By name: as-nzs-iso-45003 description: "Technical reference for AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021 (Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks). Use this skill when the user asks about psychosocial risk management under ISO standards, psychological health at work, psychosocial hazard identification under ISO 45003, mental health management systems, worker wellbeing, rehabilitation and return to work for psychological injury, or when an action skill needs to verify or cite specific clauses of AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021."
AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021 — Psychological Health and Safety at Work
Purpose
AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021 provides internationally recognized guidelines for managing psychosocial risks within an occupational health and safety (OH&S) management system based on ISO 45001. The standard enables organisations to prevent work-related injury and ill health of their workers and other interested parties, and to promote well-being at work.
This is a guidelines document (not a requirements document). It works in parallel with ISO 45001:2018, which contains the mandatory requirements for OH&S management systems. The relationship is important: ISO 45001 sets the framework and requirements; AS/NZS ISO 45003 provides detailed guidance on applying that framework specifically to psychosocial risks and psychological health at work.
The standard is applicable to organisations of all sizes and in all sectors, for the development, implementation, maintenance and continual improvement of healthy and safe workplaces with regard to psychological health and safety.
Critical Rules
Only cite clauses that appear in the section files below — never fabricate or assume clause content. Always verify against the source files.
Use conservative, factual language — describe guidelines without emotive terms. This is a technical standard, not advocacy material.
Use Australian English spelling throughout all responses (analyse, minimise, organisation, behaviour, etc.).
This standard provides GUIDELINES ("should"), not requirements ("shall"). It does not contain certification requirements. Always distinguish clearly between guidelines (recommendations) and ISO 45001 requirements (mandatory).
This standard is NOT legislation — it is an Australian/New Zealand Standard adopting ISO 45003:2021. Frame advice accordingly as best-practice guidance aligned to international standards.
Some content (particularly figures and diagrams) could not be fully extracted from the Word document — note limitations where applicable.
If a clause cannot be located in any section file, state this explicitly rather than inferring or approximating.
Always cite the clause number when referencing guidelines (e.g. "Clause 6.1.2 recommends..." or "According to Clause 7.2...").
The three tables in Clause 6.1.2 (aspects of work organisation, social factors at work, and work environment/equipment/hazardous tasks) are the primary psychosocial hazard classification framework used throughout the standard — reference these when advising on hazard identification.
For compliance positioning, refer to REGULATORY-CONTEXT.md when framing whether this standard is mandated or advisory in a particular jurisdiction.
Section Index
| Filename | Section | Key Topics | When to Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| section-00-introduction.md | Introduction | Overview of psychosocial risks, relationship to ISO 45001, scope of psychological health | When establishing the context for why psychosocial risk management matters |
| section-01-scope.md | Clause 1 | Applicability to all organisation sizes and sectors, definition of "worker" | To confirm applicability or scope of the standard to a particular context |
| section-02-normative-references.md | Clause 2 | ISO 45001:2018 reference | To verify normative relationships and foundational requirements |
| section-03-terms-and-definitions.md | Clause 3 | Key definitions (psychosocial hazard, psychosocial risk, well-being, etc.) | To clarify terminology and ensure consistent understanding of concepts |
| section-04-context-of-the-organization.md | Clause 4 | Understanding organisation context, needs of workers, scope of OH&S management system | To support scoping and context assessment activities |
| section-05-leadership-and-worker-participation.md | Clause 5 | Leadership commitment, worker participation, consultation, accountability | To address leadership and governance aspects of psychosocial risk management |
| section-06-planning.md | Clause 6 | Hazard identification, risk assessment, the three psychosocial hazard tables, planning controls | PRIMARY SOURCE for psychosocial hazard identification and classification — contains all three tables |
| section-07-support.md | Clause 7 | Resources, competence, awareness, communication, documented information | To address support infrastructure and organisational capability |
| section-08-operation.md | Clause 8 | Operational controls, emergency response, rehabilitation and return to work | To address day-to-day management and psychological injury recovery |
| section-09-performance-evaluation.md | Clause 9 | Monitoring, measurement, audit, management review | To support performance measurement and evaluation activities |
| section-10-improvement.md | Clause 10 | Continual improvement, corrective action, nonconformity management | To support improvement and corrective action processes |
Regulatory Standing
This standard is Category 4 — Advisory / Best Practice under Australian jurisdiction categorisation. It provides internationally recognised guidance for psychosocial risk management aligned to the ISO 45001 framework. The standard is not mandated by legislation but represents current best practice endorsed by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand.
Key distinctions:
- Not a legislative requirement — no legal obligation to comply with this standard
- Not a certification requirement — organisations cannot be "certified to" this standard (though ISO 45001 certification can reference it)
- Internationally aligned — adopts ISO 45003:2021 directly, providing guidance consistent with international practice
- Complementary to ISO 45001 — works together with the requirements standard to provide a complete framework
- Best practice resource — supports organisations in implementing psychosocial risk management as part of their OH&S management system
Workflow: Using This Skill
Identify the psychosocial risk management element being queried (e.g., hazard identification, worker participation, rehabilitation, control measures)
Read the relevant section file(s) from the index above
For hazard identification queries, always read section-06-planning.md first — it contains the three critical tables that classify psychosocial hazards by category
Cite clauses accurately — use language such as "Clause X recommends", "According to Clause Y", "The standard suggests in Clause Z" (not "requires", which is reserved for ISO 45001)
Frame advice per standard category — when relevant, note that this is Category 4 guidance, not a legislative mandate
Note relationship to ISO 45001 where applicable — indicate where this standard provides detail on how to meet ISO 45001 requirements in the psychosocial domain
Common Query Routing
| Query Type | Primary Section(s) | Key Clauses | Example Queries |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychosocial hazard identification | section-06-planning.md | 6.1.2 (especially Tables 1–3) | "What are examples of psychosocial hazards?", "How do we identify work organisation hazards?" |
| Risk assessment methodology | section-06-planning.md | 6.1.2.2 | "How should we assess psychosocial risks?", "What approach to risk assessment does the standard recommend?" |
| Control measures | section-06-planning.md | 6.1.2.3, 6.1.3 | "What controls should we implement for psychosocial risks?", "How do we prioritise controls?" |
| Worker participation | section-05-leadership-and-worker-participation.md | 5.3, 5.4 | "How should workers participate in psychosocial risk management?", "What role for worker representatives?" |
| Rehabilitation and return to work | section-08-operation.md | 8.3 | "How should we manage return to work after psychological injury?", "What does the standard recommend for rehabilitation?" |
| Communication and training | section-07-support.md | 7.3, 7.4 | "What awareness and training is needed?", "How should we communicate about psychosocial risks?" |
| Monitoring and evaluation | section-09-performance-evaluation.md | 9.1, 9.2, 9.3 | "How should we monitor psychosocial risks?", "What metrics should we track?" |
| Organisational context | section-04-context-of-the-organization.md | 4.1, 4.2 | "How do we understand our context for psychosocial risks?", "What external and internal issues matter?" |
| Leadership commitment | section-05-leadership-and-worker-participation.md | 5.1, 5.2 | "What leadership actions are needed?", "How do we demonstrate commitment?" |
Version Information
- Standard Title: AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021 — Occupational health and safety management — Psychological health and safety at work — Guidelines for managing psychosocial risks
- ISO Reference: ISO 45003:2021
- Joint Standard: Adopted jointly by Standards Australia and Standards New Zealand
- Published: 30 June 2023
- Normative Reference: ISO 45001:2018 (Occupational health and safety management systems — Requirements with guidance for use)
- Source Material: Official Word document from Standards Australia
- Extraction Date: 6 March 2026
Using This Skill in Action Skills
When an action skill (e.g., a skill that performs an analysis or generates a document) needs to reference or verify content from AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021:
- Call this reference skill explicitly with the specific clause or section name required
- Use the returned text to verify recommendations or populate content
- Always cite the clause number in the output (e.g. "per Clause 6.1.2")
- Maintain the distinction between "recommends" (guideline) and "requires" (ISO 45001 requirement)
- Note any extraction limitations where diagrams or figures were part of the original clause
Notes on Standard Structure
AS/NZS ISO 45003:2021 follows the ISO 45001 high-level structure (Plan-Do-Check-Act), organised as:
- Introduction — overview and context
- Clause 1 — Scope and applicability
- Clause 2 — Normative references (ISO 45001:2018)
- Clause 3 — Terms and definitions
- Clause 4 — Context of the organisation (Plan)
- Clause 5 — Leadership and worker participation (Plan)
- Clause 6 — Planning (Plan) — includes the three psychosocial hazard tables
- Clause 7 — Support (Do)
- Clause 8 — Operation (Do) — includes rehabilitation and return to work
- Clause 9 — Performance evaluation (Check)
- Clause 10 — Improvement (Act)
This alignment allows organisations to integrate psychosocial risk management into their existing ISO 45001 management system.