Bullying and Harassment: The Leading Cause of Workplace Psychological Personal Injury Claims in Australia

Bullying and harassment are the leading causes of workplace psychological personal injury claims in Australia, according to our latest analysis of internal compensation claims data. Across 1,219 psychological injury cases reviewed from 2024 – 2025, bullying and harassment accounted for 34.95% of all claims, well ahead of physical assault and violence at 20.26%.

The study looks at national and state-level patterns in workplace psychological harm. Only claims flagged as workplace-related were included, and we carried out quality checks to ensure causes were categorised consistently and totals matched workplace claim records.

These findings matter because psychological harm at work can be difficult to report, difficult to prove, and deeply damaging for the people experiencing it. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1 in 5 Australians, or 22% of the population, experience a mental health condition and the workplace remains an important setting for prevention, accountability and support.

James Bodel at LHD Lawyers said, “The fact that 1,219 workplace psychological injury claims passed through our firm in a single year tells you the scale of what’s happening. When more than a third of those come are bullying and harassment, that’s not isolated behaviour, that’s a national pattern. We released this data because the firms representing injured workers often see what regulators and employers don’t. Bringing it into the open is the first step toward making Australian workplaces accountable for the harm they’re causing.”

Bullying and harassment emerged as the most common cause of workplace psychological harm, making up nearly 35% of all cases analysed. The remaining claims were spread across a wide range of causes, from physical assault and violence to toxic workplace culture.

Physical assault and violence claims ranked second nationally,  20.26% of all psychological personal injury claims. This was followed by general or non-specific work experiences, defined as work-related incidents that could not be categorised more specifically, at 12.14%.

Rounding out the top five causes were physical accident or injury at 11.81% and traumatic incident or witnessed event at 5.5%. 3.69%, were linked to sexual harassment, while workload and work-related stress accounted 3.28% of cases.

When we examined the data by state, bullying and harassment were the leading causes of psychological harm everywhere except Western Australia and South Australia. In both of those states, physical assault was the primary cause of claims.

Victoria recorded the highest share of bullying and harassment-related claims at 49.43%, which is 14.48% above the national average. Queensland followed at 40.91%, then New South Wales at 39.42%, and the Australian Capital Territory at 36.36%.

As history repeats itself, Australia was ranked as the worst country for bullying & harassment in the workplace back in 2023.

Read our guides on Workers Compesation in each state:

https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/guide-to-workcover-victoria/
https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/workers-compensation-nsw-guide/
https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/workers-compensation-act-guide/
https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/workers-compensation-tasmania-guide/
https://www.lhd.com.au/lhd-insights/guide-to-workcover-wa/

What These Workplace Injury Statistics Mean for Your Claim

Our analysis shows that workplace psychological harm is not limited to one type of incident or one part of the country, but bullying and harassment remain the clearest national pattern. For employers, that should be a warning sign. For workers, it should be a reminder that these experiences are serious and should not be dismissed as part of the job.