The number of claims for psychological injuries at work is increasing at a rate that far outpaces the number of personal injury claims in New South Wales. This has led to a warning from the state security watchdog for companies to expect compliance checks and prosecution if practices do not improve.
According to the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, claims for personal injury have risen 11% in the four years to mid-2023, while claims for psychological damage have risen 30% in the same period.
SafeWork NSW has released its four-year plan to tackle mental harm, promising to crack down on big companies caught doing the wrong thing by failing to protect the wellbeing of their staff under the state’s employment laws.
Psychological injury risks include bullying, harassment, exposure to traumatic events, isolation at work and poor support.
Mental health issues are estimated to cost Australian businesses up to $39 billion a year in lost productivity and participation, according to the government. In 2021-2022, mental health issues were responsible 9.2% of serious workers’ compensation claims in Australia.
NSW Work Health and Safety Minister Sophie Cotsis said it is a “fundamental right” of every worker to go home in a physically and mentally healthy state, and that it costs businesses and the state when a workplace is unsafe .
“The number and severity of psychological injuries in the workplace continues to rise,” she said. “If workplaces remain unsafe, I fully support SafeWork’s actions to bring about improvements.”
According to data from the State Insurance Regulatory Authority, the average cost and time off for psychological injury claims was more than three times that of physical injury. According to the SafeWork strategy, 28% of employees suffered from a mental illness by 2022.
Janet*, a financial sector worker, has suffered psychological injuries while working in Sydney and feels burned out after two years in her role.
“You work really hard to get to the goal and then they just try to move the goalposts,” she said. “It’s like running a marathon, but the expectation is that you sprint the entire time. It is not reasonable and not sustainable.”
According to SafeWork, Janet’s experience is not unusual: Families are often affected by the psychological injuries of workers. The agency also reported that psychosocial hazards can lead to physical harm, including musculoskeletal disorders.
Janet experiences tension headaches, muscle pain, depression and anxiety.
“I ended up having to go on stress leave because it took such a big mental toll,” she said. “I had no energy for anything after work, no energy for my family.”
Janet said she felt like the ‘decision makers’ in her workplace did not have the resources or skills to create a safe working environment.
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The government has committed $5.6 million to workplace mental health training programs for small and medium-sized businesses over the next two years to support the strategy.
SafeWork NSW Acting Assistant Secretary Trent Curtin warned major companies they could expect compliance checks and a hit to their bottom line if they failed to improve their practices.
“SafeWork NSW … may prosecute workplaces that repeatedly fail to comply or where they have seriously breached WHS laws,” he said.
Digital infrastructure company Waveconn has provided its staff with workplace mental health training, provided by the government and presented by the Black Dog Institute and Transitioning Well.
Josh Maxwell, Waveconn’s health and safety manager, said the training has helped the company’s older workforce “move from the way things were done years ago”.
“It gave them some skills to understand their own capabilities,” he said.
*Name changed for privacy