For people old enough to remember Australia’s recession in the early nineties, the economic downturn in 2008 might seem like a minor blip in comparison. Nonetheless, the global financial crisis made itself felt. Across the country, building approvals went down, unemployment spiked, consumer confidence decreased and for a time it seemed like the nation’s economy was teetering dangerously close to the brink.

In terms of return to work outcomes, Victoria was the state hardest hit by the GFC in the 2008-09 financial year. Over this period, Victoria saw a steep drop on all measures of return to work rates, as work became scarcer, companies trimmed back on payroll, and employers became less likely to provide modified duties.

The latest Australia and New Zealand Return to Work Monitor shows that Victoria has bounced back from the worst of the GFC, recording improvements in RTW rates for the second year running.

The Return to Work Monitor’s RTW rate measures the number of injured workers who had returned to work at any stage between their injury and seven to nine months after their claim had been lodged. In 2010-11, this had risen to 86%, up from a GFC low of 80%. The Return to Work Monitor’s durable RTW rate measures whether injured workers who were still working when they were surveyed, seven to nine months after their claim was lodged. In 2010-11, this was at 76% in Victoria, up from the GFC figure of 69% and back to 2006-07 levels.

WorkSafe Victoria runs its own study of return to work results, which they kindly provided to RTW Matters. The study surveys just over 3600 people who had more than 10 days compensation paid for a claim. WorkSafe measures the RTW sustainability rate, the percentage of people back at work at 18 months post claim. The result in 2011 is  77.2%, 3.1% higher than the result for 2009-2010. Recent WorkSafe surveys reflect the decline and turnaround in the RTW rate recorded by the Return  to Work Monitor.

Return to the status quo

Other results collected by the Return to Work Monitor further suggest that Victoria’s improvement in return to work rates is a reflection of the state’s economic recovery.

The survey has shown a corresponding increase in the number of Victorian respondents who said that employment was their main source of income, to 74%. This is another metric used to establish return to work rates. While not quite back to pre-GFC levels, the survey showed that less people were drawing their main income from workers’ compensation payments, reflecting an increase in RTW.

The last 12 months show a rise in the number of respondents who said the main reason they were not working was injury related, at 75%. This is a sharp improvement from 2009-10's result of 66%. The number of people who said retrenchment was their reason for not working has declined as a result, to 10% in 2010-2011.

A very positive result is the improvement in supervisor performance, with the percentage of employees saying their supervisor made return to work harder dropping from 16% to 11% over the last two years.

WorkSafe and RTW

In July 2007, WorkSafe Victoria initiated a reform program to improve statewide RTW rates, which included the revamp of occupational rehabilitation services. Parts of this program included putting occupational rehab out to competitive tender with KPIs for customer service, return to work and quality service provision.

However, Return to Work Monitor respondents who used rehabilitation services were noticeably less likely to say their rehabilitation provider helped them return to work than in previous surveys. From a 2007-08 high of 81%, in the last financial year only 69% of Victorians rated their rehab provider as being helpful in the return to work process, dipping below the national average for the first time. The results suggest that these reforms, irrespective of their impact on return to work, are not delivering customer satisfaction.

Dorothy Frost, director of WorkSafe’s Return to Work Division, told RTW Matters that she is pleased with the state’s improvements over the last financial year.

In addition to the occupational rehab makeover discussed above, Frost emphasised the other developments to come out of the 2007 return to work reform plan. WorkSafe has since:

• Established a dedicated Return to Work division;
• Enhanced the role of the RTW Inspectorate;
• Included RTW performance as one of WorkSafe’s corporate KPIs; and
• Developed targeted projects to provide dedicated RTW support to small employers.

Frost says that WorkSafe’s current focus is building skills among those parties directly involved in RTW. To that end, WorkSafe has:

• Conducted an awareness campaign highlighting the benefits of returning to work;
• Entered into new contracts with insurance agents, which require dedicated and experienced RTW resources; and
• Incentive programs for agents and rehabilitation providers based on sustainable RTW outcomes.

At present, it is too early to say whether the improvement in Victorian RTW rates has been a result of WorkSafe’s structural adjustments or the improving health of the state’s economy or a combination of the two. If future surveys show a continuing improvement in the state’s RTW over and above the pre-GFC status quo, it would suggest that WorkSafe’s five year strategy is bearing fruit. 

At this stage, the results in Victoria are heading in a positive direction.