Australia is unlikely to harmonise presumptive laws for first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder and other injuries, but the Federal Government has provided in-principle support for a coordinated national approach to the issue, and could make presumptive provisions under the Comcare scheme.
Biased beliefs of what types of trauma cause "legitimate" suffering is blocking public safety workers like first responders from seeking help for mental health problems, researchers have found.
The former public prosecutor awarded more than $430,000 in damages for PTSD and depression this week should have been monitored for psychological "red flags", and the failure to do so represented a missed opportunity for welfare checks and early intervention, court documents show.
Employers have a legal duty to identify and manage reasonably foreseeable workplace psychological hazards, and protect workers from unsafely high work demands and bullying, a SafeWork NSW director told a forum on mental health in the legal industry today.
Ramping up wellbeing and support services, like an onsite EAP, health checks and a "concierge service", helped a major law firm maintain workers' mental health during the gruelling work demands of the banking royal commission, according to the firm's national health, safety and wellbeing manager.
Employers have been urged to review their rostering practices and introduce strategies to improve team dynamics and efficiency, after an Australian study found junior doctors who work long hours are at high risk of suicidal ideation.
An appeals court has confirmed that a major employer negligently transferred an already traumatised worker back into a role where she was exposed to violent and confronting scenes.
Workplace bullying is often perpetrated by supervisors and managers, but workers bullied by their colleagues are more likely to develop depression, European researchers have found.
> Presumptive PTSD compensation introduced in second state; > National transport safety amendments made, and proposed; and > Four sets of electricity and rail safety regulations commence in Vic.
A superior court has ruled out a worker's difficult and demanding role and ongoing issues with a supervisor's management style as causes of her debilitating psychological injury, but upheld her appeal against an assault finding.
