Unlike Victoria and New South Wales, Queensland navigated through the global financial crisis with its return to work rate relatively unscathed. In the last year, however, the Sunshine State’s return to work rates have stayed still or fallen while the other eastern states have lifted.

The 2010-2011 Australia and New Zealand Return to Work Monitor recorded Queensland’s return to work rate at 86%, steady on last year and now level with the national average. The durable RTW rate has fallen to 76% over the same time, a two point drop on the previous year’s results.

It should be noted that WorkCover Queensland conducts its own measurements of return to work rates, based on the outcome of all time-loss claims. (The RTW Monitor measures the RTW rate of respondents at the time of interview, which occurs seven to nine months after the claim.) WorkCover’s figures, included in the organisation’s latest annual report, show a RTW rate of 93.6% for the past financial year, a 3% rise from the previous year.

Rehab, insurers continue to perform well

Queensland’s insurance and rehabilitation systems have continued their strong performance, according to the latest RTW Monitor.

WorkCover Queensland leads the country on all criteria measuring satisfaction with insurer performance, with particular plaudits for communication, helpfulness, provision of accurate information and responsiveness to enquiries. Satisfaction with nearly all criteria increased over the previous year’s results.

While the national rate of rehabilitation participation has declined in the past year to 48%, participation in Q-COMP’s in-house system has remained steady at 72%. Despite the high usage of rehabilitation, the average cost of the service per claimant stands at roughly $1100, $700 below the national average.

Increase in reported claim difficulty

Over the last two years, the RTW Monitor has recorded a drop in the number of people who reported it was simple to find information in lodging a claim, down to 82% in 2010-11. There was a corresponding drop in the number of people who said it was easy to lodge a claim, down from 81% to 74%.

At the end of the last decade, WorkCover Queensland recently streamlined its claims management process. This revision was intended to simplify claims management by allowing lodgement by phone and doctors to remotely submit medical certificates to support claims. There have been no further changes to claims lodgement processes in the past two years.

Last year, WorkCover merged its statutory and common law claims departments, with a view to fostering a more holistic approach to claims management.

Unlike other states, Queensland does not have a whole body impairment threshold determining access to common law. WorkCover has recognised that neglected statutory claims increased the likelihood of common law action, which results in escalating costs and a reduced chance of successful return to work. It is hoped that the merger will keep claims managers tied to the cases with which they are familiar and help to reduce the incidence of common law claims.

Past and present priorities

WorkCover believes that the reported decline in durable return to work over 2010-11 has been caused by employee retrenchment. As a response, WorkCover is currently engaged in a program to increase its consultation with employers, in order to educate employers about premium levels and the dangers of common law actions resulting from retrenchment.

Three years ago, WorkCover introduced its Ontrack program. Acknowledging that returning workers to pre-injury roles is ideal, Ontrack concedes that this is not always a possibility. This has led to an increased focus on alternative duties and hours for injured workers who cannot return to their pre-injury role. In an approach that mirrors the triage system of some interstate insurers, these sorts of claims are identified early and appropriate plans are put in place.

The results are borne out in the most recent Monitor surveys. Over the last three years, there has been an upward trend in the number of respondents who say they were given suitable and modified duties when they returned to work, along with a long-term decrease in the number who say they resumed work with their pre-injury hours. However, there has also been an increase in the number of respondents who said that inappropriate duties and/or hours were the reason they did not feel ready to return to work, up to 13% in 2010-11.

Reducing the number of common law claims, increased employer education about the WorkCover scheme and emphasising alternative duties and hours in complex cases will be the core of WorkCover Queensland’s return to work strategy in the year ahead.