--- title: "Psychosocial hazards training: what employers must do" description: "Australia, the US, the UK and Canada all expect employers to prepare staff for aggression and conflict. What each asks, and how staff practise it." canonical: https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/psychosocial-hazards --- [Learn](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn) / Standards # Psychosocial hazards training for the moments work can't design out Employers everywhere must manage the harm that aggression and conflict cause. Practice is how staff get ready for it. The hazard ## It looks like a person, not a policy A [customer shouting at a counter](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/customer-aggression-training). A [family member at the triage desk](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/de-escalation-training-healthcare) at three in the morning. A [resident living with dementia](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/aged-care-disability/dementia-changed-behaviours-training) who pushes help away. Each one is a psychosocial hazard, and each one is a conversation. The counter, when patience runs out. The ward, late in a long night. The resident who says no. The rules ## The same expectation in every market Regulators in each market ask employers to find these hazards, control them, and prepare the people who face them. Coaching a call as it happens. ### Australia Every state and territory regulates psychosocial hazards under [work health and safety law](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/occupational-violence-australia). [Victoria’s regulations](https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/statutory-rules/occupational-health-and-safety-psychological-health-regulations-2025/001) name aggression and violence outright. A charge nurse briefs nurses at the ward station. ### United States Hospitals meet it as [workplace violence prevention](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-united-states) under the [Joint Commission](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/joint-commission-workplace-violence)’s [national performance goal](https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/national-performance-goals/preventing-workplace-violence). [California’s health care standard](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) names de-escalation training and practice with co-workers, and the state’s [general workplace violence law](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/california-sb-553-training) reaches most other employers. A manager gives feedback across the table. ### United Kingdom NHS organisations work to NHS England’s [violence prevention and reduction standard](https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/violence-prevention-and-reduction-standard/), which asks for suitable and sufficient training for all staff. ### Canada Federal [harassment and violence prevention regulations](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2020-130/FullText.html) require training that is specific to the culture, conditions and activities of the work place. Where practice fits ## Fix the work, then prepare the people Rosters, caseloads, escalation paths and the layout of a counter come first. Some hazards stay in the job by nature. A sensitive concern, rehearsed. ### The control for what remains For the moments that stay in the job, the control is a person who has handled them before. [De-escalation practice](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/vr-de-escalation-training) is how staff get there without anyone getting hurt. Where the rules name training ## Sectors where training is the requirement In these settings the standard names training directly, because the hazard is part of the work. A bedside moment, practised first. ### Hospitals In Australia, [NSQHS Action 1.20](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-1-20) requires a mandatory training program and [Action 5.34](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-5-34) covers de-escalation. In the United States, the [Joint Commission’s workplace violence goal](https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/national-performance-goals/preventing-workplace-violence) includes staff training. See [hospital de-escalation training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/healthcare-medical), built with Mater Education and Mayo Clinic. A youth program, rehearsed first. ### Youth justice Queensland’s [Youth Justice Regulation](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2016-0156) lets detention centre staff use reasonable force only once they have completed physical intervention training approved by the chief executive. See [de-escalation training for youth justice staff](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/justice-community-services). A case review with an older client. ### Aged care and disability The [Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards](https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/strengthened-quality-standards/organisation/human-resource-management) ask for competency-based training that includes caring for people living with dementia, and in the United States [federal nursing home rules](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-483/subpart-B/section-483.95) require dementia management training for nurse aides. The [NDIS Practice Standards](https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/ndis-practice-standards) expect competent workers, and the NDIS Commission treats [restrictive practices](https://www.ndiscommission.gov.au/rules-and-standards/behaviour-support-and-restrictive-practices/understanding-behaviour-support) as a last resort. See [dementia and changed behaviours training](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/aged-care-disability/dementia-changed-behaviours-training) and [training for disability support workers](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/disability). How it runs ## Practice that feels like the shift Staff rehearse the conversation in a [VR headset](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/virtual-reality) or with an [AI roleplay partner](https://peopletechrevolution.com/ai/ai-roleplay-practice) in a browser, then run it again until it holds. A headset scenario at the counter. An AI roleplay partner, in a browser. A facilitator beside the first attempt. Questions ## What employers ask first Short answers to the questions that follow a first reading of the rules. A duty manager hears a complaint. ### What are examples of psychosocial hazards? High job demands, low support, unclear roles, traumatic events, bullying, harassment, and violence or [aggression from customers, patients or the public](https://peopletechrevolution.com/xr/occupational-violence-aggression-training). Two colleagues walk away from a man in the corridor. ### Does training count as a control? It counts for the hazards that remain once the work is redesigned. Regulators rank it after elimination and redesign, and expect it wherever the risk stays. A practitioner talks through feedback with a coach. ### What makes the training effective? Canada asks for training specific to the workplace, and California asks for practice with colleagues. Scenarios built from your own situations do both. - [NSQHS Action 1.20](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-1-20) - [NSQHS Action 5.34](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/nsqhs-action-5-34) - [US workplace violence training rules](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/workplace-violence-training-united-states) - [Psychosocial hazards training for managers](https://peopletechrevolution.com/work/industries/workplace-enterprise) Managing psychosocial hazards at work? [Open the contact form](https://peopletechrevolution.com/learn/standards/psychosocial-hazards#contact) Ask Simon’s Digital Twin a question ## Sources Each rule in full, on the regulator’s own site. ### [Occupational Health and Safety (Psychological Health) Regulations](https://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/in-force/statutory-rules/occupational-health-and-safety-psychological-health-regulations-2025/001) Victorian legislation Names aggression and violence among the hazards an employer must identify and control. ### [Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work](https://www.safework.nsw.gov.au/resource-library/codes-of-practice/codes-of-practice/managing-psychosocial-hazards-at-work) SafeWork NSW How an employer identifies, assesses and controls psychosocial risk. ### [Preventing workplace violence](https://www.jointcommission.org/en-us/standards/national-performance-goals/preventing-workplace-violence) The Joint Commission The national performance goal on workplace violence for United States hospitals. ### [Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care](https://www.dir.ca.gov/title8/3342.html) California Code of Regulations, Title 8 The California standard that names de-escalation training for health care workers. ### [Violence prevention and reduction standard](https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/violence-prevention-and-reduction-standard/) NHS England The standard NHS organisations use to prevent and reduce violence against staff. ### [Youth Justice Regulation](https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2016-0156) Queensland legislation Reasonable force only by staff who have completed approved physical intervention training. ### [Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards: human resource management](https://www.agedcarequality.gov.au/strengthened-quality-standards/organisation/human-resource-management) Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission Competency-based training that includes caring for people living with dementia. ### [Work Place Harassment and Violence Prevention Regulations](https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/SOR-2020-130/FullText.html) Justice Laws, Government of Canada Requires training specific to the culture, conditions and activities of the work place.