Administrative and scheme delivery changes

Recovery and Return to Work Program

The Recovery and Return to Work program commenced in March 2020 and uses analytics to identify cohorts of injured workers most at risk of protracted return to work. A multi-disciplinary case management approach is taken to bring the injured worker, employers, treaters and case manager together to apply a person-centred case management technique. This also includes deployment of return to work inspectors and early identification of secondary mental injury via analytics.

In the 2-year period since March 2020, the Recovery and Return to Work program has so far conducted 17,500 injured worker interventions and returned 4,700 of these most at risk workers to work. The program includes:

• additional support via mobile case manager visits for workers exceeding expected recovery and return to work dates
• multidisciplinary’ recovery and return to work conferencing, where the worker, employer and all medical providers are brought together, coordinated by a case manager or at times an independent member of WorkSafe’s clinical panel; to create a clear agreed recovery strategy
• the use of analytics tools to identify early signs of a secondary mental injury among injured workers and then providing these workers with suitable treatment
• bringing injured workers and colleagues together in facilitated discussions to resolve issues where interpersonal conflict has prevented a return to work
• considering alternative employment opportunities with new employers for injured workers that hadn’t returned to work but had the capacity to do so, including providing retraining and job-seeking support to injured workers who could not return to their pre-injury role or pre-injury employer
• providing specific additional support to injured workers whose employers had difficulty identifying opportunities for them as a result of COVID-19
• supporting injured workers who had not worked for 2 to 4 years with programs to help build confidence, further their recovery and, where possible, identify return to work opportunities, and
• return to work inspector interventions for employers struggling to achieve return to work outcomes.

Workers Compensation Independent Review Service

The Workers’ Compensation Independent Review Service (WCIRS), established on 30 April 2020, is an independent and impartial review function that operates within the Independent Review Division at WorkSafe Victoria. 

The WCIRS provides injured workers with the opportunity to ask for a free and impartial review of certain disputed 'reviewable decisions' under the compensation law that haven't been resolved during the conciliation process. The WCIRS reviews all decisions in line with a Sustainability of Decision-Making Framework (SDMF) which was developed for the function. The framework requires agents to demonstrate that their decisions are fair, reasonable, based on the best available evidence and are reasonably likely to be upheld by a court. 

WorkSafe is monitoring decisions reviewed by the WCIRS to identify trends that will inform the development of agent training, policies and decision-making practices.

New Employment Service Outcomes

New Employment Services (NES) is support for injured workers who cannot make a return to work with their pre-injury employer and require assistance securing new work. WISE (WorkSafe Incentive Scheme for Employers) is a component of NES which further improves injured worker outcomes. New employers who offer work to an injured worker can access up to $26,000 in incentives towards wages that support sustained employment. More workers than ever before (last 10 years) have returned to work with the support of NES.

For year ending 2023, 54.35% of workers who returned to work supported by New Employer Services (NES) did so earning 100% or more of their Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings (PIAWE) with 45.02% earning between 50% - 100% of their PIAWE. The remaining 0.63% were earning between 0 – 50% of their PIAWE following their RTW in NES. 

Facilitation Discussion Service

Facilitated Discussion is a form of alternative dispute resolution for injured workers where workplace relationship issues or interpersonal conflict presents as a barrier. Specifically, this program offers a mediation process for workplace disputes, with discussions led by specific Occupational Rehabilitation providers. It is a voluntary process that offers a safe and supportive environment for workers to identify and discuss the barriers to returning to work. In the 2023 calendar year, 286 workers participated in a Facilitated Discussion, a 19.16% increase on the 2022 calendar year (240 workers who participated). Return to work outcomes were 104 for the 2023 calendar year, an increase of 14.28% on the 2022 calendar year (91 return to work outcomes). 

Alfred Occupational Respiratory Clinic

In 2023, WorkSafe extended its partnership with the Alfred Hospital for a further 3 years (up until 30 June 2026) to deliver Australia’s only public hospital occupational respiratory clinic. The Alfred Occupational Respiratory Clinic offers a multi-disciplinary approach to the diagnosis and management of debilitating lung disease silicosis. Since its launch in July 2021, the Alfred clinic has provided 621 eligible workers with a health outcome and treatment plan.

More information regarding the criteria for the AORC is available on the WorkSafe Victoria website.

Policy Developments

2023-24 WorkCover premium changes

The Victorian Government announced a 42% increase to premiums paid by business, from 1.27% of their payroll to 1.8%. This came into effect on 1 July 2023.

Mental Health Strategy

WorkSafe Victoria’s is enacting its first Mental Health Strategy 2021 – 2024 (the strategy). The strategy is a significant milestone in our commitment to prevent workplace mental injuries and to better protect workers with a mental injury. It is underpinned by the principles of protecting workers and supporting the needs of employers. The strategy outlines objectives, focus areas and priority groups to engage with over the 3-year period it covers.

WorkSafe identified 5 strategic focus areas that set the direction for achieving the strategy’s objectives. Each focus area has medium to long-term actions that WorkSafe is undertaking to address the underlying causes of poor mental health across all workplaces. The focus areas are:

• compliance and enforcement
• fostering organisational change
• awareness, education and training
• building the evidence base
• supporting Innovation

Legislative Amendments

Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2023 

The Justice Legislation Amendment Act 2023 came into effect in October 2023. It expanded the presumptive rights scheme in the Firefighters’ Presumptive Rights Compensation and Fire Services Legislation Amendment (Reform) Act 2019 to include 3 additional cancers affecting female firefighters – primary site cervical, ovarian and uterine cancers. The rights apply to female careers and volunteer firefighters and vehicle and equipment maintenance employees who: 

• have served in active roles for a qualifying period of 10 years to align with other Australian and international jurisdictions, and
• have been diagnosed on or after 1 June 2016 in line with cancers already included.

Scheme Modernisation

On 31 October 2023, the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (WorkCover Scheme Modernisation) Bill 2023 was introduced into Parliament. The purpose of the Bill is to modernise the WorkCover scheme to better respond to mental injury claims and reinforce its financial sustainability.