More workers claiming for mental health injuries

Businesses are set to pay higher insurance premiums for WorkCover after a 28 per cent increase in psychological injury claims from workers.

• Editor’s view: Just be kind

The number of Queenslanders seeking workers’ compensation for mental injuries continues to balloon, with claims costing almost double that of physical injuries, sparking a premium increase by the state-run insurance scheme to protect its “viability”.

WorkCover Queensland’s annual report reveals that 2532 primary mental injury claims were accepted in the past year – a 28 per cent increase from the previous financial year.

About 2800 statutory claims had an accepted secondary mental injury.

Primary mental injuries can be caused by trauma or other events at work, while secondary mental injuries can happen as a result of a physical injury.

Compensation payments for mental health issues accounted for around 12 per cent of all payments ($156m for 2022–23).

The average annual claim cost of $20,680 for mental injuries is almost double the average cost of physical injuries at $10,900.

They also take four times longer to decide, keep workers out of the workforce for longer and are less likely to have a final return to work outcome.

The upward trend has been blamed as one of the reasons for the state’s workforce insurer to slog businesses with a premium rate increased in 2023-24.

The average net premium rate will move to $1.29 per $100 of wages after discounts, from $1.23 in 2022-23.

“It’s only our second premium rate increase in over a decade,” the report said.

“This premium rate rise was a careful decision, and one not taken lightly given cost-of-living pressures, but one that was necessary to protect the scheme’s viability into the future, due to rising claims costs and growing numbers of mental injury and complex injury claims.”

Claims for mental injuries are more likely to end up in court and WorkCover is warning that it expects even more claims in the coming year.

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said she was committed to making Queensland workplaces safer. Picture: Richard Walker

Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said although she recognised that mental health claims being were on the rise, they still represented a very small proportion of total claims.

“Last year’s independent review of WorkCover shows that primary mental injuries represent just 3.1 per cent of all accepted claims,” she said

“The review also found that Queensland has a strong WorkCover system, particularly compared to other jurisdictions, and that the scheme is more financially efficient than in the recent past.

Ms Grace said despite the meagre increase in premiums they were still the lowest in the country and she was determined to keep it that way.

Maurice Blackburn principal lawyer Alison Barrett said she had seen an increase in the number of clients seeking help with psychological injuries and believed that most claims fell into two categories.

“In my experience, many of those seeking help are frontline workers, hospital staff, police officers, paramedics, even bus drivers, because they’re all really exposed to occupational violence in the workplace.

“The prevalence of violence against frontline workers does seem to be increasing.

“Then I think the second category of people who are suffering these mental injuries are people who are bullied in the workplace, by either their co-workers or supervisors.”

Ms Barrett said she believed workers were now better educated about acceptable behaviour at work and if they were being mistreated, felt more comfortable speaking up about it.

Ms Grace said her government was committed to creating a safer mental health environment in workplaces.

“We’ve appointed high profile Olympic medallists Libby Trickett and Hayley Lewis as mental health ambassadors to raise awareness of mental health awareness in our workplaces,” she said.

Other initiatives include establishing the Workers’ Psychological Support Service, changing the definition of injury for psychiatric or psychological disorders to align them with the same test as a physical injury and making sure claimants have access to supports such as medical treatment and/or counselling for psychological injury claims up until a decision is made to minimise the severity, duration and recurrence of mental illness.