Psychological or psychiatric injuries
Need urgent help?
If you, or someone you know, is experiencing a mental health crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. If life is in immediate danger call 000.
Mental health support
- Workers’ Psychological Support Service is a free, confidential and independent support service where Queenslanders who are struggling mentally due to an injury at work can access support from a social worker and connect in with community services: 1800 370 732 (during business hours) or info@wpss.org.au
- 1300 MH CALL (1300 642 255) is a confidential mental health telephone service for Queenslanders that will link you to public mental health services
- Lifeline: 13 11 14
- Beyondblue: 1300 224 636
Financial hardship
Victim of Crime
If you’re a victim of a violent crime, there are support services including possible financial support available. Information about available support can be found through Victim Assist Queensland.
MATES in Construction
MATES in Construction is an initiative of Building Employees Redundancy Trust (BERT) and other key parts of the Queensland construction industry. It’s based on best practice principles and expert advice relating to suicide prevention.
MATES in Construction was set up to identify workers who show early warning signs of a suicidal attempt, connect them with support and contribute to a more resilient and healthier industry.
Visit MATES in Construction for more information.
Getting help or support for your mental health can be daunting, but seeking treatment is healthy and normal.
If you're not sure where to start in seeking treatment for your mental health, here are some options that may be available to you:
Accessing early treatment while we decide your claim:
For workers with a mental injury, one of the most important things you can do to support your recovery is to start getting the help and treatment you need right away.
While your claim is being assessed, you can usually access psychological treatment funded by WorkCover to support your recovery right now.
This treatment might include:
- GP appointments
- counselling or psychology sessions
- psychiatry appointments
- medication, such as antidepressants
We can also help with mediation services between a worker and their employer, to support your recovery and the return to work process.
What we don’t cover:
- in-patient hospital costs
- costs related to a hospital stay, such as nursing, or medications received in hospital
Getting the treatment you need early on puts you on the path to recovery sooner and may prevent your symptoms from becoming worse.
If you’re not sure how to access the treatment options available to you, we can discuss this with you after you lodge a claim. If you have any questions, you can always contact us on 1300 362 128.
Please note:
To access these early support services, you'll need to have lodged a WorkCover claim and have a medical certificate from your doctor confirming the diagnosis of a mental injury.
If you have had a previous WorkCover claim for a mental injury that was caused by the same or a similar circumstances, you should talk to us about whether we’ll pay for this treatment while your claim is assessed.
If we decide we are unable to accept your claim we’ll let you know, and if this happens, funding for your treatment will stop.
Access to these early psychological support services only applies to injuries that occurred on or after 30 October 2019.
For injuries that occurred prior to 30 October 2019, these support services will only be covered by WorkCover once your claim has been accepted.
For mental injuries that occurred prior to 30 October 2019, we still encourage you to seek treatment early, and the costs may be reimbursed if your claim is accepted.
What is a psychological or psychiatric injury?
A work-related psychological or psychiatric injury is a disorder or illness that affects your mood, feelings, thoughts or behaviour that has resulted from your job. These types of conditions can include depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and more, and can be caused by a single event or develop over time.
Examples of things that can contribute to these conditions may include:
- a single event such as an armed robbery
- workplace bullying and/or harassment
- unreasonable action taken by management
Is my injury eligible for compensation?
For your injury to be eligible for compensation, your employment needs to be a ‘significant contributing factor’. This means that your injury must be causally connected to your employment. This is in line with the requirements of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 and is one of the things considered when WorkCover decides your claim.
First responders and eligible employees diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
From 20 May 2021, first responders and eligible employees diagnosed with PTSD will no longer need to prove their PTSD was caused by work. Due to the nature of their work (being exposed to traumatic incidents) it will be presumed their PTSD is work-related unless there is evidence to the contrary.
This presumption of injury provides an alternative claims pathway for first responders and eligible employees who are struggling to cope with PTSD. It aims to provide easier and faster access to necessary support and compensation by reversing the onus of proof and deeming their injury to be work-related unless there is evidence presented by the employer to the contrary.
Reasonable management action
Not all psychological or psychiatric injuries arising from your job are eligible for compensation.
Sometimes your employer might need to make decisions about your employment with them. If your condition has occurred as a result of ‘reasonable management action’ by your employer in relation to your job, you may not be eligible to be compensated.
Some actions that might be considered ‘reasonable management’ are:
Action taken to:
- transfer a worker
- demote a worker
- discipline a worker
- redeploy a worker
- retrench or dismiss a worker.
A decision not to:
- award or provide a promotion to a worker
- transfer or reclassify a worker
- grant leave of absence or other benefit.