Workers Compensation in NSW: A Briefing Pack for Public Bodies

Page 1

What WorkCover Hub is

• WorkCover Hub is a free, independent helpline for injured workers. We help them see a WorkCover doctor early, start treatment and get back to work, working alongside doctors, allied health and workplace rehabilitation providers across NSW and Canberra. We answer questions, line up physio or psychology and follow up the paperwork with the insurer, for people hurt at work or on the road.
• Treatment is billed to the insurer on accepted claims. WorkCover Hub is independent: it is not part of SIRA, icare or any government body.

Page 1

Who this pack is for

• Policy and program staff in NSW government agencies
• Councils, including depots, outdoor crews and customer counters
• Primary Health Networks supporting general practices
• People-and-culture and WHS teams in public-sector workplaces

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Who the scheme covers

NSW runs Australia’s largest defined-benefit workers compensation scheme. These four figures describe its reach in FY 2023-24.

• 4.9 million

  Jobs insured under the SIRA-regulated NSW workers compensation scheme

  FY 2023-24. Largest defined-benefit workers compensation scheme in Australia.

  Source:SIRA NSW· FY 2023-24· CC BY 4.0

• 3.6 million

  Workers under the icare Nominal Insurer (private sector)

  Across approximately 326,000 employer policies.

  Source:icare NSW· Current

• 125,474

  NSW workers supported with income replacement and medical payments

  FY 2023-24. Covers all NSW scheme workers: the Nominal Insurer, self-insurers and specialised insurers.

  Source:SIRA NSW· FY 2023-24· CC BY 4.0

• 92,000+

  Workers with injuries supported by icare

  FY 2023-24. Workers under active case management through the Nominal Insurer during the year.

  Source:icare NSW· FY 2023-24

How to read these figures. Figures are FY 2023-24 unless marked. SIRA data is used for scheme-wide NSW coverage; icare data for claim costs paid and Nominal Insurer figures, because icare operates the Nominal Insurer.

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Cost and recovery

Claim costs paid across the scheme, and how psychological injury compares with physical injury on cost and return to work.

• $5.3 billion

  NSW workers compensation claim costs paid (icare)

  FY 2023-24. Up from $4.4 billion in FY 2022-23: +20.5% year on year, a $900 million increase.

  Source:icare NSW· FY 2023-24

• 12% / 38%

  Psychological injury: share of NSW claim volume / share of total NSW claim costs

  FY 2024-25, the most recent NSW Government figure.

  Source:NSW Government· Mar 2025· CC BY 4.0

• $288,542

  Average cost of a NSW psychological injury claim, FY 2024-25

  Up from $146,000 in FY 2019-20, a 97.6% increase in five years.

  Source:NSW Government· Mar 2025· CC BY 4.0

• 40%

  One-year return to work for psychological injury claims in NSW

  For context, 88% of physical injury claimants return within 13 weeks. A later May 2025 release cites 50% for psychological claims; we report the more conservative 40%.

  Source:NSW Government· Mar 2025· CC BY 4.0•NSW Government· May 2025· CC BY 4.0

Live return-to-work figures. SIRA publishes live 4, 13, 26, 52 and 104-week return-to-work rates on its Open Data dashboard, and those figures change monthly. For current numbers, use the SIRA dashboard directly.

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Working with us

Four ways to work with WorkCover Hub.

• Sessions: Staff sessions for public-sector workplacesShort sessions for agency teams, managers and people-and-culture staff: the first steps after a workplace injury, what a manager does when an injury is reported, including telling the insurer within 48 hours, and how a claim moves from notification to treatment.
• Primary Health Networks: Practice education for general practicesHow NSW workers compensation runs from the treating doctor’s side, including the SIRA Certificate of Capacity and how consultations are billed to the insurer on accepted claims. Run by our team, with a WorkCover doctor where the topic needs one.
• Materials: Printable workplace materialsPosters, wallet cards, a toolbox talk and a manager’s checklist for lunchrooms, depots and counters.
• Briefings: Briefings for policy and program staffA walk-through of how the NSW scheme works in practice, built on the figures in this pack. If you only have a question, call or write; no session is needed.