RTW Matters has extracted the data from the last six Australian & New Zealand Return to Work Monitor reports and analysed the information on a jurisdictional basis. As one of a series of publications covering the various jurisdictions, this review analyses Queensland's results. Our analysis has sought to highlight trends and comparison between the jurisdictions.

The executive summary is below, to view the graphs and full information click on the icon below.

Return to work results

Return to work rates were falling in Queensland between 2005-06 and 2008-09. Unlike other east coast states, Queensland did not suffer a sharp rate of decline in 2008-09 as a result of the global financial crisis. Over the last 24 months return to work rates have improved, but are still below the highs recorded in 2005-06.

The RTW rate measures whether somebody has returned to work at any stage after their claim was lodged and before the Return to Work Monitor interview, seven to nine months after their claim has been lodged.

In 2010-11 the RTW rate was back at the 2006-07 level of 86%, steady from last year. The durable, or sustained RTW rate, has fallen to 76% after recording a sharp increase in 2009-10. Both of these are now approximately the same as the national average.

Over the last 12 months there has been improvement in the length of time people are back at work for a durable return to work. The average number of days an injured employee is back at work is 140, just below the national average.

Over the last six years there has not been a material change in the duties people return to when they first go back to work. This includes whether the duties provided were considered suitable and whether the duties were modified.

The number of Queenslanders who said they were ready to return to work when they did so has fallen from 75 to 70% over the last 12 months.

A little over half of those surveyed in 2010-11 returned to work with their pre-injury hours. The number of people who return to work with the same employer and carry out the same duties as prior to the injury has remained relatively steady.

In this year's Monitor analysis we have included information on sources of income at the time of the interview. This is a second measure of return to work, providing another snapshot to assess whether return to work has been partial or full, and whether return to work has been sustained (the question is about income at the time of the interview).

The main source of income coming from employment has dropped slightly over the last six years, and has remained fairly static at approximately 73% since 2007-08. The number of respondents reporting an income from having partially returned to work has dropped in the last 12 months.

Return to work influences

The proportion of injured workers who said a RTW plan has been developed has decreased in Queensland over the last year. The figure currently sits on 43%. Over the same period, a higher percentage of people with RTW plans reported that their plan was helpful.

Employees identified the main source of help for RTW as their rehabilitation provider. 75% of employees in Queensland reported that their rehab provider assisted with RTW, followed closely by the treating doctor at 72%.

In 2010-11, 30% of Queensland employees indicated that someone made their RTW harder. This figure has been trending upwards for the past five years.

Of those Queensland respondents who identified someone who made RTW harder, 15% of employees nominated their employer, 14% nominated their insurer, and 13% nominated their supervisor. These results are in line with the national average.

Over the last six years there has been a substantial drop in the percentage of Queensland employees interviewed who said the main reason they were not working was injury related. This has dropped from 80% in 2005- 06 to just over 60% in 2009-10. The number of people who said they had left employment remained relatively steady over this period, while the number of people who were dismissed or retrenched has increased.

Queensland employees rated their workplace culture at or above the national average on all criteria.

The number of Queensland employees who say it is easy to get the information they need to lodge a claim has dropped from 87% to 82% in the last 24 months. The number of people who say it is simple or very simple to have a claim processed has remained steady in the last six years and currently sits at 74%.

Rating of customer services

The number of respondents who said they had contact with the insurer has been trending downwards in recent years and currently sits on 39%, below the national average of 47%.

However, insurer service ratings have remained consistently above the national average in Queensland. The overall average service rating has remained steady at 3.8 for most of the last six years.

Rehabilitation services

Queenslanders have been historically more likely to utilise rehabilitation services than their national counterparts. 72% of injured workers in Queensland used rehabilitation services in 2010-11, compared to the national average of 48%. The cost of rehabilitation services in Queensland, just over $1100 per claim, remains significantly below the national average of approximately $1800 per claim. This is in line with requests for rehabilitation providers to provide specific services rather than overall management of return to work.

Previous claim experience

In 2009-10 39% of Queensland employees reported they had had a prior claim. 36% reported they had a previous lost time claim. Both of these are slightly above the national average.