Psychological injury claims
Specialist management of psychological injury claims
Psychological injury workers compensation claims are the fastest growing and hardest claims to manage well. We handle psychological and psychosocial claims with genuine expertise, care and early intervention.
Managing psychological injury claims across every Australian state scheme.
Why these claims are different
Psychological claims are the hardest to manage well, and the easiest to get wrong
A psychological injury workers compensation claim is a claim for a mental health condition, such as work-related stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress, that arises out of employment. Psychological injury is now one of the fastest growing and most difficult categories of workers' compensation claim in Australia.
The scale is set out in Safe Work Australia's Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025 (published 16 October 2025). Mental health conditions reached 12.0 per cent of serious claims (17,600 claims) in 2023-24p, the highest proportion recorded. Over the ten years to 2023-24p, serious claims for mental health conditions grew by 10,900, or 161.1 per cent, the largest change of any nature of injury group. They also run longer and cost more: the median time lost from a mental health condition serious claim in 2022-23 was 35.7 working weeks, almost five times the median across all serious claims (7.4 weeks), and the median compensation paid was $67,400, more than four times the all-claims median of $16,300.
Recovery is less linear than a physical injury. The workplace itself is often bound up in the injury. And the steps taken in the first weeks shape everything that follows.
Understand psychosocial hazards
Our approach
Specialist handling, from day one
Psychological claims reward early, considered action and a steady hand. Here is what our specialist approach brings to them.
Genuine psychological expertise
Psychological and psychosocial claims are their own discipline. We manage them with the care, patience and specialist judgement they need, not as an afterthought on a physical file.
Early, considered intervention
The window that shapes a psychological claim is short. We move early, keep the worker connected, and set a realistic recovery direction before the claim hardens.
A measured, human approach
These claims involve real distress. We work respectfully with the worker, their treating team and the employer: steady, transparent and free of pressure.
What we manage
Primary, secondary and psychosocial claims
From standalone psychological injury to the overlay that develops on a long physical claim, we recognise it early and manage it properly.
Primary psychological injury
Claims for work-related stress, anxiety, depression and related conditions, managed with the sensitivity and specialist input they require.
Secondary psychological injury
A psychological overlay that develops on a physical claim. Left unaddressed it stalls recovery. We recognise it early and manage both together.
Psychosocial and workplace factors
Where workplace factors are driving a claim, we help identify what is contributing and coordinate a response alongside the return to work plan.
Treatment and provider coordination
We keep treating practitioners, the worker and the scheme aligned around a single plan, so care is coherent rather than fragmented.
The overlay everyone misses
When a physical claim quietly becomes a psychological one
Many long physical claims develop a psychological overlay: frustration, low mood or anxiety that builds over months of pain, uncertainty and time away from work. It rarely announces itself, and it is frequently the real reason a claim stops progressing.
A secondary psychological injury often takes hold when a worker feels unsupported, excluded from their own recovery, or uncertain about their future. Safe Work Australia and state regulators point to early, supportive contact and a biopsychosocial approach, meaning one that considers physical, psychological and social factors together, as the way to prevent it. Managing the physical and psychological aspects together is what finally gets these claims moving.
How we handle complex and stuck claims
The 2026 NSW reforms
What the 2026 NSW psychological injury reforms changed
If you manage claims in New South Wales, the rules for primary psychological injury changed on 1 July 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and the detail is still settling. Confirm specifics with SIRA NSW or your scheme agent on any live claim.
The changes came through the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2025 and the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Reform and Modernisation) Act 2026. In plain English, the main points are these.
A primary psychological injury notified on or after 1 July 2026 is compensable only where it was caused by a defined "relevant event", there is a real and direct connection between that event and the worker's employment, and employment is the main contributing factor. Relevant events defined in the legislation include being subjected to an act or threat of violence, indictable criminal conduct, witnessing a traumatic incident, vicarious trauma, bullying, sexual harassment, racial harassment and excessive work demands.
Weekly payments for most primary psychological injuries are now capped at 130 weeks unless the worker meets a whole person impairment threshold. Whole person impairment, or WPI, is a percentage measure of the permanent effect of an injury. Per SIRA and the NSW Personal Injury Commission, the threshold for extended benefits is at least 25 per cent for an injury notified from 1 July 2026, more than 26 per cent from 1 July 2027, and at least 28 per cent from 1 July 2029. Workers assessed between 21 and 25 per cent WPI may be entitled to an additional year of weekly benefits, paid at the lower of 60 per cent of pre-injury average weekly earnings or the maximum weekly compensation amount.
The reforms also tightened the "reasonable management action" defence, meaning a psychological injury caused by reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way is generally not compensable. The changes do not apply to exempt workers such as police officers, paramedics and firefighters.
These are NSW changes. Other schemes have their own rules. What has not changed anywhere is the value of early, careful management, which is what we do.
How we work
A steady, respectful way through a psychological claim
A clear sequence that keeps the worker connected, the treating team aligned and the claim moving toward a durable outcome.
Understand
We take time to understand the whole picture: the injury, the workplace context and the worker's circumstances, before forming a view.
Connect
We establish respectful contact with the worker and treating team, and set a shared, realistic direction for recovery early.
Coordinate
We keep treatment, the employer and the scheme working to one plan, addressing any workplace factors that are getting in the way.
Support to resolution
We hold the claim steady toward a durable outcome: a sustainable return to work, or a fair, well managed close out.
Related
Where to go next
Psychological injury sits alongside the workplace factors that drive it and the return to work planning that resolves it.
Psychosocial Hazards
Understand and manage the workplace factors behind psychological injury, before they become claims.
Learn moreComplex & Stuck Claims
When a psychological claim has stalled or blown out, our complex claims work brings a fresh plan and momentum.
Learn moreReturn to Work
Return to work coordination, suitable duties and plans that account for a psychological recovery, not just a physical one.
Learn moreFrequently asked questions
What is a psychological injury workers' compensation claim?
It is a workers' compensation claim for a psychological condition, such as work-related stress, anxiety or depression, that has arisen out of, or in the course of, employment. These claims are assessed and managed differently from physical injuries and generally benefit from specialist handling.
Why are psychological injury claims harder to manage?
Recovery is less predictable, the workplace relationship is often central to the injury, and the right early steps matter a great deal. Handled without specialist care, these claims can stall, escalate and become distressing for everyone involved.
Can a psychological injury develop on an existing physical claim?
Yes. A secondary psychological injury, such as low mood or anxiety developing during a long physical recovery, is common and often missed. We look for it early and manage the physical and psychological aspects together.
Have the rules for psychological claims changed in NSW?
Yes. From 1 July 2026, NSW changed how primary psychological injuries are assessed and compensated, including a "relevant event" requirement and higher impairment thresholds for extended weekly payments. The detail is still settling, so we confirm the current position with SIRA NSW on every NSW claim.
Do you work across the different state schemes?
Yes. We manage psychological injury claims nationally, across every Australian state and territory scheme, including icare NSW, WorkSafe and WorkCover jurisdictions.
Managing a psychological injury claim?
Tell us where the claim is. We'll tell you plainly whether we can help and what happens next, with no obligation. Or call 1300 477 662.