Safe Work Australia data shows declining return-to-work rates and growing psychological injury claims

There has been a decline in the rate of injured workers returning to work, with notable differences between outcomes for workers with physical and psychological injuries, according to new Safe Work Australia data. 

It found that the national return-to-work rate fell to 88.9 per cent in 2025, down from 91.6 per cent in 2021.

Workers with physical injuries had a higher return rate (90.2 per cent) than those with psychological injuries (76.5 per cent), while most workers (64.7 per cent) returned to the same duties, but only 53.4 per cent resumed their previous hours – a drop from 58.1 per cent in 2021.

One in ten (9.6 per cent) had a psychological injury, while the proportion of workers with a psychological injury has more than doubled since 2021 (4.1 per cent). Workers aged 35 and over were more likely to have had a psychological injury (11.2 per cent) compared to those aged under 35 years old (4.3 per cent).

Return-to-work planning matters, according to the data, which found that injured workers with a return-to-work plan were significantly more likely to return to work (94 per cent) than those without a plan (81.7 per cent).

Furthermore, workers who were helped by their employer to manage their injury before lodging a claim had higher return to work rates (51 per cent) compared to those who weren’t helped (27.2 per cent).

“Developing a return to work plan in collaboration with an injured or ill worker is one of the best ways to support their recovery,” according to Safe Work Australia’s biennial National Return to Work (NRTW) survey.

“Research shows that return to work plans are linked with better self-reported return to work outcomes, and that workers have poorer health outcomes if they are away from work for a long time. A plan helps them return to good work, or to stay at work, while they recover.”

The survey, which took in 4143 injured workers and 754 employers across Australia, also found that over half of workers reported returning to the same hours as before their workplace injury (53.4 per cent), a significant decrease since 2021 (58.1 per cent). 

Under half of workers said they returned to fewer hours (43.7 per cent) (a significant increase since 2021 (38.9 per cent)) while just 1.9 per cent of injured workers said they returned to more hours.

“Providing workers with workplace accommodations such as modified duties and hours has been shown to result in positive return to work outcomes by reducing the amount of time an injured worker spends away from work,” the report said.

In 2025, a majority (64.7 per cent) of workers said they returned to the same duties as before their workplace injury, while less than one in five workers said they returned to slightly different duties (18.4 per cent) and completely different duties (15.2 per cent).

A majority of injured workers agreed that their employer treated them fairly during (61.1 per cent) and after (60.6 per cent) the claims process, and over half (55.2 per cent) agreed that their employer did what they could to support them.

Under half of injured workers agreed that their employer provided enough information (47.5 per cent), helped with their recovery (47.1 per cent), and made an effort to find suitable employment for them (42.7 per cent).