Comcare National Conference

I’d like to begin by acknowledging the Ngunnawal people as the Traditional Custodians of the ACT. 

And pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. 

I’d also like to acknowledge the CEO of Comcare, Colin Radford. 

And can I particularly acknowledge the Comcare staff in the room.  

Your work supports people through some of the most challenging periods of their lives, and contributes to safer, healthier workplaces across Australia. 

Across the different areas of my portfolio, I often speak about my belief in the dignity of work, and the important social, psychological and economic benefits that meaningful employment can deliver. 

And my own experiences have shown me that safe and healthy workplaces are a critical foundation to realising those benefits. 

Before I was elected to Parliament, I worked as a health and safety trainer, where I was often brought face-to-face with the consequences of poor workplace health and safety practices. 

Supporting workers through these difficult situations showed me just how profoundly workplace incidents can affect people’s lives. 

Later, as a psychologist, I saw firsthand the impact psychological injuries, and losing connection with the workplace, can have on a person’s wellbeing and confidence. 

Those experiences showed me that workplace injuries don’t just stay at work. 

They can follow you home.

Their effects are often felt by workers’ families, friends and the wider community long after an incident occurs. 

And those experiences also taught me why effective work health and safety and workers’ compensation schemes are so critical. 

Because when people are able to participate in healthy workplaces, and safely return to work after an injury, the benefits extend far beyond the individual. 

Safe and healthy workplaces support stronger workforce participation, higher job satisfaction and greater productivity, helping to build a stronger economy.

Now of course, discussions about work health and safety can often focus on compliance, checklists and procedures.  

But everyone in this room will know that ultimately, work health and safety is about people. 

And that is why our Government is focused both on preventing injuries, so workers come home safe from work at the end of every day. 

But also ensuring workers receive support to recover and return to work when injuries do occur, so they can continue to have safe and productive working lives. 

Since the Albanese Labor Government was elected, we have taken strong preventative action to make Australian workplaces safer and healthier. 

Together with State and Territory governments, our Government introduced a world-first ban on engineered stone products. 

We introduced new penalties to deter unsafe work practices, including creating a new federal industrial manslaughter offence. 

And I am currently overseeing the work to introduce new workplace exposure limits for more than 600 contaminants under the Commonwealth’s WHS laws from 1 December. 

But of course, as you will all know, physical injuries are just one element of workplace hazards. 

Psychosocial risks are a rapidly growing issue, which our Government has made it a top priority to address. 

Labor has created a positive duty for employers to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. 

We have introduced new codes of practice to help employers in the Commonwealth jurisdiction manage risks to workers’ mental health, and protect their employees from workplace sexual harassment. 

And we legislated the Right to Disconnect. 

This helps reduce the risk of stress and burnout, by giving workers the legal certainty that they do not have to respond to unreasonable out-of-hours contact from their employers. 

Of course, we know there is always more to do. 

And I want the Commonwealth to be a leader when it comes to work health and safety. 

Which is why we are currently taking steps to adopt Safe Work Australia’s model laws for stronger reporting requirements for serious psychological workplace incidents in the Commonwealth jurisdiction. 

And I will have more to say about the timeframe for implementing these changes soon. 

Our Government is also working collaboratively across jurisdictions through Safe Work Australia to progress joint action on priority issues. 

Together with the States and Territories, we tasked Safe Work Australia with conducting a best practice review of their model WHS laws, with an eye to strengthening harmonisation. 

A workplan is now being settled for Safe Work Australia which will help guide Governments on how best to tackle emerging work health and safety challenges. 

And one of the great strengths of working through Safe Work Australia is its tripartite model. 

By bringing together governments, employers and workers, it helps ensure that model laws are informed by practical experience and a shared commitment to better outcomes. 

Because the work to ensure safe and healthy workplaces cannot fall to Government alone. 

It requires a collaborative approach, where government works together with employers, workers and their unions to prevent harm, support recovery and improve outcomes.  

I am really proud that Australia is a world leader in keeping our workers safe.  

But, unfortunately, injuries at work do still occur. 

And it is critical that there is a strong support regime in place to support injured workers through their recovery and rehabilitation, with the ultimate goal of safely and sustainably returning to work.  

For almost forty years, alongside its work health and safety regulatory role, Comcare has provided that support regime for workers in the Australian Government.  

As well as more recently overseeing the self-insurance licenses for the ACT Government and some private-sector organisations. 

And I would like to recognise that in many respects, the Comcare scheme does provide quality support for injured workers, at a very difficult time for them. 

Of course, like with any public administration scheme, there have been significant changes to Comcare’s operating environment since 1988. 

But the scheme’s underpinning legislation and design have not kept pace with these changes. 

Comcare now covers a much wide range of work environments and types of work, compared to when it was first established. 

The nature of work has also changed, meaning the scheme must respond to a broader range of work-related hazards, injuries and rehabilitation needs. 

The jobs of today involve far more non-routine cognitive tasks and emotional demands, increasing the risk of exposure to psychosocial hazards. 

These changes in the world of work have also led to changes in the mix of injury claims lodged with Comcare. 

Data shows that psychological disease claims have grown strongly in recent years, driven by an almost threefold increase in claims attributed to work pressure. 

By their very nature, psychological injuries are different to physical injuries. 

As Safe Work Australia has noted, where physical hazards are often immediate and visible, psychological hazards in the workplace can be harder to observe and mitigate, with multiple contributing factors that compound over time. 

And the treatments for psychological injuries can require longer recovery times, and greater levels of individualised support. 

This can make these kinds of claims more complex to manage. 

Current evidence shows that psychological injuries are associated with poorer outcomes than physical claims, including more time out of work and lower return-to-work rates. 

For APS agencies, return-to-work rates for psychological claims are just 54%, compared to 91% for physical injury claims. 

And if not managed right, psychological injuries can also be more costly. 

Based on current patterns, psychological claims are forecast to account for two-thirds of payments by 2029. 

As the mix of injury claims has changed over time, Comcare’s governance framework must also evolve to support the scheme’s key functions. 

But some governance settings still reflect arrangements that were first established in the late 1980s. 

And I believe this means the scheme’s design is not focused enough on early support and rehabilitation, with a focus on returning to work. 

I have also heard directly from injured workers who feel that the claims process can prioritise administrative processes over maintaining their connection with work and safely returning to work. 

Taken together, these challenges mean the Comcare system is under increasing pressure. 

And without action to address these challenges, those pressures are likely to continue. 

Many of these issues were reinforced by the findings of the independent review into the Comcare scheme, commissioned by our Government. 

And I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in that review, especially members of the Family and Injured Workers Advisory Committee and others who shared their own personal stories and experiences. 

The review made a significant contribution to our body of knowledge about the challenges facing Comcare, which our Government is drawing on to develop a pathway forward. 

In particular, the review confirmed the importance of early support for injured workers, removing barriers to return to work and a more streamlined claims management process. 

Of course, many of the challenges I have outlined are not unique to Comcare. 

Other workers’ compensation schemes, both here in Australia and around the world, are also grappling with the impact of the changing nature of work, like increasing rates of psychosocial injuries. 

Over the last 40 years, there have been significant developments in our understanding of how to better support injured workers recover and return to work.

For example, many other workers’ compensation schemes have already moved away from a process-driven approach, to a person-centred approach. 

And they have shifted their priority to supporting workers safely return to health and employment. 

However, Comcare’s legislative framework and scheme design has not evolved in response to these contemporary approaches. 

Modern practices, like early intervention and tailored support to return to work, have not been adopted in a consistent way across the scheme. 

And this piecemeal approach means we are too often seeing injured workers remaining out of work longer than necessary. 

That is why our Government is considering targeted reforms, to ensure the scheme can continue to effectively deliver on its core functions and is sustainable into the future. 

Now of course, as I said earlier, there are many good features of the Comcare scheme. 

But it is clear that there is room for improvement, particularly in relation to modernisation and supporting improved return-to-work outcomes. 

As a Government, we are currently looking at ways we can implement targeted reforms to address the challenges I have described. 

And today, I’d like to outline some guiding principles for those reforms, to support the scheme’s effective operation and future sustainability. 

Better early support

The first of these principles is creating a system of early supports for injured workers. 

I believe improving prompt support for injured workers should be at the heart of any worker’s compensation scheme. 

But the Comcare legislation and framework does not currently have the same emphasis on early support and intervention as other comparable schemes. 

I want to ensure that injured workers get appropriate support as early as possible, with a focus on recovery and maintaining a close connection with work. 

Because there is clear evidence that early support is critical to the recovery and return to work for injured workers. 

And timely support also reduces the potential additional harms that can be caused by lengthy claims processes. 

Strengthening return to work 

The second principle I am guided by is ensuring that the rehabilitation and recovery process for workers is ultimately focused on supporting them to safely return to work. 

Because the longer someone is out of the workplace because of injury, the less likely they are to return to work. 

Research indicates that if someone is off work because of injury for 20 days, the likelihood of that person returning to work is 70 per cent. 

But after 70 days away from the workplace, the likelihood that person returns to work drops dramatically, to just 35 per cent. 

Of course, employers also have a significant role to play in the return-to-work process, by supporting injured workers maintain their connection to employment and resume duties safely. 

Return to work outcomes can be improved by employer-supported interventions that take a tailored and proactive approach to enabling injured workers to re-enter the workforce – whether through modified duties or finding suitable alternative employment. 

Participation in these kinds of programs have been shown to lead to superior job retention rates, and faster full recovery. 

Compared to Comcare, other state-based schemes set clearer expectations for employers to support safe and sustainable return-to-work outcomes. 

I think there is an opportunity to strengthen these arrangements within Comcare. 

And I will be looking at all levers to ensure that employer engagement in return-to-work processes is recognised as a core component of achieving better outcomes for injured workers. 

Streamlining claims

The third principle I want to embed in our targeted reform process is modernising Comcare, particularly through its claims processes. 

Because it is vital that Comcare is set up to succeed as a modern organisation, that is equipped to meet the challenges of modern workplaces. 

But as I said earlier, I have heard from many people that the current design of the Comcare scheme makes the claims process challenging to navigate and overly focused on administrative processes, at the expense of providing timely support. 

As Minister, I want to see fast and efficient management of claims, so that both workers and employers can focus on recovery and a safe return to work – rather than wrestling with paperwork. 

And I am keen to explore ways we can make the claims process more user-friendly.  

Improving governance and oversight

As we consider ways to update the claims process within Comcare, we are also looking at ways to improve the scheme’s oversight and governance. 

Because I think there is a really important question about whether all the current governance settings are still fit for purpose. 

For example, I am interested in how we can improve Comcare’s ability to engage with key stakeholders at a strategic level. 

This would help identify emerging trends and challenges, as well as improve the scheme’s ability to respond to a changing environment. 

I also believe there are opportunities to modernise the Comcare framework in a way that will improve communication, coordination and cooperation between all parties. 

Like making the allocation of return-to-work responsibilities between employers and rehabilitation authorities much clearer. 

This will help promote a person-centred approach that benefits both workers and employers. 

Together, I believe these principles provide a strong foundation for targeted reform to enable Comcare to deliver timely, effective support for injured workers. 

And secure the financial sustainability of the scheme into the future. 

Coupled with our Government’s strong action on preventative measures, this has the potential to create a stronger, more sustainable framework to protect workers from harm and deliver better outcomes when injuries do occur.

Because ultimately, our Government is committed to ensuring Australians return home safely at the end of the day and continue to benefit from the dignity of work. 

Please enjoy the rest of the conference. 

Thank you.