COPSOQ III: Australia's
Post-PAW Psychosocial Risk Survey
People at Work retires 2 October 2026 — deploy COPSOQ III with validated Australian benchmarks before the deadline.
OccuSpan is Australia's only platform with Rahimi et al. (2025) published ANZ norms built in — your results benchmarked against Australian workers in your sector, not a European reference population.
The instrument
What is COPSOQ III?
COPSOQ III — the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, third edition — is an internationally validated psychosocial hazard identification instrument developed by Burr et al. and published in Safety and Health at Work in 2019. It has been validated and deployed in over 40 countries across more than 25 languages, making it the most widely adopted psychosocial risk survey instrument in occupational health.
The instrument measures 26 validated scales across the core domains of psychosocial hazard: work demands (quantitative, emotional, cognitive), work organisation and content (influence, development opportunities, predictability), interpersonal relations and leadership (social support from supervisors, management quality, trust in management), work-life interface (work-life conflict), and workplace culture (bullying, offensive behaviour).
COPSOQ III was selected by Safe Work Australia as the instrument underpinning its own national psychosocial risk research program. It is the only survey instrument that has been peer-reviewed at scale for Australian workplace use — Rahimi et al. (2025, BMC Public Health 25:830) established the first Australian-specific benchmark norms from over 8,000 workers across 13 ANZSIC industry sectors.
Where People at Work was a Queensland-developed research tool with no published peer-reviewed norms, COPSOQ III is a globally validated instrument with an Australian evidence base. It covers 14–15 of the 17 psychosocial hazard categories named in the Safe Work Australia Code of Practice — more than any other validated instrument currently available.
Instrument comparison
Why COPSOQ III replaces People at Work
People at Work was developed as a Queensland research tool and was never validated for regulatory compliance purposes. COPSOQ III is the direct replacement — the only instrument that satisfies both the hazard coverage requirement and the Australian benchmarking requirement simultaneously.
| Feature | PAW | COPSOQ III |
|---|---|---|
| Validated for Australian use | No (research tool only) | Yes — Rahimi et al. (2025), BMC Public Health 25:830 |
| Covers SWA 17 hazard categories | Partial | 14–15 of 17 |
| Australian benchmarks | No | Yes — 13 ANZSIC industry sectors |
| ISO 45003 aligned | No | Yes |
| Peer-reviewed validation | No | Yes — Burr et al. (2019), Safety and Health at Work |
| Available after 2 October 2026 | No — permanently retired | Yes |
Evidence base
Australian benchmarks: Rahimi et al. (2025)
Until 2025, no published Australian-specific COPSOQ III norms existed. Organisations deploying COPSOQ III were forced to benchmark their results against European — primarily Danish and Swedish — reference populations. Those benchmarks do not reflect Australian working conditions, industry structure, or regulatory context.
Rahimi et al. (2025), published in BMC Public Health (volume 25, article 830), established the first peer-reviewed Australian COPSOQ III benchmark norms. The study surveyed over 8,000 Australian workers and calculated favourable, intermediate, and unfavourable thresholds for each COPSOQ III scale, stratified by ANZSIC industry sector.
OccuSpan has the Rahimi et al. (2025) benchmarks built into its reporting engine. When your workforce completes the COPSOQ III survey, their group scores are automatically compared against Australian workers in your specific industry sector — not a European norm, and not a clinical distress reference range.
The 13 ANZSIC sectors covered by the Rahimi et al. (2025) benchmarks are:
If your industry sector is not listed, OccuSpan uses the nearest ANZSIC equivalent with a notation in the report. Contact us to discuss sector-specific benchmarking requirements.
Platform capabilities
What OccuSpan delivers
End-to-end COPSOQ III deployment — from survey to ISO 45003-aligned intervention plan — in one platform.
Survey delivery
Email and SMS deployment with configurable reminder cadence. Anonymous, confidential, and enforced at the database layer — individual responses are never visible to line managers.
COPSOQ III with ANZ benchmarks
Scoring against Rahimi et al. (2025) Australian norms — 13 ANZSIC industry sectors, 8,000+ workers. Your scores benchmarked against Australian workers in your sector, not European reference populations.
ISO 45003-aligned report
All 26 COPSOQ III scales mapped to the SWA 17 hazard categories with priority risk ranking. Exportable for board reporting, due diligence, and regulator submissions.
Program plan
MIA engine generates intervention recommendations ranked by risk priority — training, process redesign, EAP referral, leadership programs. Includes ROI scenario modelling.
The October 2026 deadline
WorkSafe Queensland retires People at Work on 2 October 2026. Organisations that relied on PAW for their annual psychosocial risk assessment are legally exposed from that date — they will have no validated instrument in place and no benchmarked data to demonstrate compliance with the SWA Code of Practice or ISO 45003.
The transition to COPSOQ III typically takes 4–6 weeks — time for instrument configuration, survey deployment, data collection, and benchmark reporting. Organisations that start now will be ready before the deadline. Organisations that wait until September are cutting it close.
Week 1–2
Survey configuration, cohort setup, and pilot with one team
Week 2–4
Full workforce deployment — email + SMS, automated reminders
Week 4–6
Benchmarked results, ISO 45003 report, and intervention program plan
FAQ
Common questions
What is COPSOQ III?
COPSOQ III (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, third edition) is an internationally validated psychosocial hazard survey developed by Burr et al. (2019, Safety and Health at Work). It has been validated across 40+ countries and measures 26 scales covering work demands, influence, social support, leadership, bullying, and work-life balance. It is the primary instrument used in national psychosocial risk monitoring programs worldwide.
What replaces People at Work after 2 October 2026?
COPSOQ III is the closest validated replacement for People at Work. It covers 14–15 of the 17 Safe Work Australia psychosocial hazard categories, is validated for Australian workplaces through Rahimi et al. (2025, BMC Public Health 25:830), and provides benchmarks across 13 ANZSIC industry sectors. No other instrument matches this coverage profile.
Does COPSOQ III have Australian benchmarks?
Yes. Rahimi et al. (2025), published in BMC Public Health (volume 25, article 830), established the first Australian-specific COPSOQ III norms from a sample of over 8,000 Australian workers across 13 ANZSIC industry sectors — including healthcare, construction, manufacturing, transport, mining, education, financial services, professional services, accommodation and food, retail, utilities, agriculture, and public administration.
How is COPSOQ III different from K10?
COPSOQ III measures workplace hazard conditions — it identifies what in the work environment is causing risk. K10 (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale) measures individual distress outcomes — it tells you how an individual is feeling, not why. K10 covers zero of the 17 Safe Work Australia psychosocial hazard categories and does not satisfy the regulatory hazard identification requirement under Australian WHS legislation or ISO 45003.
Can OccuSpan deploy COPSOQ III for my organisation?
Yes. OccuSpan provides full COPSOQ III survey delivery via email and SMS with configurable reminder cadence, scoring against Rahimi et al. (2025) ANZ benchmarks across 13 ANZSIC sectors, ISO 45003-aligned reporting with hazard categories mapped to the SWA 17 with priority risk ranking, and intervention recommendations from the MIA engine with ROI modelling.
Book a demo
Ready to deploy COPSOQ III?
Book a 30-minute demo to see the COPSOQ III workflow end to end — survey delivery, Rahimi et al. (2025) benchmarking, ISO 45003 reporting, and the MIA intervention engine. No commitment required.
Data in Sydney
No cross-border transfer
ISO 27001-aligned
Row-level security
ANZ norms built in
Rahimi et al. (2025)
DPA provided
For procurement review
Related resources
Psychosocial Risk Assessment
Full psychosocial risk management hub — COPSOQ III, ISO 45003, MIA engine.
COPSOQ III vs K10
Instrument comparison — what each survey measures and what it cannot.
People at Work Replacement Guide
PAW retirement timeline, transition checklist, and instrument selection.
ISO 45003 Compliance
ISO 45003:2021 four-phase program lifecycle — identify, assess, control, review.
AS 4308:2023 · AS 4760:2019 · ISO 45003:2021 · Safe Work Australia NDS · Data hosted in Sydney · ISO 27001-aligned infrastructure