Employers of first responders should brief recruits on the mental health risks inherent in their roles and the stressful nature of the organisation's "mission", to ensure they know what they're getting themselves into, an Australian-first report on post-traumatic stress disorder has recommended.
Queensland should amend its workers' compensation laws to protect workers engaged by gig-economy companies like Uber and Airtasker, and push for the changes to be adopted nationally, a major review of the State scheme has found.
In a timely study, given Australia's shift from traditional medical certificates to "fit notes" for sick or injured workers, researchers have warned that few GPs declare workers as "maybe fit" under the UK's eight-year-old system.
GP certificates and work capacity assessments could be overhauled under a plan to better align Australia's major income support systems, including workers' comp schemes, and improve service delivery.
The median direct cost of harassment and bullying-related mental stress workers' comp claims is nearly $25,000 higher than the all-claims cost, according to Safe Work Australia's fourth annual national statement on workplace bullying.
Injured workers whose conditions aren't considered "serious", but who are unable to work, will have uncapped access to weekly benefits and medical expenses under a narrative test, if recommendations from a South Australian parliamentary inquiry are adopted.
Contacting workers with psychological injuries in the days after they make a workers' comp claim can speed up their return to work, one of three new reports from Safe Work Australia shows.
The third quarter of 2017 was a busy period for work health and safety and workers' compensation professionals, with a raft of laws introduced or amended in all jurisdictions. In this report, OHS Alert outlines all the need-to-know changes, case law and controversies from the last three months.
The NSW Government has declared its support or support in principle of all 26 recommendations from a recent workers' comp inquiry, but appears unlikely to crack down on "aggressive" surveillance providers.
A Senate committee has called for the Fair Work Act to be amended to include the WHS concept of the PCBU, and for gig-economy companies like Uber and Airtasker to be held to account for workers' safety and access to injury compensation.
