Browsing: Workers' comp - research & reports | Page 3

An artificial-intelligence chatbot can help injured workers who are off work and need psychological support tackle the everyday challenges of their recovery, researchers have found.

• Employer fined $300k over poor maintenance and fatality; and
  
• Assault-related workers' comp claims increasing.

As part of a major project aimed at helping employers redesign work to prevent psychological injuries - supported by three leading Australian universities - researchers have identified the main causes of the high psychological injury rate in the health sector.

• Fatality rate falls as serious injury rate and costs increase; and
  
• Upstream duty holder fined over unsafe installation.

The Commonwealth Ombudsman's investigation into allegations that Comcare engaged in "doctor shopping", to block injured workers' claims, has "not identified significant compliance concerns", but called for the authority to improve record-keeping and transparency around its use of medical examinations.

In this major report, OHS Alert examines all the must-know WHS and workers' comp developments from the third quarter of 2022, including the introduction of laws and codes tackling psychosocial hazards, wholesale changes to workplace COVID-19 rules, and the launch of safety prosecutions linked to dozens of COVID deaths.

• "How to lift" training doesn't satisfy injury prevention duties; and
  
• Major workers' compensation comparison report released.

In a report providing important lessons for all employers and workers' compensation schemes, the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide has highlighted the link between complex claim systems and poor mental health outcomes, and the "ongoing and often devastating impact" of workplace abuse that arises from "hyper-masculine cultures" and other factors.

In this report, OHS Alert reviews all the key work health and safety and workers' compensation developments from the second quarter of 2022. Highlights include major changes to the model WHS Act and Regulations, High Court judgments, inquests into work-related deaths, an inquiry into harassment, and "claim farming" bans.

• Controversial injury amendments have failed in NSW: McKell;
  
• Workers' comp fraudster faces jail under Crimes Act; and
  
• Premiums increase for the first time in years in Qld.