Australia
People at Work alternative: what Australian employers can use now
WorkSafe ACT says People at Work closed to new surveys in 2026, and 2 October 2026 was the final date to access reports and results. What employers are expected to do about psychosocial risk hasn't changed. Regulators list several free tools, including COPSOQ III and the APHIRM toolkit, for a structured survey. Many employers pair a survey with ongoing SMS check-ins, so they keep hearing from frontline and shift staff between surveys. This page sets out the free options and how check-ins fit alongside them.
What happened to People at Work?
People at Work was a free Australian psychosocial risk survey. WorkSafe ACT says it closed to new surveys in 2026, and 2 October 2026 was the final date to access reports and survey results (WorkSafe ACT).
If your organisation used People at Work and didn't download its reports, check with your WHS regulator about what records may still be available.
Does the tool's closure change what employers are expected to do?
No. Work health and safety laws in every state and territory (OHS laws in Victoria) expect employers to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the risks, control them so far as is reasonably practicable, and review the controls, in consultation with workers. A survey is one way to do part of that work. It was never the whole job.
Regulators are active in this area. In New South Wales, 20.5% of all requests for service received by SafeWork NSW raise issues of psychosocial harm, and its May to June 2026 program visited more than 200 workplaces and issued more than 80 improvement notices relating to psychosocial hazards (SafeWork NSW, 9 October 2026).
Free tools regulators list
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| Tool | Who runs it | What it does | Time for staff | Good fit if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COPSOQ III | International COPSOQ network | Validated survey of psychosocial risks and protective factors | About 20 min (short) to 60 min (long) | You want a validated, benchmarked survey, at any size of organisation |
| APHIRM toolkit | La Trobe University, Centre for Ergonomics and Human Factors | Free cloud toolkit covering physical and psychosocial hazards together | About 15 to 20 min | You have at least 20 staff and physical and psychosocial risks overlap |
| PHReD-T | Published by SafeWork NSW | Work-redesign tool for planning controls | Workshop-style | You know the hazard and need practical controls |
| WorkSafe Queensland psychosocial risk assessment tool | WorkSafe Queensland | Template for recording hazards, risks and controls | Depends on your workplace | You want a simple written record |
| ADDRESS | Australian Public Service model | Model for responding to psychosocial hazards | Uses APS Census data | You're an Australian Public Service agency |
WorkSafe Victoria publishes a side-by-side comparison of several of these tools (WorkSafe Victoria: tools to support psychosocial risk management).
A survey is a snapshot. Frontline risk changes every week.
A once-a-year survey tells you how things looked on the day people answered it. On the shop floor, in a care home or on a late shift, things move faster: a restructure, a run of short-staffed shifts or a difficult customer can change the picture within days.
Customer aggression is a clear example. In the SDA's 2025 survey of around 3,000 retail and fast-food workers, 88% had experienced verbal abuse from a customer in the past year, and 34% said they didn't feel safe at work (SDA, No One Deserves A Serve). And in UKG's 2026 study of 1,800 Australian and New Zealand frontline workers, 80% of Australian respondents reported burnout (UKG, ANZ edition 2026).
Many frontline workers don't have work email or time for a long online form, and many people lose interest in apps quickly. In a 2019 peer-reviewed study of 93 popular mental health apps, a median of 3.3% of users were still opening the app 30 days after installing it (Baumel et al., Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2019). WellbeingSolutions is not app-based: we check in by text, with no app to download.
How SMS check-ins sit alongside a survey
- Ongoing SMS check-ins. Personalised check-ins by text to a whole workforce, one site or one team. There's no app to download and no login, so shift, frontline and casual staff can reply in seconds. Every reply gets an acknowledgement.
- Triage to your own support. If someone replies that they need help, the professional support your organisation chooses, such as your EAP, is alerted and gets in touch. If your organisation doesn't have an EAP, anyone who needs help is guided to government support services.
- Trends for leaders, not names. Anonymised reporting shows where pressure is building, so you can act and record what you did.
- A psychosocial risk assessment informed by ISO 45003 guidance. A confidential assessment that takes 8 to 12 minutes, sent by text, email or QR code. Results are anonymous and reported in groups. ISO 45003 is voluntary guidance, and the assessment is a practical review, not a certificate.
You can use COPSOQ III or APHIRM for a validated survey, and SMS check-ins for the week-to-week picture. Read more about frontline psychosocial check-ins and psychosocial risk in Australia.
Try it with your team
Free 2-week SMS check-in pilot for up to 10 staff. No app to download. Start your free pilot
Questions we hear
Is there a single tool that takes over from People at Work?
No single tool has been named as its successor. Regulators list several free options, including COPSOQ III and APHIRM. Choose the one that fits your workforce and the time you have to run it.
When did access to People at Work end?
WorkSafe ACT says People at Work closed to new surveys in 2026. The final date to access its reports and survey results was 2 October 2026.
Is COPSOQ III free?
Yes. WorkSafe Victoria lists COPSOQ III as free, validated and suitable for any size of organisation.
Can SMS check-ins be used instead of a survey?
Check-ins and surveys do different jobs. A validated survey gives you a structured snapshot. Check-ins give you an ongoing signal and a way to connect people to support. Most organisations get the most from using both.
What does the free pilot include?
SMS check-ins for up to 10 staff for 2 weeks, with no app to download.