The rise in mental injury claims has had a material impact on WorkSafe. According to its 2021 annual report, the agency had a net liability position of $616 million. Findings show that “of the 28,682 claims received by WorkSafe Victoria in the 2021-22 financial year, 4,340 were for mental injury. While claims for work-related mental injuries now make up 15.1 per cent of all new claims (up from 13.1 per cent the previous year) they are on track to grow to a third of all WorkSafe claims by the end of the decade”.

The situation could have future implications for businesses, particularly through increases in WorkCover premiums. The Victorian Chamber is advocating to Government, on behalf of our members, on how best to create a fit-for-purpose system that will lead to better outcomes for employers and employees.

On average, a person with a mental injury stays off work for at least six months due to the ongoing inability for employers to find suitable duties. This can lead to a broken relationship with the employer and a growing chance of that employee never returning to work.

Australia’s workforce continues to change as it diversifies and more people work remotely. This has resulted in a range of challenges when addressing claims management, which is problematic for both employers and employees.

When managing a WorkCover claim, employers traditionally focus on the cost of an employee being off work. This approach will likely lead to an increase in premiums. Most injured workers want to be back at work as they recover, and it is their manager’s role to communicate and help facilitate that.

There is an opportunity for Victorian businesses to equip themselves with the skills to develop a safety culture and set up prevention-led methods to reduce workplace harm and improve outcomes for workers to keep them physically and mentally safe.

How the Victorian Chamber can help

The Victorian Chamber provides several services to improve safety outcomes in the workplace.

The Health, Safety and Wellbeing (HSW) team has experts to provide employers with programs that can assist with creating a safe culture that will support their employees’ mental health including:

• Workers’ compensation premium analysis and insights provided to senior leadership, highlighting which business areas and claim categories generate the highest proportion of premium costs.
• Training for managers at all levels to understand the workers’ compensation system and how their return-to-work decisions lead directly to better financial outcomes for the business.
• A customised safety leadership program focusing on the key areas of risk that were generating the majority of high-cost claims.
• Assistance for the business (through their agent) to resolve ‘stuck claims’, where the business had previously been unable to achieve a return to work despite repeated attempts.

If you are struggling to get workers’ compensation under control, please contact our HSW team on 03 8662 5196 or at HSW@victorianchamber.com.au to talk about how we can help your business. We are here to help.

Employers can also read about preparing for workplace psychological health reform.