Medical And Rehabilitation Expenses
If you have a work-related injury or illness, you may be entitled to compensation of the associated medical and rehabilitation expenses. WorkSafe can pay the reasonable costs of what is known as medical and like services.
You can choose which healthcare provider you use, as long as they meet the requirements of the Accident Compensation Act 1985.
Access to services
Following a workplace injury or illness you may require prompt access to healthcare services to aid in quick recovery and return to work.
You can access these services without a referral or initial approval from your WorkSafe Agent. These services include:
- Ambulance
- Chiropractic
- Dental services
- Family counselling
- MRI scan (referred by a specialist)
- Occupational Physiotherapy
- Optometry
- Osteopathic
- Physiotherapy
- Podiatry
Referred services
WorkSafe may also fund other healthcare services which you can access with a medical referral or with prior approval from your WorkSafe Agent.
Medical practitioner referral
- Acupuncture
- Audiology
- Dietetics
- Exercise Physiology
- Household Help
- Grief and Loss Counselling
- Naturopathy
- Nursing
- Occupational Therapy
- Psychology
- Remedial Massage
- Social Work
- Speech Pathology
WorkSafe Agent approval
- Attendant Care
- Aids and Appliances
- Community Access
- Child Care
- Car Modifications
- Elective Surgery
- Equipment
- External Case Management
- Hearing Device
- Home exercise equipment
- Home Modifications
- Gym or swim programs
- Implantable Pain Therapy
- Network Occupational Therapy
- Network Psychology
- MRI scan requested by a General Practitioner
- Pain Management Program
- Network Pain Management Program
- Private Psychiatric Hospital
- Removalist costs
- Respite Care
Multiple treatments
WorkSafe will only fund one type of physical treatment (physiotherapy, occupational physiotherapy, osteopathic or chiropractic) at a time. This is because it is difficult to effectively measure the benefits and outcomes of the treatments when delivered at the same time.
If a healthcare provider is registered with WorkSafe for more than one type of service (for example, acupuncture and remedial massage), WorkSafe will only pay for one of the treatments on the same day.
Making decisions
When making decisions about the payment of your treatment, your WorkSafe Agent will consider all available information, including:
- Medical certificates
- Reports from treating health practitioners
- Your individual needs and circumstances at the time of the request
- The nature and benefit of the treatment
- Whether the service has been approved by WorkSafe and whether the service provider is appropriately registered
- Whether the cost of the service is reasonable
WorkSafe Agents are required to provide you with clear reasons for their decisions about the treatment services they approve.
Reimbursement for costs
WorkSafe prefers that your healthcare provider invoices your employer or your WorkSafe Agent directly. Talk to your WorkSafe Agent or employer to determine who your provider should invoice. WorkSafe will only pay for the approved cost of treatment.
If you choose to pay an account at the time of the service, then you should be reimbursed within 30 days of your WorkSafe Agent receiving your receipt. You must send your receipts to your employer or WorkSafe Agent within six months of the treatment.
Please note that payment of the reasonable costs of services does not necessarily mean payment of the full costs. In some cases there may be a gap between what the provider charges and what WorkSafe will pay.
Network providers
Network providers are healthcare providers who specialise in the treatment of injured workers and are contracted by WorkSafe. Talk to your WorkSafe Agent about finding a network provider. Network providers will not charge fees above WorkSafe’s approved costs.
