Hazardous physical working environments

Information for employers and workers about managing the risk of hazardous physical working environments as a psychosocial hazard.

How hazardous physical working environments can be harmful

What is a hazardous physical working environment?

Hazardous physical work environments are well known to cause physical harm to your body, however they can also cause stress responses, anxiety or mental strain. When a worker’s surroundings are unsafe, uncomfortable or unpredictable they are also a psychosocial hazard such as excessive noise, poor lighting or exposure to harmful substances.

For example, workers being exposed to vapour from chemicals without appropriate personal protective equipment can lead to breathing difficulties and asthma (physical response). It can also lead to stress and anxiety due to unknown risk of exposure and long-term health effects (psychological response).

Risks related to hazardous physical environments

Hazardous physical environments can lead to:

  • emotional and cognitive reactions such as anger and irritability, reduced decision making
  • behavioural changes such as withdrawal and sleep problems
  • stress, burnout, or anxiety, which can lead to self-harm and suicidal thoughts
  • physical reactions such as headaches, indigestion, fatigue and loss of appetite
  • stress related illness such as cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders and gastrointestinal disorders.

It can also have social and economic costs for the workers, their family and the business.

How to manage the risks

Employers/PCBUs

Under work, health and safety (WHS) laws, a person conducting a business of undertaking (PCBU) must take proactive steps to prevent hazardous working environments.

PCBUs must:

  • Eliminate health and safety risks at work, including physical and psychosocial risks. If PCBUs are unable to eliminate risks, they must be minimised so far as is reasonably practicable.
  • Manage risks associated with hazardous physical work environments and consider applying the risk management process (PDF, 556.72 KB) to assist in meeting their duties. This process involves consulting with workers to identify, manage, control, and review risks related to the hazard.
  • Identify and adopt effective control measures.  Find information about how to do this on our psychosocial hazards page.

The Managing psychosocial hazards at work code of practice will help you meet your responsibilities under WHS laws in NSW as well as information below about specific hazardous physical working environments.

Workers

While at work, workers must:

  • take reasonable care for their own psychological and physical health and safety
  • take reasonable care not to adversely affect the health and safety of other persons
  • comply with reasonable health and safety instructions, as far as they are reasonably able, and
  • cooperate with reasonable health and safety policies or procedures such as reporting hazards in the workplace.

If you have raised concerns about harmful workplace behaviour internally and no action is being taken, read our ‘Dealing with a psychological health and safety issue at work’ section for further assistance.

Examples of controls and actions

PCBUs must use the hierarchy of controls and consider all relevant matters within Section 55D of the WHS Regulation 2025 when identifying appropriate control measures to eliminate and minimise the risk of hazardous physical working environments.

When choosing control measures you must consider all hazards present and how they may interact and combine.

Here are some examples of controls that can help minimise harm.

  • Design and maintain plant, equipment and work environments, including accommodation facilities, to eliminate or minimise risks associated with hazardous environmental conditions such as vibration, poor lighting, nuisance noise, thermal discomfort, poor ergonomics, poor security, poor air quality, biological or chemical hazards.
  • Develop WHS systems for workers to report the presence of poor environmental conditions that may create a physical or psychological risk to their health and safety.
  • Provide workers with information, instruction and training on PCBU equipment, plant and processes
  • Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) in addition to other control measures, to minimise residual risk. For example, hearing protection if nuisance noise cannot be eliminated.

Note: These are examples only. You must consult with workers to identify and implement control measures that eliminate or minimise the risks in your workplace, so far as is reasonably practicable.

Resources

  • Psychosocial hazards – SafeWork NSW. Information about what psychosocial hazards are, their effects and how to manage them.
  • Hazards A-Z – SafeWork NSW. Find information about specific hazardous physical working environments.
  • Managing psychosocial hazards at work code of practice – SafeWork NSW. Practical guidance on complying with WHS laws, including how to identify and manage psychosocial risks in the workplace.
  • Designing work to manage psychosocial risks – SafeWork NSW. Practical support and information for PCBUs on using work design to manage the risk of psychosocial hazards.
  • Psychosocial hazards request for service form – SafeWork NSW. Use this form to request assistance from SafeWork NSW. This can be useful if your business/workplace doesn’t have processes for you to report workplace conflict or you have reported it internally and no action is being taken.
  • Psychosocial hazards service standards – SafeWork NSW. Information about what you can expect from SafeWork NSW, and what we expect from you when you raise a psychosocial hazard issue.
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