Recovery at work insider - March 2024
26 March 2024
Welcome to the Recovery at work insider, designed for employers, workplace rehabilitation providers and other stakeholders who support recovery through work. As a subscriber, you will receive a monthly newsletter via email which will also be available on the SIRA website.
When an injury occurs - the importance of early notification
Early notification of an injury to your workers compensation insurer allows provision of early intervention including treatment to support recovery.
Early notification enables the insurer to gather necessary information to determine a person’s needs, to communicate with the support team, and start to develop a coordinated plan to facilitate recovery.
Ensure that as part of your Return to Work (RTW) program, workers know they must report an injury as soon as possible, know how to report an injury, and know they will be supported if they are injured. This information can be displayed on the If you get injured at work poster.
Ensure all supervisors and managers understand:
- their role and responsibilities when a worker reports an injury
- the importance of a positive and supportive response
- who will notify the insurer.
From the evidence
Early notification is associated with better RTW outcomes for physical and psychological injuries.
A delay between date of injury and making a claim is associated with an increased likelihood of a longer time away from work1,2.
What you need to do
Employers must notify their workers compensation insurer within 48 hours of becoming aware of a work-related injury or illness3. Your worker, you or your representative can make the initial notification to the insurer electronically, in writing or by telephone.
If a serious injury or illness occurs you must notify Safework NSW immediately on 13 10 50.
Resources and tools
- When a worker is injured: A workers compensation guide for employers
- SIRA e-learning - Reporting the injury
- Record the injury in your register of injuries
- Recovery at work insider - Issue 7: Support workers to report an injury early
- What's my role?
Next edition
Our April edition will look at responding to your worker’s report of injury.
References
- https://www.comcare.gov.au/about/forms-publications/documents/publications/rehabilitation/return-to-work-information-sheet.pdf
- Gray SW, Sheehan LR, Lane TJ, Beck D, Collie A. May 2018. Determining the association between workers compensation claim processing times and duration of compensated time loss. COMPARE project team. Insurance Work and Health Group, Monash University: Melbourne.
- Section 44(2) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998.
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