OH Consultant

Aged Care: WHS Management That Works When You're Not Looking

Aged care faces a unique convergence of WHS pressures: psychosocial hazards are now explicitly under the hierarchy of controls, the Healthcare and Social Assistance Code of Practice (February 2026) is the newest code in NSW, and manual handling injuries account for more workers' compensation claims than any other hazard category. All of this becomes legally binding on 1 July 2026.

47% of all claims
Manual handling claims in aged care
SafeWork NSW Statistical Bulletin
Healthcare & Social Assistance (Feb 2026)
NEW Code of Practice
SafeWork NSW
11
Codes of Practice becoming binding
SafeWork NSW — Section 26A

What keeps aged care managers up at night

Psychosocial hazards elevated to hierarchy-of-controls treatment

WHS Regulation 2025 (s.55C/55D) now requires psychosocial risks — including work-related stress, bullying, fatigue, and exposure to traumatic events — to be managed using the hierarchy of controls. Aged care workers face high rates of burnout, compassion fatigue, and exposure to aggressive or distressed residents. The Managing Psychosocial Hazards Code is now legally binding under s.26A from July 2026.

WHS Regulation 2025, s.55C/55D; Code of Practice — Managing psychosocial hazards at work

Manual handling of residents and equipment

Repositioning residents, assisting with mobility, transferring between beds and wheelchairs, and responding to falls involve complex manual handling tasks that cannot be eliminated. The Hazardous Manual Tasks Code requires assessment of every high-risk task and implementation of controls including mechanical aids, team lifts, and work redesign.

Code of Practice — Hazardous manual tasks

Chemical exposure from cleaning and infection control

Aged care facilities use industrial-grade disinfectants, sanitisers, and cleaning agents. Workers handling these products face dermal and respiratory exposure. The Managing Risks of Hazardous Chemicals Code requires current SDS, risk assessment, and appropriate PPE for every chemical in use.

Code of Practice — Managing risks of hazardous chemicals; WHS Regulation 2025, s.346

What's changing for aged care in 2026

WEL Impact (1 substances affected)

SubstanceCurrent WESNew WELChangeEffective
Formaldehyde (some disinfectants)1 ppm0.3 ppm-70%1 December 2026

Section 26A Applicable Codes (11)

Healthcare and social assistance industry
NEW code (Feb 2026) — the primary industry-specific code for aged care, covering patient handling, infection control, and workplace violence
Managing psychosocial hazards at work
Requires psychosocial risks including burnout, compassion fatigue, bullying, and exposure to aggressive residents to be managed using the hierarchy of controls
Managing the risk of fatigue at work
NEW code (Feb 2026) — addresses shift work, extended hours, and on-call arrangements common in aged care
Hazardous manual tasks
Covers resident handling, mobility assistance, bed transfers, and fall response — the highest claims category in aged care
Managing risks of hazardous chemicals
Governs cleaning agents, disinfectants, and sanitisers used in infection control
First aid in the workplace
Requires appropriate first aid arrangements for staff injuries in a healthcare setting
How to manage work health and safety risks
The overarching risk management code applicable to all aged care operations

Penalty Exposure

Max Individual
$2,318,844 (Category 1) or $447,122 (Category 2)
Max Body Corporate
$11,150,183 (Category 1) or $2,235,363 (Category 2)
Uninsurable Since
10 June 2020
Recent Prosecution
Healthcare sector prosecutions increasingly focus on psychosocial hazards and manual handling failures, with penalties reflecting the vulnerability of the workforce and the residents.

How EHS Atlas solves this for aged care

ShieldAlert
Psychosocial, manual handling, and chemical risks
Structured risk assessments covering psychosocial hazards, manual handling of residents, and chemical exposure from cleaning and infection control. Each assessment references the applicable Code of Practice.
Psychosocial risk assessment maps burnout, compassion fatigue, and exposure to aggressive residents. Links to Managing Psychosocial Hazards Code becoming binding July 2026.
AlertTriangle
Aggression incidents, manual handling injuries, near-misses
Structured incident logging for workplace aggression, manual handling injuries, chemical exposure, and near-misses. Psychosocial incidents captured with appropriate sensitivity.
Worker reports aggressive behaviour from resident. Incident logged with psychosocial hazard classification. Investigation links to Managing Psychosocial Hazards Code. Controls reviewed.
GraduationCap
Manual handling, psychosocial awareness, chemical handling
Track training for resident handling techniques, psychosocial awareness, de-escalation, chemical handling, and infection control for all care workers.
New care worker starts. System flags: manual handling training (resident-specific), psychosocial hazard awareness, infection control, and chemical handling required.
ClipboardCheck
Facility inspections, equipment checks, chemical storage
Scheduled inspections for manual handling equipment (hoists, slings), chemical storage, fire equipment, and general facility condition. Photo evidence for every finding.
Monthly hoist inspection finds frayed sling. Sling removed from service. Corrective action: replacement ordered. Tracked to completion.
FlaskConical
Cleaning agents, disinfectants, sanitisers
Every cleaning and infection control product tracked with current SDS. Formaldehyde-containing disinfectants flagged for WEL change. Accessible to all workers on phone.
Chemical register shows hospital-grade disinfectant contains formaldehyde. Flagged amber: WEL dropping 70% to 0.3 ppm. Ventilation assessment prompted.
Scale
11 codes including the newest Healthcare code
Track compliance status for each of the 11 applicable Codes of Practice including the newest Healthcare and Social Assistance Code (Feb 2026) and the Managing the Risk of Fatigue Code (Feb 2026).
Healthcare and Social Assistance Code (NEW, Feb 2026) mapped to your care operations. Tracker confirms compliance status for patient handling, infection control, and workplace violence procedures.

Your aged care compliance calendar

January
Annual psychosocial risk assessment review
WHS Regulation 2025, s.55C/55D
Psychosocial risks must be managed using hierarchy of controls
March
Manual handling equipment inspection — hoists, slings, transfer aids
Code of Practice — Hazardous manual tasks
Faulty equipment = increased injury risk
May
Chemical register review — cleaning and infection control products
WHS Regulation 2025, s.346
Products may change with infection control protocols
June
Pre-July s.26A readiness — verify 11 codes documented
WHS Act s.26A
Non-compliance from 1 July 2026 is a breach
July
Section 26A takes effect — 11 codes legally binding including Healthcare code
WHS Act 2011 s.26A
Must follow code or document alternative
September
Fatigue risk assessment — shift patterns, on-call arrangements
Code of Practice — Managing the risk of fatigue at work (Feb 2026)
Fatigue increases injury risk and impairs care quality
November
Training records audit — all care workers
WHS Regulation 2025
Untrained workers = prosecution risk
December
WEL takes effect — review formaldehyde-containing disinfectants
WHS Regulation 2025 (as amended)
Formaldehyde drops to 0.3 ppm

See EHS Atlas configured for aged care

Psychosocial risk tools, manual handling templates, and the newest Healthcare Code mapped — 15-minute walkthrough.