Victoria's new 'Return to Work' program is helping thousands of workers who get injured return to work

The government has announced the establishment of Return to Work Victoria, aiming to aid injured Victorians in their recovery and safe return to work. This initiative will concentrate on promoting effective rehabilitation, encouraging employers to offer suitable job roles for injured workers, and devising innovative injury prevention and return to work strategies.

1 in 12 workers being injured

Over the past ten years, there have been more than 1,850 traumatic injury fatalities in Australian workplaces, and over 1,140,000 workers have made a serious worker's compensation claim involving more than one week of working time lost. That’s around one in every twelve workers.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), in 2021-22, there were 14.1 million people who had worked at some time during the 12 months. Within this group, there were 497,300 people who experienced a work-related injury or illness during that same 12 month period. This equates to a work-related injury rate of 3.5%, which is down from 4.2% in 2017-18 and 6.4% in 2005-06.

$50 million budgeted for new programs and initiatives

With an initial budget of $50 million for three years, Return to Work Victoria will implement new programs and initiatives to enhance return to work outcomes, subject to annual reviews ensuring efficacy and value.

WorkSafe's claim management, recovery, and return to work functions will be centralised to help optimise support and interventions. A Return to Work Advisory Committee will advise the WorkSafe Victoria Board on return-to-work initiatives.

Jason Lardelli, has been appointed as Executive Director of Return to Work Victoria. He emphasised the initiative's significance in improving outcomes for injured workers and fostering safe and healthy workplaces for businesses:

“Return to Work Victoria is a significant investment in improving outcomes for injured workers and supporting businesses to create safe and healthy workplaces.”

Pilot programs to include mental health assistance

The rise of mental health condition injury claims has been on the rise in the last decade. According to Safe Work Australia data from 2023, workplace mental health conditions are one of the costliest forms of workplace injury. They lead to significantly more time off work and higher compensation paid when compared to physical injuries and diseases.

• The median time lost from Mental health condition claims in 2020-21 (34.2 working weeks) was more than four times the median time lost across all claims (8.0).
• The median compensation paid for Mental health condition claims in 2020‑21 ($58,615) was nearly four times the median compensation paid across all claims ($15,743).

Pilot programs will include a worker support hotline for mental health assistance related to work stress and burnout, and tailored support for small and medium-sized businesses to foster mentally healthy workplaces.

Prevention still remains paramount

WorkSafe Chief Executive Officer Joe Calafiore added that WorkSafe will continue to focus on prevention while putting in place measures to improve workers recover and get back to work:

“WorkSafe will continue to focus on preventing injuries from occurring in the first place, but when they do occur Return to Work Victoria will be there to help injured workers recover, rehabilitate, and return to work safely.”

Australia-wide 10-year national strategy

As for the rest of Australia, The National Return to Work Strategy 2020-2030 is a 10-year national strategy developed by Safe Work Australia to support injured workers in their recovery and return to work.

You can read the National Return to Work Strategy 2020–2030 here to see Return to Work plans across Australia.

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Sources

Return To Work Victoria To Support Injured Workers by The Victorian Government, 23rd April, 2024.

Work-related injuries by Australian Bureau of Statistics, 15th February, 2023.

Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia, 2023 by Safe Work Australia.

National Return to Work Strategy by Safe Work Australia.

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