Local Governments in Australia play a vital role as promoters of best practices in a wide variety of industries.  They are often the link that helps to disseminate knowledge and evidenced based research into the wider community.  The return to work industry is no different and here at RTWMatters, we are both pleased and proud to have local government representation in our membership base as advocates for reducing long term disability and worklessness in our communities. 

By promoting the role of return to work coordinator, giving feedback to streamline content and sharing experiences and lessons learnt, our local government members contribute to the growing knowledge base available to Australian organisations. We've put together a series of articles that you may find useful.  Feel free to email, print or copy them for your reference. 

‘Most people really don’t understand what RRTWCs do and certainly most don’t appreciate the efforts we go to as we try to assist our employees. They certainly don’t understand or possibly even comprehend what it is like to try to juggle the needs of all parties involved – injured employee, insurer, employer, medical treatment providers and fellow workers! And of course we cannot leave out Q-Comp, Unions, legislative requirements and lawyers’ – Meredith Russell – Cassowary Coast Regional Council

What is a RTW coordinator? - Jack of all trades? Conjurer of motivation and modified duties? Piggy in the middle?

What skills do I need as a RTW Coordinator? - And how do I get them?

Are you happy with your working relationships? Meredith Russell from Cassowary Coast Regional Council talks to RTWMatters about building great working relationships between all RTW stakeholders.

Worksite wonders - Ursula Lone, Rehab Coordinator  for Scenic Rim Regional Council and award winning RRTWC, talks about the benefits of visiting injured workers at home and the workplace.

‘My biggest frustration is getting through to people the importance of telling me about every workplace injury suffered no matter how minor it seems at the time’. – Gerry Pietersen – City of Mandurah  WA
 

She'll be right: Under-reporting injury in the workplace - An easy to read research update including take home messages.

Just how painful is injury reporting? - Knowing when injury reports should be made and how they should be dealt with.

Q&A: The first five minutes - What happens in the first five minutes after injury affects health outcomes and costs. And your time starts...

‘My greatest frustration is dealing with supervisors who are not interested in taking on the responsibilities of injured workers returning to work on suitable duties, especially if the restrictions are tight. Finding suitable duties to fit the restrictions is difficult enough without having to deal with the lack of cooperation from on-site supervisors. Most sites will take the injured worker if they can get their "dirty" work done for them. Once that is completed they are not interested in retaining the injured worker. I guess the injured worker contributes to this situation also as they are reluctant to try other forms of work outside their own departments and this is a major hurdle to overcome, especially when dealing with outside Council workers with limited skills and education.’ – Noelene Porter – Uralla Shire Council
 

Top ten tips for super smooth supervising of RTW  - Supervising return to work ain't easy...unless you've read our top ten tips!

6 simple apathy busters - Supervisors apathetic about RTW? You gotta bust that apathy asap!

‘I found the workcover to be both complex and highly administrative. During the last 15 months, I have worked hard to build my own systems and processes and indeed, find managing the timeline of a workcover claim, along with the intricacies and attention to detail to be one of the biggest challenges.’- Erica Irving – Bass Coast Council

Run off your feet? - RTWC's who manage their time well do better.

Navigating RTW Coordination - Some common difficulties that new RTWC's can face.

Return to Work Matters contains over 1000 articles, tools, templates, research updates, handbooks, training videos and webinar recordings. Visit our homepage or our topics page to discover how we can help you improve return to work outcomes in you local community.

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[ The personal views expressed in these articles are the indiviual's and are not necessarily the view of the council they are employed by ]