Safe Work Australia has published a Psychological Health and Safety in the Workplace report, highlighting the changing impact of work-related psychological injuries in Australia. The report revealed that during 2021–22, mental health conditions accounted for 9% of all serious workers compensation claims, marking a 36.9% increase since 2017–18. The median time lost was more than four times greater than that of all physical injuries and illnesses (2020–21). The median compensation paid for mental health conditions was more than three times greater than that of all physical injuries and illnesses. The report also found that workers with claims for mental health conditions experienced poorer return to work outcomes and were more likely to experience stigma from colleagues and their employers.

Marie Boland, Chief Executive Officer of Safe Work Australia, said the report aims to increase the understanding of the impact of psychosocial hazards at work by providing insights that can help governments, researchers, industry and worker representatives address current and future challenges in psychological health and safety.

“Proactively managing psychosocial hazards at work not only protects workers, it also benefits businesses by improving organisational performance and productivity. Under model work health and safety laws, psychosocial hazards and risks are treated the same as physical hazards and risks,” Boland said.

The data for the report was drawn from Safe Work Australia’s National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics, the National Return to Work Survey and the People at Work risk assessment survey. Boland said that the report illustrates the importance of Safe Work Australia’s work to support workplaces to understand and meet their work health and safety duties in relation to psychosocial hazards.

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