Background to this publication > RTW Matters publication

RTW Matters has extracted the data from the last seven RTW Monitor reports and analysed the information on a jurisdictional basis.

This report is one of a series of publications covering the various jurisdictions:

•Australia - New Zealand

•Comcare

•New South Wales

•Northern Territory

•Queensland

•Seacare

•South Australia

•Victoria

RTW Matters has also analysed and produced specific reports on:

•Insurer service performance

•Rehabilitation costs nationally

Our analysis has sought to highlight trends and comparison between the jurisdictions. The vertical scales of graphs have been adjusted to highlight changes and differences. The scales have are constant across each question, to allow for ease of comparison.

For example, in the section exploring whether the employee returned work on suitable duties the vertical scale extends from 55% to 90%. This represents the proportion who responded yes to the question "When you first returned to work after your injury, were you given suitable duties at work?". This scale highlights includes the highs and the lows of responses across the jurisdictions, and highlights the changes over time. The scale of 55% to 90% is constant across each report for this question.

If the number of people responding to a question is below 30 the information is considered insufficiently robust to include. It is important not to draw conclusions based on a small number of people responding as the information from a small number of people can be unreliable for a statistical perspective.

The following are selected terms defined in the Monitor that we have used these reports

Injured worker	A worker who made a workers’ compensation claim and had 10 days or more compensation paid (including any excess).
Return to work (RTW)	An injured worker who reported returning to work between the time of the claim and the time of the interview.
Durable RTW	An injured worker who returned to work and was still working at the time of the survey, seven to nine months after their claim. Durable RTW is measured by the injured worker reporting their work status, sources of income and compensation status.
Full RTW	An injured worker who returns to work to their former level of paid employment and is not receiving workers’ compensation payments.
Partial RTW	An injured worker who returns to work, or is working at the time of interview, while still receiving workers’ compensation payments for lost income.
No/Non-Durable RTW	An injured worker not working and not deriving income from employment. Non-durable RTW refers to workers who returned to work for a period of time but were not deriving income from employment at the time of the interview.
RTW plan	Return to work plan, or in some jurisdictions this is called a rehabilitation plan. This is a formal structured plan designed to enhance the achievement of a durable RTW within the limitation of the injured workers’ functional capacity.
Jurisdiction	Refers to the compensation authority that has legal jurisdiction over a population of injured workers. It generally refers to individual states and territories. In Australia, workers’ compensation is the responsibility of individual states and territories. Two entities, Comcare and Seacare have responsibility for Commonwealth agencies and seafarers respectively.
National rate (Australia)	The combined results for the financial year for all participating jurisdictions. In 2008/09 this included New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory, Comcare and Seacare. Western Australia has not participated in the RTW Monitor. Northern Territory participated in 1997/98, 1999/00 and 2003/04 to 2008/09. The Australian Capital Territory has not participated since 2003/04.
Compensation Provider	Is used to refer to the provider of workers’ compensation payment and insurer type services. In most jurisdictions this is the insurer or claims agent. In New Zealand it is the Accident Compensation Corporation. For self-insurers it is the employer.
Comcare	Comcare is the body responsible for managing workers’ compensation for all Commonwealth government agencies. Comcare is also responsible for managing workers’ compensation for the Australian Capital Territory government agencies.