This report examines the key drivers that contribute to an injured worker developing a secondary psychological injury in Australia. Concerns have been raised about the impact of secondary psychological injury on worker recovery and return to work, claims costs and compensation scheme sustainability. Based on the findings, several policy and practice recommendations are proposed.

This research shows that healthcare and social assistance workers are twice as likely to file a workplace compensation claim for psychological injuries, compared to a similar dataset of workers in all non-healthcare industries, including construction, retail and law-enforcement services.