Using a navigation metaphor — including navigation tips for RTW professionals — we explore a factory worker's journey to show how language barriers, cultural factors, passive coping strategies and...

Using a navigation metaphor — including navigation tips for RTW professionals — we continue exploring a factory worker's journey to show how language barriers, cultural factors, passive coping...

Allianz Australia's Early Intervention Program is cutting RTW times in half by supporting mental injury recovery from day one, regardless of the claim outcome.

Two stories from Lived Experience Advisors in the Workers' Voice project offer insights into how the system works — and sometimes doesn't work — for those it serves.

DXC's Employment care coordination program, supported by WorkSafe Victoria, improves RTW outcomes by addressing challenges beyond physical recovery.

Apologies can have real meaning in the work injury industry, which revolves around supporting people through physical, emotional and often life-altering experiences. Here are some tips for how to...

WorkSafe Victoria's pilot pain education intervention for injured workers has received positive feedback from participants and providers.

Research from SuperFriend reveals how measuring workplace experiences could help predict and prevent psychological claims before they occur.

When a police officer experiences trauma on duty, the path to recovery can take dramatically different turns depending on how psychosocial factors are identified and addressed.

QBE Insurance has collaborated with the University of Newcastle's Centre for Rehab Innovations (CRI) to improve psychological injury management in workers' compensation claims.

A study challenges the assumption that once a claim is settled, the worker's journey is complete.

A case study illuminates a critical aspect of healthcare — the mental health of those who care for others.

‘Recovery isn't linear’. These words from a Fire and Rescue NSW Technical Rescue Instructor capture the complex reality of returning to work after injury.

WorkCover WA has a new guide to help medical practitioners navigate the workers' comp and injury management system.

In an exciting development for workplace rehabilitation, one Australian provider has successfully deployed artificial intelligence to improve RTW outcomes for injured workers.

An innovative partnership between WorkSafe Victoria and Perx Health shows how digital solutions can improve recovery outcomes for injured workers.

A chef’s sliding doors experience shows how addressing the full spectrum of the impact of injury — physical, psychological and professional — creates the conditions for successful...

A research project is exploring the gap between guidelines and practice in work-focused CBT and is recruiting participants who have delivered or received this approach. Your story or that of...

In line with a wider shift in insurance care, EML and other forward-thinking claims organisations are broadening their focus beyond traditional scheme boundaries. By addressing the holistic needs...

An award-winning tech solution improves RTW by transforming the traditionally paper-based workers' compensation system into an efficient electronic process that connects all stakeholders in real...

An injury from lifting a heavy box lift in a warehouse illustrates the pivotal moments when different approaches can lead to vastly different outcomes

A literature and industry review is challenging the widespread belief that computer-based office work is inherently safe.

When difficult workplace conversations don't happen, recovery stalls. Here's how better dialogue could have changed one teacher's story.

To reduce psychological claims, organisations must move beyond surface-level interventions and address the upstream factors through better job design, enhanced leadership capability and systemic...

The final instalment of our summary of the podcast conversation between Dr Rangan Chatterjee and Professor Peter O'Sullivan highlights how clinicians' approaches, beliefs and communication can...

Did you know that by fostering happiness at work, RTW professionals and employers can support injured workers’ recovery?

A podcast conversation between Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Professor Peter O'Sullivan is a valuable resource for anyone dealing with back pain. In Part 2 of our 3-part summary of this conversation,...

Medication management plays a crucial role in workers' compensation, but it's not without its challenges. An independent medication review could help address these challenges.

A podcast conversation between Dr. Rangan Chatterjee and Professor Peter O'Sullivan is an important resource for anyone dealing with back pain. Part 1 of our 3-part summary of this conversation...

Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS) has enhanced its RTW outcomes and reduced its workers' comp premiums through innovative strategies, leadership engagement and a commitment to...

A study suggests some basic conditions are needed for achieving ‘easy’ collaboration between stakeholders supporting people RTW.

Return to Work SA’s approach to supporting injured workers through surgery and recovery is delivering pleasing results.

Beyond Blue’s New Access for Small Business Owners service (NASBO) is providing valuable mental health support for small business owners struggling with the challenges brought about by work and...

Return to Work SA’s approach to supporting injured workers through surgery and recovery is delivering pleasing results.

Are you aware of your biases? Or are they unconscious? And what does this mean for how you make decisions in workers’ compensation?

We should spend more time not trying to eliminate conflict at work but creating the ‘right kinds of conflict’.

An innovative digital mental health program offers a blueprint for employers keen to support their workers' mental health.

At the Research to Real World for Compensable Injury Symposium in June 2024, Professor Sterling spoke about the work she and her team are doing around clinician training in integrated...

Empathy is not just a buzzword in workers' compensation. It’s a powerful tool that can transform our interactions with and lead to better outcomes for injured workers.

An article in The Conversation covers a study published in The Lancet that found that a program combining walking and education can reduce the recurrence of low back pain.

We summarise a presentation by Paul Coburn at the Research to Real World for Compensable Injury Symposium in June 2024 on the emerging role of physiotherapists in certifying work capacity.

A report gives a snapshot of current early intervention practices, experiences and beliefs in workers’ compensation in Australia and what’s improving recovery and RTW outcomes for injured workers....

This is a summary of a presentation by Professor Rebbeck and Dr Carvalho-e-Silva at the Research to Real World for Compensable Injury Symposium in June 2024 about a tool to improve outcomes for...

Taking a wide-angle view of pain — one that looks beyond the physical to encompass the psychological and the social — can help people live fuller, more satisfying lives.

New guidelines provide more detailed guidance on how to assess, treat and manage the rehabilitation of emergency workers with PTSD.

After a highly successful pilot program to help people get back to work, Comcare is offering the Return to Work Brokerage service for eligible workers with a current Comcare claim.

By harnessing the science of tiny habits, injured or ill workers can make their RTW journey more manageable, sustainable and successful.

Professor Peter O’Sullivan discusses what he sees as the problems with our current models of healthcare and the key messages he likes to give people who are struggling with back pain.

Having a positive attitude can help recovery and RTW.

A Safe Work Australia report paints the most up-to-date picture of workers’ experiences of psychosocial hazards and their outcomes.

Rob Beaven, chiropractor, blogger and host of The back pain podcast, tells us how he explains common musculoskeletal conditions and processes to his patients.

A case study shows how ‘intermediaries’ — like work injury scheme stakeholders — can take the key messages from high-quality evidence and tailor them to improve outcomes in...

Messages that empower people to self-manage their injuries contribute to better RTW and recovery outcomes.

What would a workers’ compensation scheme designed by people with lived experience of such claims look like? An innovative research study aims to find out.

Injured workers will benefit from the message that their thoughts and emotions can affect how well they recover from injury or illness.

What would a workers’ compensation scheme designed by people with lived experience of such claims look like? An innovative research study aims to find out.

An important message for healthcare providers to give injured workers is that working is good for their recovery and their health.

Research shows workers have poorer health outcomes if they are away from work for a long time. A new guide has practical advice and an easy-to-use template to help you plan and implement a...

Anne’s story compares how positive and negative messages about the body have a huge impact on how they recover from back pain (or not).

An important message for healthcare providers to give injured workers is that inactivity is more risky than moving.

How do Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States compare when it comes to regulating and enforcing the management of psychosocial risks and hazards?

Tips for some proactive strategies organisations can use to address mental health concerns before they escalate and become a workers’ comp claim.

What are emotional demands in the workplace? And how do they affect workers' well-being? The answer is not black and white.

Five suggestions for how clinicians can shift the conversation from an ‘impairment’ to a ‘participatory-based’ approach to osteoarthritis.

How we talk about health profoundly impacts how we think and act when managing our well-being.

Clinicians and people with knee osteoarthritis can shift the conversation about osteoarthritis from an ‘impairment-based‘ conversation to a ‘participatory-based’ one.

Jaqueline Agius, the ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner speaks to RTWM about codes, compliance and the costs of not addressing psychosocial hazards.

Jaqueline Agius, the ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner, speaks to RTWM about the personal incident that informs her work and the messages we teach young people about violence if we don’t...

Jaqueline Agius, the ACT Work Health and Safety Commissioner speaks to RTWM about the work the regulator is doing to help businesses address psychosocial hazards.

RTWMatters speaks to WorkSafe ACT about their Psychosocial Maturity Indication Tool

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald about the emotional toll of involuntary retirement reminds us that being out of work for any reason — if we don't have control over the decision — is bad...

Four groups of psychosocial hazards leaders need to look for, and what they can do practically to support their teams.

Free psychosocial risk assessment tools can be a valuable starting point for organisations that are looking to address psychosocial risks in the workplace.

Complying with laws ensures a baseline level of safety. But people and teams do, and feel, better in workplaces that foster cultures of care alongside mitigating risk.

‘Psychological safety’ is not the only aspect of psychosocial risk management that's needed for holistic and sustainable workplace improvements.

A Harvard Business Review article gives leaders some practical tips to create positive work environments, behaviours and interactions.

In a talk recorded for the It Pays to Care Biopsychosocial Symposium, Associate Professor Ross Isles suggests some important guidelines for better results in managing workers' compensation claims....

An article written for orthopaedic surgeons about what they can do to help patients’ recovery holds some interesting insights for all health professionals who work with injured workers.

To create psychologically safe workplaces, leaders need to go beyond just assessing risk and focus on leveraging existing strengths to eliminate or reduce these risks.

Research shows there's often a gap between the psychosocial support leaders say they’re providing and the hazards team members report they are experiencing. Why is this so? And what can we do to...

The era of prioritising mental health and psychological safety in the workplace has arrived. There’s been a transformative shift in what employers are expected to do to manage psychosocial hazards...

Managing psychosocial hazards in the workplace is an important responsibility for employers, particularly human resources managers. What laws apply? And what things should employers consider?

What exactly does Safe Work Australia’s new model code of practice, Managing psychosocial hazards at work expect of employers?

What is ‘psychosocial safety’? And how does it fit in with legal developments in the area of workplace health and safety?

This is Part 1 of a 2-part article that summarises a presentation by Professor Angela Martin at the 2022 Workplace Mental Health Symposium. It looks at the ‘what’ about how organisations can...

This is Part 2 of a 2-part article that summarises a presentation by Professor Angela Martin at the 2022 Workplace Mental Health Symposium. Part 1 dealt with the ‘what’ about how organisations can...

In a recorded presentation for It Pays to Care Symposium on early psychosocial screening and matched care, Associate Professor Ross Iles highlights key challenges and considerations when it comes...

Self-management is not just about individual efforts. It's shaped by social factors and the interactions between patients and healthcare professionals

By combining psychology-based skills with traditional pain management approaches healthcare providers can offer their patients a more comprehensive approach to managing pain.

Dr Karen Rodham, Senior Lecturer in Health Psychology at the University of Chichester, cautions against the ‘blame, shame and inflame game’ of self-management.

Melanie Ianssen, Head of Rehabilitation at Australia Post, describes how that organisation adapted the WISE study to improve RTW outcomes for their injured workers.

Melanie Ianssen, Head of Rehabilitation at Australia Post, describes how that organisation adapted the WISE study to improve RTW outcomes for their injured workers. What were the results?

Some science-backed, practical things you can do to help people you work with ‘bounce forward’ from their experience of living with persistent pain.

One of the rewarding things about having a self-managed company can be empowering workers to reach their full potential and creating a workplace where everyone can thrive. A small business owner...

Practical evidence-based tips for dealing with pain-related anxiety, or helping someone else deal with it.

A guide about what drives our behaviour can help people living with long-term conditions and those who support them get started (and stay) on a journey of self-management. It can also help prevent...

There's a new guide for primary care practitioners who work with people with low back pain.

Self-management of long-term pain conditions doesn’t just mean doing things to manage the physical symptoms of the condition. It can also involve other ways to improve overall quality of life —...

A legal expert talks about rights and responsibilities at work if someone has musculoskeletal condition.

For some people with back pain or other musculoskeletal conditions, self-management may mean finding a different job. An occupational rehabilitation consultant sets out 6 steps to successfully...

Safework Australia's new guide helps supervisors in small and medium businesses tread the tricky path of managing RTW for ill or injured workers.

Safework Australia has a guide helps supervisors in small and medium businesses tread the tricky path of managing RTW for ill or injured workers.

Behaviour change techniques to overcome the challenges of trying to stick to a management plan.

A musculoskeletal physiotherapist talks about what pain is, ‘boom and bust behaviour’, activity pacing, making a flare-up plan and other useful self-management tips.

We’ve created a list of the best evidence-based websites and podcasts to help people with chronic pain — and the healthcare practitioners and RTW professional who help them — manage their...

We’ve been discussing the role of physiotherapy in self-management for decades – how much progress have we made?

Catherine Day, Director of Employer Supervision and Return to Work at SIRA, outlines SIRA's work to improve declining RTW rates in NSW

Thousands of workers with long Covid are, and will continue to be, exploring return to work. Dr Dominic Yong, a senior occupational physician with the Victorian Department of Health, provides tips...

When injured workers reflect on their workers' comp claims experience, it's how their claims manager made them feel, not what they told them, that they remember. QBE’s Customer Excellence Program...

Four experts discuss the idea of ‘good work’ and how collaboration can achieve better outcomes for injured workers.

Independent medical examinations are one of many factors in our compensation system that can enhance or impede workers’ recovery and RTW. There are things that case managers can do to swing the...

Independent medical examinations are a healthcare issue that contributes to poorer outcomes for injured workers. What does the research say about how healthcare providers can make a positive...

The Commonwealth Ombudsman’s investigation into Comcare’s management of IMEs addresses reports of unreasonable and unethical behaviour and offers up suggestions for improvement.

An innovative technology-supported model of rehabilitation takes remote therapy to another level. And achieves impressive results for injured workers.

What challenges do RTW Coordinators face? And what training and other needs do they have to do their jobs with confidence?

Telerehabilitation on pain and disability in patients with spine pain achieved more improvement than 'hands-on' treatment.

The new Low Back Pain Clinical Care Standard aims to make sure patients with this common condition get the best outcomes.

Senior management teams can be ‘psychosocial safety climate’ engineers.

In a study, one in 4 workers with long-duration workers compensation claims moved onto Centrelink payments after workers’ compensation benefits stopped — or 1 in 2 if their payments stopped...

A new approach to manage chronic musculoskeletal needs many scheme participants to commit to a ‘paradigm shift’.

Regulators can constructively influence our work injury scheme through encouragement, engagement and skilling up the industry.

Workers get the bad press, but other scheme participants behave in ways that are unethical. This article looks how regulators can constructively influence our work injury scheme through their...

Is the concept of ‘Above all, do no harm’ relevant to our workers compensation schemes?

Three union advocates give us their insights into the factors that can help improve RTW outcomes for workers, particularly those with psychological injuries.

Practical suggestions for how physiotherapists and other healthcare practitioners can provide ‘work focused healthcare’ to help the worker and the workplace.

10 common and unhelpful myths about low back pain, and 10 facts that bust them.

Patients are encouraged to ‘self-manage’ their chronic pain conditions. But there are external and personal factors that will either help or hinder their ability to do this. And healthcare...

RTW practices are a team sport. WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives show what can be done when injury scheme players work collaboratively to reduce the barriers to recovery...

In Part 1 we introduced IRRI — WorkCover Queensland’s Injury Risk Reduction Initiatives. In this follow up article we look specifically at some of the projects that target workplace mental health,...

What do we know about how workers access, understand and engage with information about workers compensation, return to work and health literacy? A recent report commissioned by Safe Work Australia...

A ‘recovering interventional spine physiatrist’ makes the case for spine clinicians paying more attention to what patients know and say about their low back pain.

The ‘Principles on the role of the GP in supporting worker participation’ provide guidance to GPs and other work injury scheme participants on how they can work together to support workers’...

Implementing evidence-based interventions to improve how we care for workers is not easy. Are there things we can do in our organisations to create the conditions that support ‘organisational...

In our ongoing quest to find ways to translate research into practice in our work injury schemes, we ask ‘What we can learn from complexity thinking?

General practitioners clearly play a critical role and we ask them to do a lot in a complex environment with multiple stakeholders. What is their experience of the work injury insurance system in...

A partnership between researchers and a workers compensation insurer (WorkCover Queensland) is an example of what can be done when evidence informs practice.

An important policy paper — It pays to care — calls for a conversation about, and action on, how we can work together to improve health and recovery outcomes and reduce the barriers to care for...

The 'It Pays to Care' report calls for change in our work injury schemes, but recognises that change is hard, even when we know what we need to do. One model that looks at ‘organisational...

Our standard pathway of care in injury management leads to low value care and over-investigation, over-diagnosis and over-treatment. Dr Mary Wyatt, Occupational Physician, presents some ideas to...

Tips to help develop a mindset that builds resilience and helps us deal with challenging situations.

There are 11 work-related factors that employers must identify and manage to prevent mental injury and promote safe and mentally healthy workplaces.

How can we better to identify and support workers who are risk of developing secondary psychological conditions, and prevent them from occurring in the first place?

How to help build self-efficacy — tips for supporting a worker who may have lost confidence after being away from work.

We all have 3 basic psychological needs that must be fulfilled if we are to do well and feel good at work. What are they?