Insights
What Is CSA Z1003? Psychological Health and Safety
CSA Z1003 is Canada's national standard for psychological health and safety at work - a voluntary framework for building the kind of workplace that doesn't just avoid physical injury, but doesn't grind people down either. It is not a legal requirement in Alberta, and it is not part of a COR score. Here is what it actually asks for, and where it fits next to the compliance work you already do.
Published 5 Sep 2026 · The On-Track Team
6 min readKey Takeaways
- CSA Z1003 (CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013, R2022) is voluntary - not incorporated into Alberta's OHS Act, OHS Code, or any federal regulation.
- A second edition has completed public review (closed December 16, 2025) and is being finalized, with no publication date set yet.
- The standard's core is a Psychological Health and Safety Management System (PHSMS), assessed against 13 named psychosocial factors.
- Neither ACSA nor Energy Safety Canada's COR protocol references Z1003 - it is complementary to COR, not part of the score.
- Alberta's own mandatory hazard here is Section 390 of the OHS Code (violence and harassment), which is a different, legally required document.
1. What the standard covers
CSA Z1003 (formally CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013, reaffirmed 2022) was jointly developed by CSA Group and Quebec's Bureau de normalisation du Québec. It applies to any sector and any size of organization, and it describes how to build a Psychological Health and Safety Management System (PHSMS): leadership commitment, a written policy, a risk assessment against a defined set of psychosocial factors, implementation, worker training, and ongoing evaluation.
A second edition is on the way
2. Is it mandatory in Alberta?
No. CSA Z1003 is not referenced in Alberta's OHS Act or OHS Code, and no federal regulation incorporates it either - it remains a voluntary standard everywhere in Canada. That doesn't make it irrelevant: Alberta employers do carry a real, legal duty around psychological harm through Section 390 of the OHS Code, the violence and harassment prevention plan overhauled effective March 31, 2025. That is a different document with a different legal basis, but the two address overlapping ground - a company that has genuinely done the Z1003 risk-assessment work usually finds its Section 390 plan gets easier to write, not harder.
3. The 13 psychosocial factors
A PHSMS risk assessment under the standard rates the workplace against thirteen named factors:
- Organizational culture
- Psychological and social support
- Clear leadership and expectations
- Civility and respect
- Psychological demands
- Growth and development
- Recognition and reward
- Involvement and influence
- Workload management
- Engagement
- Balance
- Psychological protection
- Protection of physical safety
Tools like Guarding Minds at Work are commonly used alongside the standard to actually run this assessment, rather than starting from a blank policy document.
4. How this relates to COR
Worth being precise here: neither ACSA nor Energy Safety Canada's COR audit protocol scores a psychological health and safety management system as one of its elements. Some certifying partners - AMHSA is one - offer a separate, voluntary psychological health and safety audit tool alongside their COR and PIR programs, but that sits beside COR, not inside its score. Treat Z1003 as a genuinely separate, complementary piece of work, not a COR requirement in disguise.
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Building psychological health and safety into a real program
A custom safety manual can incorporate a psychological health and safety policy alongside the mandatory violence and harassment prevention plan - built for how the operation actually runs, not lifted from a template.
See custom safety manual optionsOnline Training
Leadership commitment is step one, and it's a real course
Leadership for Safety Excellence (LSE) - the same course ACSA expects for NCSO and COR leadership evidence - is a practical starting point for the leadership-commitment piece a PHSMS asks for.
See the LSE course5. Frequently asked
Is CSA Z1003 legally required in Alberta?
No. CSA Z1003 is a voluntary standard - it is not incorporated into Alberta's OHS Act, OHS Code, or any federal regulation. Alberta's closest mandatory requirement is Section 390 of the OHS Code (the violence and harassment prevention plan, overhauled effective March 31, 2025), which addresses hazards causing physical or psychological harm - but that is Alberta's own law, not a reference to Z1003 itself.
Is a new edition of the standard coming?
Yes. A second edition has been in development and completed its public review period, which closed December 16, 2025. As of today it is still being finalized, with no publication date yet set. The current edition in force is CAN/CSA-Z1003-13/BNQ 9700-803/2013 (R2022), and that is the version to reference until the new edition is published.
What are the 13 psychosocial factors the standard covers?
Organizational culture, psychological and social support, clear leadership and expectations, civility and respect, psychological demands, growth and development, recognition and reward, involvement and influence, workload management, engagement, balance, psychological protection, and protection of physical safety. A risk assessment against these factors is the core of building a Psychological Health and Safety Management System under the standard.
Does implementing CSA Z1003 count toward COR or SECOR certification?
Not directly. Neither the ACSA nor the Energy Safety Canada COR audit protocol references Z1003 or requires a psychological health and safety management system as one of its scored elements. Some certifying partners, including AMHSA, offer a separate voluntary psychological health and safety audit tool alongside their COR/PIR programs - but that is a complementary offering, not part of the standard COR score.
Where should a company start if it wants to adopt the standard?
With the risk assessment - identifying where the operation sits on each of the 13 psychosocial factors, using a recognised tool like Guarding Minds at Work, before writing a policy. A policy written without an honest assessment first tends to describe the workplace leadership wants rather than the one that actually exists, which is the same failure pattern that shows up in weak COR documentation.