National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030 - Snapshot accessible text version

Vision

Minimise the impact of work-related injury and illness and enable workers to have a timely, safe and durable return to work.

Strategic outcomes

  • Increase in workers staying in or returning to good work following a work-related injury or illness
  • Increase in positive return to work experiences for workers with a work-related injury or illness, and
  • Increase in employers preparing for, effectively responding to & managing work-related injury & illness in the workplace.

Guiding principles

  • Ten characteristics of a positive return to work outcome
  • Govern stakeholder behaviours, policies & practices

Action areas

  1. Supporting workers
  2. Building positive workplace culture & leadership
  3. Supporting employers
  4. Supporting other stakeholders
  5. Building & translating evidence

What will the strategy do?

  • Drive and leverage national action
  • Centre on issues of national significance
  • Recognise the worker as the primary beneficiary
  • Recognise the importance of the relationship between the worker and their employer

Who is it aimed at?

  • Policy makers
  • Workers’ compensation authorities
  • Employers
  • Union and industry groups
  • Insurers and claims management organisations
  • Treating health practitioners
  • Workplace rehabilitation providers
  • Other worker advocates

How will success be measured?

  • Return to work measures across the worker, employer, healthcare and insurance systems
  • Combination of quantitative and qualitative data
  • National targets set progressively as baselines established
  • National progress reporting, mid-term review & full-term evaluation

Who will oversee and drive action?

  • Safe Work Australia Members have collective strategic oversight
  • Strategic Issues Group on Workers’ Compensation have operational oversight
  • Safe Work Australia coordinates implementation and progresses national initiatives
  • Individual Safe Work Australia Members progress their own initiatives and share learnings

This snapshot provides a high level overview of the Strategy. It summarises what the Strategy will do, who it is aimed at, how success will be measured and who will oversee and drive action.

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