation protocol, run weekly crew check-in, verify via overtime and incident trend review.
Owner and review	Operations manager owns roster change by 30 June. HSEQ reviews data and worker feedback after four weeks.