Articles

This page lists all practical and feature articles available on RTWMatters. From top ten tips, how to guides and case studies, through to webinar recordings and video interviews with industry experts.

Click the ‘Topics’ button below to drill down into all articles and research updates on your topic of interest.

Click the ‘Quick Guides’ button for practical bit sized guides that give you a sound basic knowledge base.

Millions of Australians have a chronic illness. So why aren’t employers accommodating them?

contributorPeter Ghin & Susan Ainsworth

More than 20 million Australians have at least one long-term health condition, 63% of whom are...

Steering Healthy Minds — a peer support program to prevent mental illness in the transport sector

contributorSharon Stratford

An industry peer support program to prevent mental injury is driving change in the transport...

Webinar recording — Eliminating psychosocial risks

contributorJacquline Agius

Jacqueline Agius, the ACT’s WHS Commissioner, talks about what psychosocial hazards are, the...

Webinar recording — Translating Employer Insights

contributorMegan Buick

Megan Buick, General Manager of the Strategic Partnerships and Engagement Group at Comcare talks...

A WISE adaptation of a success story — Australia Post’s Early Matched Care Program (Part 1)

contributorLauren Finestone

Melanie Ianssen, Head of Rehabilitation at Australia Post, describes how that organisation...

The AI cat is out of the bag — transparency, and reflections from the RTWMatters team

contributorRTWMatters team

ChatGPT. We’re betting you’ve heard about it lately. It’s been hard to miss, and seems here to...

Job crafting — another way to self-manage long-term pain problems

contributorLauren Finestone

Self-management of long-term pain conditions doesn’t just mean doing things to manage the...

Webinar recording — Reducing incidences of violence and aggression against aged care workers

contributorTatjana Jokic

Tatjana Jokic talks us through the aims, implementation and outcomes of a successful pilot...

IRRI-sistable (Part 1) — WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives improve outcomes for all

contributorLauren Finestone

RTW practices are a team sport. WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives show...

‘Workers’ what?’ Information about workers’ compensation falls short

contributorLauren Finestone

What do we know about how workers access, understand and engage with information about workers...

RTW: from research to practice. The ‘know-do gap’ through a complex systems lens

contributorLauren Finestone

In our ongoing quest to find ways to translate research into practice in our work injury...

RTW: from policy to practice. How to make change happen

contributorLauren Finestone

The 'It Pays to Care' report calls for change in our work injury schemes, but recognises that...

Webinar recording - WorkWell: Preventing mental injury and promoting mental health

contributorJennifer Fry

In this webinar, Jennifer Fry, Director of WorkWell at WorkSafe Victoria, shares free tools and...

Q&A with mental health workplace consultant

contributorRTWMatters team

"Since the pandemic started, there is a general desire by workplaces to do more about workplace...

Thrive at work - Resources and guides

contributorProfessor Karina Jorritsma

We speak with Professor of Practice Karina Jorritsma, one of the lead researchers at Thrive at...

A call to pillows!

contributorRTWMatters team

Organisations have a lot to gain from battling insomnia, with benefits ranging from increased...

Healthy Minds, Healthy Workplaces

contributorRTWMatters team

Comcare and Beyond Blue demonstrate benefits of low intensity cognitive behavioural therapy at work.

Mates in Construction builds better mental health

contributorNational Workplace Initiative

“We called 52 industry leaders together at a national level in Sydney and essentially asked, are...

Webinar recording: Automated Manual Handling Risk Assessments: a benefit or a distraction?

contributorDavid Bick

Presented by David Bick of JointAction Solutions along with Michael Lawrence and Roscoe McCord...

Webinar recording: Good work design – it is in the DNA of a human-centred organisation

contributorDr Sara Pazell

Dr Sara Pazell discusses how a human-centred organisation is committed to work and job design...

Investigation: Mindfulness

contributorGabrielle Lis

Meditation and mindfulness are often conflated but they’re not the same. We clarify the muddy...

Work injury and good work

contributorDr Sara Pazell

What is "human-centred" design and how might it reduce work injuries and ease return to...

Workplace Health Management programs save one hospital around $200k

contributorKevin Jones

Kevin Jones of the SafetyAtWorkBlog describes research into the benefits of said program,...

Webinar recording: Work-related psychological health and safety matters.

contributorPeta Miller

Meeting your duties under the work health and safety laws.

Webinar recording: How to develop a first class provider network

contributorJames Fletcher

James Fletcher discusses a framework for building a quality provider network

Webinar recording: Working with a Company Doctor - A Unique Medical Discipline

contributorDr James Crompton

Dr James Crompton discusses the role of the company doctor, including employer expectations,...

Intro to PEMAs - pre-employment medical assessments

contributorRTWMatters team

What is a PEMA? What can - and can't - be achieved with this earliest of early interventions?

Jury still out on mindfulness at work

contributorKevin Jones

If you believe the hype, mindfulness can work miracles in the workplace. What do researchers...

The end of sitting

contributorGabrielle Lis

Forget whistling: can standing, walking and cycling while we work improve the health of...

Workplace MSDs: Neck, arm, hand interventions rated

contributorGabrielle Lis

Working out at work can prevent common musculoskeletal disorders of the neck, arm and hand. Find...

Can you ‘teach’ workers to be more emotionally resilient?

contributorYvonne Brunetto

You may know someone like this at work: optimistic and resilient, they appear to bounce through...

Speaking Up 3: Staff speaking up

contributorA. Richey

As an employee, it's often seen as easier to keep quiet, but the reality is that you need to...

Speaking Up 1: The Benefits of Open Communication

contributorA. Richey

Open communication in the workplace is sign of a positive workplace culture.

Webinar recording: Cultivating happiness at work to improve RTW

contributorAlexandra Blakemore

The Happiness at Work Program, a 30-day program devised to improve personal happiness and...

Lifestyle Factors and RTW: Fatigue

contributorA. Richey

Fatigue is often the result of a lack of sleep, prolonged mental or physical work, or lengthy...