SafeWork Australia Marks World Day for Safety and Health at Work

In 2026, the ILO’s theme focuses on ensuring a healthy psychosocial working environment, recognising that psychological health is inseparable from physical safety. For the Hire industry, where workers interact daily with heavy machinery, complex logistics, tight timeframes and customer pressures, strong safe work practices—both physical and psychological—are essential to preventing harm.

Psychosocial hazards can affect how people think, feel and behave at work. If left unaddressed, they can increase the likelihood of errors, unsafe decisions and incidents, amplifying risks in already high‑hazard environments such as depots, workshops, delivery operations and construction sites.

Psychosocial hazards may arise from:

• the design or management of work
• the working environment
• workplace machinery or equipment
• workplace interactions and behaviours

These hazards can cause both psychological and physical harm, and in safety‑critical industries like equipment hire, they can directly undermine safe work outcomes.

Common psychosocial hazards include:

• excessive or poorly managed job demands
• low job control or autonomy
• inadequate support from supervisors or peers
• lack of role clarity
• poor organisational change management
• insufficient reward and recognition
• poor organisational justice
• exposure to traumatic events or material
• remote or isolated work
• poor physical work environments
• bullying and harassment
• workplace conflict, violence or aggression

Just like physical, chemical and biological hazards, psychosocial hazards must be identified, assessed and effectively managed. A failure to do so can weaken safety systems, impact decision‑making, increase fatigue and distraction, and ultimately raise the risk of incidents involving people, plant and equipment.

For Hire businesses, embedding safe work practices means:

• recognising psychosocial risks as part of everyday WHS management
• supporting leaders and supervisors to identify early warning signs
• ensuring workloads, rostering and customer demands do not compromise safety
• fostering respectful, well‑communicated and well‑supported workplaces

How to get involved

Safe Work Australia is encouraging workplaces across the country to promote World Day on 28 April 2026, reinforcing the importance of health and safety in every industry.

To support your workplace, download Safe Work Australia’s co‑brandable resources:

• Poster
• Desktop wallpaper
• Video call background
• Social media tiles
• Animated GIF

SafeWork encourages companies to raise awareness on social media using the hashtags
#WorldWHSDay2026 and #SafeDay2026.

Employers and workers are also encouraged to access Safe Work Australia’s psychosocial hazards resources, which provide practical guidance on identifying hazards and managing risks to maintain safe, productive workplaces.

Supporting a healthy psychosocial working environment

The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy sets a national platform for delivering WHS improvements over the next decade, including addressing persistent and emerging challenges such as psychosocial risks.

Safe Work Australia’s guidance helps businesses strengthen safe work practices by:

• explaining common psychosocial hazards
• outlining how to identify risks in real workplace settings
• providing practical tools to control and reduce harm

Key resources include:

• Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work
• Psychosocial hazards guidance material
• Infographic: Managing psychosocial hazards at work
• Mental health and wellbeing resources

By prioritising both psychological and physical safety, the equipment rental industry can continue to improve safety performance, protect workers, and ensure safe, reliable outcomes for customers and the wider construction sector.

https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/media-centre/news/2026-world-day-safety-and-health-work