🧠 $5.4M Investment in Mentally Healthy Workplaces + New Victoria Laws

Posted on: 7 October 2025

Big news for mental health in the workplace — the NSW and Victorian governments have both announced major initiatives aimed at improving psychological safety for workers across Australia.

💰 $5.4 Million Towards a National Mental Health Hub

The NSW Government is investing $5.4 million to help launch Mentally Healthy Workplaces Australia (MHWA), a new national centre led by Monash University. The centre aims to:

• 🧪 Drive innovation and evidence-based solutions for psychological safety
• 👷 Co-create strategies across government, academia, and industry
• 📉 Reduce mental health claims and absenteeism
• 🚀 Improve return-to-work outcomes

MHWA is backed by more than 40 founding partners and aims to raise over $180 million in funding over 7 years.

📊 Why It Matters

According to the NSW Psychological Health and Safety Strategy, psychologically unsafe workplaces cost the state an estimated $2.8 billion per year. Mental health claims have risen 30% between 2018–19 and 2022–23.

MHWA aims to cut more than 5.5 million days of absenteeism and reduce leave durations for mental health claims from 27 to 23 weeks.

⚖️ Victoria Introduces New Mental Health Laws

Victoria’s new workplace mental health regulations will come into effect on 1 December 2025, targeting psychosocial hazards such as:

• Bullying and sexual harassment
• Workplace aggression and violence
• Exposure to traumatic events or content

Under the new laws, employers will have a legal duty to assess, manage, and control risks to workers’ mental health just as they do for physical hazards.

📋 New Employer Responsibilities

Employers in Victoria must:

• 📌 Identify psychosocial hazards in the workplace
• ⚙️ Conduct formal risk assessments
• 📣 Train and empower leadership teams to mitigate risks
• 📚 Refer to new Codes of Practice and guidance materials released by WorkSafe Victoria

💡 How SWMS Generator Supports These Changes

At SWMS Generator, we’ve already introduced a Psychosocial Health SWMS category to help workplaces:

• ✔️ Document controls for mental health risks
• ✔️ Align with legal duties in NSW and Victoria
• ✔️ Create a culture of care and compliance

With laws and expectations changing, now is the time to include mental health in your SWMS.

Start today: https://swmsgenerator.com.au