The People at Work
Replacement That Hands You a Defensible Score
People at Work retires on 2 October 2026. OccuSpan replaces it with the validated COPSOQ III instrument and published Australian benchmarks — not just another pulse survey.
When WorkSafe asks for your psychosocial risk score against an Australian norm, OccuSpan gives you a quantified, benchmarked answer. Most “PAW alternatives” can only give you a sentiment trend.
The deadline
What is happening to People at Work?
People at Work (PAW) was Australia's free, regulator-backed psychosocial risk assessment survey, used by roughly 5,000 organisations and completed by over 160,000 workers. WorkSafe Queensland has confirmed it is being decommissioned over a 10-month period.
From 1 June 2026, organisations can no longer register for the PAW platform. On 2 October 2026, the platform closes entirely. Organisations must export their PAW reports before that date — no raw data is ever downloadable (to protect respondent anonymity), and all remaining data is removed when the platform is decommissioned.
Critically, the regulator states PAW is being retired because it “requires modification to adequately address additional hazards identified in the Model Code of Practice” — specifically sexual harassment and isolated work. It is being retired for coverage, not just age. Any genuine replacement must close that gap and still produce a defensible, benchmarked result.
Choosing a replacement
PAW vs pulse tools vs OccuSpan
Most tools positioned as “People at Work replacements” are short monthly pulse surveys. They are useful for tracking sentiment — but they cannot reproduce what PAW actually delivered: a validated hazard score benchmarked against an Australian reference population. Here is the honest comparison.
| Capability | People at Work | Pulse-only tools | OccuSpan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Validated instrument | Yes — Australian research tool | Varies — often unvalidated short form | Yes — COPSOQ III (Burr et al. 2019) |
| Published Australian benchmarks | Yes | No | Yes — Rahimi et al. (2025), 13 ANZSIC sectors |
| Defensible benchmarked score | Yes | No — sentiment trend only | Yes — score vs Australian norm |
| Covers SWA 17 hazard categories | Partial (gap closing was the retirement reason) | Partial / unstated | 14–15 of 17 |
| ISO 45003-aligned reporting | Limited | Varies | Yes |
| Intervention + ROI engine | No | Rare | Yes — MIA engine |
| Available after 2 Oct 2026 | No — permanently retired | Yes | Yes |
| Data hosted in Australia | Yes (gov) | Varies | Yes — Sydney, no cross-border transfer |
Note on short forms: some vendors cite Zábrodská et al. (2026) to argue 2–5 minute surveys capture most of the insight of a full instrument. That paper does not validate a short form as a regulatory replacement for PAW. The defensible path is the validated COPSOQ III instrument with published Australian benchmarks — see the instrument comparison.
Why it matters
Four reasons to choose the validated path
A defensible number, not just a vibe
When a regulator or board asks for your psychosocial risk score against an Australian benchmark, a pulse-sentiment tool cannot answer. COPSOQ III with Rahimi et al. (2025) norms gives you a quantified score per hazard, benchmarked against Australian workers in your ANZSIC sector.
Covers the hazards PAW was retired for
PAW is being decommissioned because it did not adequately cover sexual harassment and isolated work. A credible replacement must cover those. COPSOQ III maps to 14–15 of the 17 Safe Work Australia hazard categories.
Australian norms, not European reference data
Most COPSOQ deployments benchmark against Danish or Swedish populations. OccuSpan uses the first peer-reviewed Australian norms — 8,000+ workers, 13 ANZSIC sectors (Rahimi et al. 2025, BMC Public Health 25:830).
Closes the loop to action and ROI
Identification is only step one. The MIA engine turns your hazard profile into ranked interventions — training, process redesign, leadership programs — with ROI scenario modelling, so the survey drives a defensible program, not a PDF in a drawer.
Your 4–6 week migration from PAW
Organisations that relied on PAW for their annual psychosocial risk assessment are exposed from 2 October 2026 unless a validated instrument is in place. The transition is straightforward — and OccuSpan's PAW Migration wizard guides you through exporting your historical PAW data and standing up COPSOQ III.
Week 1–2
Export your historical PAW reports before 2 Oct 2026, configure the COPSOQ III instrument, and pilot with one team.
Week 2–4
Full workforce deployment — email + SMS with automated reminder cadence. Anonymous and confidential at the database layer.
Week 4–6
Benchmarked results against Australian COPSOQ III norms, an ISO 45003-aligned hazard report, and a prioritised intervention program plan.
FAQ
People at Work replacement — common questions
When is People at Work being decommissioned?
WorkSafe Queensland confirmed that the People at Work (PAW) survey and platform will be decommissioned over a 10-month period. Organisations can no longer register from 1 June 2026, and all access to the online platform ends on 2 October 2026. After that date, the platform closes entirely — organisations must export all PAW reports before the deadline because no raw data is ever downloadable, and all remaining data is removed when the platform is decommissioned.
Why is People at Work being retired?
WorkSafe Queensland states PAW "requires modification to adequately address additional hazards identified in the Model Code of Practice: Managing psychosocial hazards at work" — specifically sexual harassment and isolated work. In other words, PAW is being retired because its hazard coverage no longer meets the regulatory standard, not simply because it is old. Any replacement must cover those additional hazards.
What is the best replacement for People at Work?
The validated replacement is COPSOQ III (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, third edition) deployed against Australian benchmarks. COPSOQ III is internationally validated across 40+ countries and, through Rahimi et al. (2025, BMC Public Health 25:830), now has the first Australian-specific norms from 8,000+ workers across 13 ANZSIC sectors. OccuSpan deploys COPSOQ III with those benchmarks built in, so you get a quantified psychosocial risk score against an Australian reference population — the same class of defensible output PAW produced.
Are short pulse surveys a valid People at Work replacement?
A short pulse survey can track sentiment over time, but on its own it is not equivalent to PAW. PAW gave organisations a benchmarked hazard score against an Australian reference population. Some vendors cite research (e.g. Zábrodská et al., 2026) to argue that 2–5 minute short forms capture most of the insight of a long survey — but that research does not validate a short form as a regulatory replacement for PAW, and a screening-length instrument without published Australian benchmarks cannot produce a defensible benchmarked score. OccuSpan uses the validated COPSOQ III instrument with Australian norms so the output stands up to a regulator or a board.
Will switching from People at Work reduce my legal obligations?
No. The retirement of PAW does not reduce your duty to identify, assess, and control psychosocial hazards under WHS legislation and the Model Code of Practice. If anything, the loss of the free regulator-backed tool increases the need for a defensible alternative — you remain legally exposed if you have no validated instrument and no benchmarked data after 2 October 2026.
How quickly can OccuSpan replace our People at Work survey?
A typical transition takes 4–6 weeks: survey configuration and a pilot cohort in weeks 1–2, full workforce deployment via email and SMS with automated reminders in weeks 2–4, and benchmarked results plus an ISO 45003-aligned report and intervention program plan in weeks 4–6. Organisations that start now will be ready before the 2 October 2026 deadline.
Book a demo
Replace People at Work before the deadline
Book a 30-minute demo to see the full post-PAW workflow — COPSOQ III delivery, Rahimi et al. (2025) Australian benchmarking, ISO 45003 reporting, and the MIA intervention engine. We'll also walk you through exporting your historical PAW data.
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
COPSOQ III in Australia
The validated instrument and Rahimi et al. (2025) Australian benchmarks.
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.
PAW Replacement Guide
PAW retirement timeline, transition checklist, and instrument selection.
AS 4308:2023 · AS 4760:2019 · ISO 45003:2021 · Safe Work Australia NDS · Data hosted in Sydney · ISO 27001-aligned infrastructure