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Psychological safety and mental health now sit high on the agenda for local governments. LGIS received fewer total claims overall, with claims falling from 952 to 911 in 2025/26. However, the types of psychological injury claims have narrowed and now cluster around two main issues: workplace pressure and work-related harassment or bullying.
Over the past 12 months, our claims data shows that work pressure makes up 50.0% of accepted psychological claims. Work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying makes up 38.5%.
These figures point to where prevention efforts can make the biggest difference.
LGIS supports members with a risk management framework to manage psychological safety risks. It sets out how to identify key hazards, respond early, and check whether controls keep working over time. The goal is practical: help members create workplaces where people feel comfortable speaking up, raising concerns early, and accessing support when challenges arise.
When a workplace feels psychologically safe, people can ask for help, share uncertainty, and flag risks without fear. That helps councils identify issues earlier and take action before problems escalate into injuries or disputes.
Psychological injury trends
For LGIS members, the accepted-claim data points to two clear leading causes of injury: work pressure (50.0%) and work-related harassment and/or workplace bullying (38.5%). Together, these make up most accepted psychological claims in 2025/26. LGIS psychological claim types are also highly concentrated: in 2025/26, anxiety/stress disorder accounts for 92.3% of accepted LGIS psychological claims (anxiety/depression combined is 7.7%). These patterns suggest that prevention needs to focus less on one-off wellbeing initiatives and more on the everyday conditions of work: the way workload is set, how conflict is handled, and how leaders respond when concerns are raised.
What this means for prevention
Because the most consistent drivers relate to pressure and harassment/bullying, prevention works best when it balances the following actions:
Support the worker early
Early conversations around workload, role clarity, and what ‘good’ looks like can prevent pressure becoming chronic. Timely access to support options (for example, confidential counselling through an employee assistance program, where available) and practical adjustments – combined with regular check-ins after a concern is raised – reduces the likelihood that a person is left carrying risk alone while a workplace response is underway.
How LGIS can support members
LGIS provides guidance and tools members can use to identify psychosocial hazards, respond early to concerns, and regularly check whether existing controls are working as intended. This supports clearer day-to-day practices around workload, conduct and escalation, helping address issues earlier and reduce the likelihood they develop into prolonged stress, disputes or accepted psychological injury claims
For more information on how LGIS’ psychologically safe program can support you in creating a mentally healthy workplace contact the People Risk Team at emma.horsefield@lgiswa.com.au.