- MAIB administers Tasmania's motor accidents scheme, offering scheduled benefits and possible common law damages following motor vehicle injuries.
- Many people can claim: drivers, passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists, with Tasmanian residents able to claim after interstate incidents involving Tasmanian registered vehicles.
- Start by seeking medical care, report the crash to police, lodge a Notice of Accident and Application for Benefits, and gather medical and employment evidence.
- Strict time limits apply: generally twelve months to lodge a claim, three months if the other driver cannot be identified, so act early.
At a Glance
A psychological injury caused by workplace bullying, harassment, excessive demands or a traumatic event may be covered by workers compensation, just as a physical injury would be. Eligibility depends on the medical evidence, how the injury is connected to your work, and the scheme that applies in your state or territory. You do not need your employer’s agreement to lodge a claim.
One of the hardest parts of a psychological workplace injury is that nobody can see it. There’s no cast, no scan, no obvious moment where something broke. So people carry it quietly, tell themselves they should be coping better, and wait for it to pass.
That’s not how the law sees it. Psychological injury is recognised as a compensable work injury across Australian workers compensation schemes, and your employer’s opinion about whether you’re injured doesn’t determine your entitlement, the medical evidence and the legislation that applies where you work do. If you’re weighing up whether to take it further, our workers compensation lawyers can explain how your state’s scheme applies to your situation.
A psychological injury is a diagnosed mental health condition caused or significantly contributed to by work — including bullying, harassment, sustained excessive demands or a traumatic workplace event. Where the injury meets the test that applies in your state or territory, it may be compensable under workers compensation in the same way as a physical injury.
Is a psychological injury covered by workers compensation?
Yes. Workers compensation schemes across Australia may cover diagnosed psychological or mental injuries connected to employment. The precise definition, causation test and exclusions depend on the applicable state or territory scheme.
Regulators treat this as settled ground. SafeWork NSW addresses psychological health as a workplace health and safety matter in its own right, and requires employers to manage psychosocial hazards — bullying, harassment, exposure to traumatic events, high job demands and poor support, alongside physical risks. WorkSafe Victoria uses the term “mental injury” and treats it as a workplace injury capable of supporting a claim. Model WHS laws have carried explicit psychosocial risk obligations for several years.
In other words, the framework already accepts what a lot of injured workers are still being told isn’t true: your mind can be injured at work, and that injury may be compensable.
What it isn’t is automatic. A workers compensation psychological injury claim needs a diagnosed condition, evidence connecting it to work, and a process to work through. Some states have also tightened their tests recently — Victoria, for example, now requires certain mental injuries to cause significant behavioural, cognitive or psychological dysfunction, to be diagnosed by a medical practitioner, and to be predominantly caused by employment, with some stress or burnout arising from usual or typical work events excluded. That’s a real hurdle. But it’s a different thing entirely from “this doesn’t count.”
What counts as a psychological injury at work — bullying, harassment, trauma and stress
Psychological injury workers compensation claims tend to arise from a few recognisable situations.
- Bullying and harassment. Repeated unreasonable behaviour directed at a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. It might be a manager who singles you out, persistent belittling in front of colleagues, exclusion, or sustained unreasonable criticism. Sexual harassment and discrimination-based conduct can also cause psychological injury.
- A traumatic event at work. Witnessing or being involved in a serious incident — a fatality, a violent assault, a bad accident, an armed robbery. Common in emergency services, healthcare, transport, retail and security work, but it can happen in any workplace.
- Sustained excessive work demands. Unmanageable workloads over long periods, chronic understaffing, unrealistic deadlines, extended shift patterns without adequate recovery. Not one hard fortnight — a pattern that continues and doesn’t let up.
- Vicarious or cumulative trauma. Repeated exposure to distressing material or the trauma of others. Social workers, paramedics, child protection staff, police, nurses and claims handlers are commonly affected.
- Other conduct causing harm. Assault at work, threats, or exposure to conduct that a reasonable person would find seriously distressing.
The diagnosis attached to these experiences varies — a major depressive disorder, an anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, an adjustment disorder. What matters for a claim isn’t the label you use in conversation. It’s the diagnosis, the evidence, and the connection to your work.
Common causes, supporting evidence and qualifications
| Possible cause | Evidence that may help | Important qualification |
|---|---|---|
| Bullying or harassment | Dated incident records, emails and messages, HR complaints, witness accounts, specialist reports | Insurers may argue the conduct was reasonable management action; how it was carried out matters |
| Traumatic workplace event | Incident reports, police or emergency records, colleague statements, early psychiatric assessment | A diagnosis is generally required; distress alone is usually not enough |
| Sustained excessive demands | Rosters, timesheets, workload records, emails raising concerns, GP records showing timing | Some schemes exclude stress arising from usual or typical work events |
| Vicarious or cumulative trauma | Role description, exposure history, supervision notes, treating specialist reports | Causation can be harder where exposure is gradual rather than a single event |
What the law requires for a psychological injury claim
The exact test depends on where you work. Each state and territory has its own scheme, legislation and thresholds, so what follows describes the general shape of a claim rather than the specific rules that apply to you.
Broadly, three things need to be established:
- A diagnosed psychological condition. Not simply feeling flat, stressed or unhappy at work, but a recognised condition diagnosed by a qualified practitioner — usually your GP initially, then often a psychiatrist or psychologist.
- A connection between that condition and your employment. This is generally the central issue in a psychological injury claim.
- Notification and a lodged claim. You report the injury to your employer and lodge a claim with the relevant insurer or scheme agent, supported by a medical certificate.
Causation thresholds differ meaningfully between states. Some jurisdictions require work to have been a significant, main or predominant contributing factor rather than simply a contributing one. This is one of the more consequential differences between schemes, and a common reason people are told they don’t have a claim when the position is more complicated than they’ve been led to believe.
Your psychological injury must be connected to your work
The connection between the injury and your employment is often the central issue in a psychological injury workers compensation claim.
Insurers assess whether your employment caused or materially contributed to your condition. A history of anxiety or depression doesn’t automatically disqualify you — work aggravating or accelerating a pre-existing condition can still be compensable in some schemes, though how that’s treated varies. What insurers examine is whether the work itself, rather than something unrelated, is the real driver of your current condition.
Evidence that tends to support the connection:
- Medical records showing timing. When symptoms started and how they line up with events at work.
- Your account of what happened. Specific incidents, dates, people involved, what was said or done.
- Contemporaneous documentation. Emails, rosters, text messages, incident reports, HR complaints, meeting notes, performance documents.
- Colleagues who saw the conduct or noticed the change in you.
- Your own record. A dated diary noting incidents and how you felt can be useful, and is generally more persuasive written at the time than reconstructed later.
- Work history. A period of good performance followed by deterioration after a change in management, workload or role can be telling.
One useful practical step, if you’re in the middle of this now, is to begin keeping a dated record and copies of anything relevant. Memory fades, access to work systems can disappear quickly, and detail matters.
When reasonable management action may affect a claim
Schemes generally distinguish between injury caused by workplace conditions and distress arising from reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way — performance management, a genuine restructure, a fair disciplinary process. That exclusion exists in various forms across the states, and it is the most common basis on which psychological claims are contested.
The words reasonable and in a reasonable way carry real weight. Action that is legitimate in principle may still fall outside the exclusion if it was carried out unfairly, without notice, or in a way that a reasonable person would regard as harsh. Employers sometimes describe conduct as reasonable management action when the manner of it was anything but. If you’ve been told your experience falls into that category and it doesn’t sit right with you, it’s worth having someone look at it properly.
Workers compensation payouts for psychological injury: what you may receive
Workers compensation payouts for psychological injury depend on your state or territory, the severity of your injury, your pre-injury earnings, your assessed work capacity and how the claim resolves. There is no standard figure, and any source quoting one should be treated carefully.
The categories below are the general ones available across Australian schemes. Amounts, rates and eligibility rules differ significantly between jurisdictions, so treat this as a map of what may be available rather than a calculation of what you would receive.
Medical and treatment costs covered by workers compensation
Where a claim is accepted, reasonably necessary treatment related to the injury is generally covered. For a psychological injury that typically includes:
- Psychiatric and psychological treatment
- GP consultations relating to the injury
- Prescribed medication
- Approved rehabilitation and return-to-work programs
- Travel costs associated with treatment in some circumstances
- Hospital admission where required
For many people this is the most immediately valuable part of the claim. Ongoing psychological treatment is expensive, and having it funded removes a real barrier to getting better.
Weekly payments while you cannot work
If your psychological injury means you can’t work, or can only manage reduced hours or restricted duties, weekly payments are designed to replace part of your lost income. How much and for how long depends on your state’s scheme, your pre-injury earnings and your assessed capacity. Most schemes step the rate down over time and apply their own eligibility periods and review points. You can read more about how workers compensation weekly payments work in our detailed guide.
Payments are usually tied to a current certificate of capacity from your treating doctor, so keeping medical appointments up to date matters — a lapsed certificate can interrupt payments unnecessarily.
Lump sum compensation and other entitlements
Depending on the scheme and the severity of the injury, other entitlements may include lump sum compensation for permanent impairment where the injury meets the relevant threshold, support with retraining or returning to suitable work, and — in limited circumstances and in some jurisdictions — separate damages claims where negligence is involved.
Permanent impairment thresholds for psychological injury are typically assessed differently, and often more restrictively, than for physical injury. Whether you meet one is a medical and legal question specific to your case, and not something that can be answered from general information alone.
Why psychological injury claims get disputed — and what to do about it
Psychological injury claims are commonly contested, and knowing why helps you avoid the avoidable problems.
- “It was reasonable management action.” The insurer accepts something happened but characterises it as legitimate performance management, restructure or discipline.
- Disagreement about causation. The insurer argues your condition stems from personal circumstances, a pre-existing history, or factors outside work — or that it doesn’t meet the causation threshold in your state.
- Thin or inconsistent medical evidence. A single brief certificate, gaps in treatment, or records that don’t clearly link the condition to work.
- Independent medical examinations. You may be asked to attend an examination by a doctor engaged by the insurer, whose report may not agree with your treating specialists. A differing report is not the end of your claim.
- Delay in reporting. Understandable — many people try to push through for months before accepting they need help — but it gives insurers room to argue the injury arose elsewhere.
If your claim is disputed or rejected, that decision is not final. Every scheme has a review and dispute process, and clear, consistent evidence may strengthen a request for review — detailed reports from treating specialists, a documented history, witness material, and a properly argued response to the insurer’s reasoning. If an examination has been arranged, it’s worth knowing what to expect at an independent medical examination before you attend.
A note on legal costs
In NSW, the Independent Review Office’s Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service may fund legal advice and assistance for eligible injured workers involved in a workers compensation dispute. Funding and legal-cost arrangements differ in other states and territories. Whatever your situation, LHD will explain any applicable costs clearly before anything proceeds — you shouldn’t have to guess at what something will cost you.
The difficulty in most psychological injury claims isn’t proving that someone is unwell — it’s establishing that the work caused it, to the standard the relevant scheme requires. Separating a diagnosed work-related injury from ordinary workplace stress is where these claims are usually decided, and it’s why a lawyer who specialises in these claims is important.
How to start a workers compensation claim for psychological injury
It’s less complicated than it looks from the outside, and you don’t need everything sorted before you begin.
- See your doctor. Tell them plainly what’s been happening at work and how it’s affecting you. Ask for a certificate of capacity. This is both the start of your treatment and the foundation of your claim.
- Report the injury to your employer. In writing where possible, so there’s a record of the date.
- Lodge the claim with the relevant insurer or scheme agent for your state and seek legal advice as soon as possible.
- Gather and keep your documentation. Emails, messages, incident reports, HR correspondence, your own dated notes.
- Keep your medical appointments and certificates current. Continuity of treatment supports your claim as well as your recovery.
- Get advice early — particularly if you’re unsure about the process, if your employer is discouraging you from lodging, or if your claim has already been disputed.
You don’t need your employer’s agreement to do any of this. Workers compensation legislation places notification and co-operation obligations on employers — in NSW, for example, an employer generally must notify their insurer within 48 hours of becoming aware of an injury — and general protections under the Fair Work Act may apply where a worker is treated adversely for exercising a workplace right. If someone at work has told you there’s no point lodging, that’s their view, not a legal position.
Talk to LHD Lawyers about your psychological injury claim
Psychological injuries can be difficult to explain and harder to prove on your own, particularly when the people around you are minimising what happened. You don’t have to work it out by yourself.
Not sure whether what happened at work may qualify? LHD can assess your circumstances with a<a href=”#” data-toggle=”modal” data-target=”#ppc_multi_step_form_modal”>Free Claim Check</a>.
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FAQs
Can I claim workers compensation for a psychological injury?
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What payouts are available for a psychological work injury?
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