Your snapshot of the 2025 National Return to Work Survey results

Safe Work Australia’s biennial National Return to Work (NRTW) Survey is a key contributor to the evidence base for workers’ compensation policy and practice.

The NRTW Survey measures the outcomes of ill and injured workers receiving workers’ compensation throughout Australia to better understand their experiences and factors that may influence their return to work.

For the first time, the 2025 NRTW survey included employers to understand their return to work process and experience.

Best practice

Understand workers’ compensation scheme trends and factors that influence return to work outcomes. This will help you to strengthen your approach to creating a safe and supportive workplace.

Why this is important

The survey results show that workers recover better and stay engaged in the return to work process when their individual needs are understood and they are supported by positive workplace culture and robust, person-centred rehabilitation and return to work systems (processes, policies and procedures).

Key insights from the recent survey:

• Australia’s national return to work rate has decreased from 91.6 per cent in 2021 to 88.9 per cent in 2025.
• In 2025, the return to work rate was higher for workers with physical injuries (90.2 per cent) compared to workers with psychological injuries (76.5 per cent).
• Workers with a psychological injury have lower return to work rates and need a larger range of supports.
• Having a RRTW plan improves the return to work rate for injured workers (94 per cent for workers, compared to 81.7 per cent for workers without a plan).
• Employers who contacted workers about their injury reported a higher return to work rate (74 per cent) than those who did not contact their worker (35.6 per cent).
• Employers who offer return to work education and training have higher return to work rates.
• General practitioners (GPs) play a central role in RRTW.

What can I do now?

• Take time to understand a worker’s individual needs, abilities and concerns so you can tailor support that genuinely helps them recover and stay connected to work.
• Reach out to a worker as soon as possible after an injury to maintain engagement, reduce uncertainty and put the right supports in place.
• Use sensitive, non-judgemental communication to ensure your worker feels valued, supported and understood.
• Be clear on your obligations around suitable duties and RRTW planning.
• Align your return to work policies and procedures with best practice, and regularly audit how these are being applied in real situations to ensure they are implemented as intended.
• Consider what training and resources are available to your team for return to work education.
• Follow up with your insurer if you haven’t received a RRTW plan for a worker and keep them informed if issues arise so they can provide support.
• Work collaboratively with all parties including a worker’s GP to coordinate support, share information and create a smoother, more successful return to work process.

Your toolkit

• Learn more about the NRTW Survey and its results.
• Read more about planning a return to work, RRTW plans and the laws relating to RRTW.
• Guiding the Way: responding to mental injury at work – practical steps for managing mental health at work.
• Find out more about how to establish and proactively maintain a robust and person-centred RRTW system.
• Re-read past Rehabilitation and return to work e-bulletin articles - Case study: Evidence-based practice in action – Putting the worker at the centre of their rehabilitation and return to work plan and Case study: thinking outside the box with psychological injuries and return to work.
• Find more resources within the Australian Rehabilitation Provider’s Association’s national campaign - Good to Go.