Workers compensation regulation bulletin - Issue 82 (December 2019)

Measuring return to work rates (RTW) discussion paper

SIRA is seeking input from stakeholders to help inform the way we measure return to work (RTW) within the NSW workers compensation and Compulsory Third Party (CTP) systems.

We have released the Measuring RTW rates discussion paper which outlines how SIRA currently measures return to work rates - a key metric for system performance.

The impact of delayed return to work on injured people is a serious concern. There is a strong body of empirical evidence that shows the longer an injured worker is away from work, the less likely they are to ever return.

Safe Work Australia, the Federal Government body responsible for improving work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements across the country, has launched a ten-year National RTW Strategy to commence in 2020.

In the New South Wales context, SIRA continually works to understand and monitor RTW performance including the effectiveness of early intervention and longer-term support.

We have identified a trend of deteriorating RTW rates in NSW in 2019 when compared with the same reporting periods in 2018, 2017 and 2016.

SIRA will work to develop RTW measures for the CTP scheme and your feedback from our discussion paper will assist this process.

Meanwhile, a multi-metrics approach aims to measure RTW in a holistic way and responses to this paper may further inform development of new measures to ensure ongoing improvement in this area, with the aim of driving better RTW outcomes for workers and employers.

View SIRA’s Measuring RTW discussion paper.

Send your feedback to [email protected]