Work-Related Violence

Workplace violence is a serious work health and safety (WHS) issue that affects organisations across every industry in Australia. From verbal abuse and threatening behaviour to physical assault, workplace violence can have lasting impacts on workers' physical safety, psychological wellbeing and overall productivity.

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Whether you're a business owner, WHS professional, or people manager, understanding your obligations — and how to meet them — is essential to creating a safe and respectful workplace.

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What Is Workplace Violence?

Workplace violence encompasses a broad range of behaviours that create a risk to the health and safety of workers. It includes:

• Physical violence: hitting, pushing, kicking or any unwanted physical contact

• Verbal abuse: threats, intimidation, yelling or demeaning language

• Psychological aggression: bullying, harassment and intimidation

• Sexual harassment or assault

• Robbery or property-related violence

 

Violence can come from multiple sources including clients, customers, patients, contractors or colleagues and can occur in person or remotely (including via phone, email, or social media).

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Your Legal Obligations

Under Work Health and Safety legislation persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs) have a primary duty of care to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers. This duty extends to psychological health as well as physical safety.

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This means businesses must:

• Identify hazards related to workplace violence

• Assess the risks those hazards present

• Implement controls to eliminate or minimise those risks

• Consult with workers when identifying and managing risks

• Review control measures regularly and when circumstances change

 

Failure to address workplace violence risks can result in harm to a worker, significant penalties, workers' compensation claims and reputational damage to your organisation.

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Beyond legal compliance, proactively addressing workplace violence makes good business sense. Organisations that invest in prevention experience:

• Reduced absenteeism and staff turnover

• Improved morale and psychological safety

• Lower workers' compensation costs

• Stronger organisational culture and reputation

• Greater trust from clients and stakeholders

 

How We Can Help

We work with businesses and WHS professionals to build the knowledge, systems and culture needed to prevent and respond to workplace violence effectively.

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Our services include:

• Training and education for workers, managers and WHS teams

• Risk assessment support to identify and address vulnerabilities

• Policy and procedure development tailored to your workplace

• Incident response guidance to help organisations respond appropriately when incidents occur

 

Learn more about our Psychosocial Hazard services

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Upcoming Courses

Stay ahead of your obligations and build practical skills with our workplace violence training. Our courses are designed for WHS professionals, managers and business leaders who need practical, evidence-based tools they can apply immediately. See our training calendar

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Workplace violence is preventable. With the right knowledge, systems and culture in place, you can protect your people and your organisation.

Contact us today to find out how we can support your workplace.