Treatment expenses

Treatment expenses

If you have a work-related injury or illness, you may be compensated for the cost of your treatment.

You can choose your healthcare provider, as long as they meet the requirements of Victorian workers compensation legislation.

You can access some services without a referral or initial approval from your WorkSafe agent (agent). You can check which services need approval in the sections further down the page.

Payment for treatment expenses

WorkSafe prefers that your healthcare provider invoices your agent. Ask your agent for details about invoicing.

If you pay at the time of the service, send your receipt to your agent. You will be paid within 30 days from the day your agent receives the receipt. You need to send receipts to your agent within 6 months of the treatment.

WorkSafe can pay for the reasonable cost of approved services. Reasonable cost of treatment doesn't necessarily mean full payment. There may be a gap between what the provider charges and what WorkSafe will cover. If they charge more, you'll have to pay the difference. You can ask your healthcare provider if there is a gap fee before you book an initial appointment.

Provisional payments

If you have a work-related mental injury, you may be able to access early treatment and support for up to 13 weeks. This support is called provisional payments. While you wait for the outcome of your claim, you can make an appointment with a GP. Speak to your GP about developing a treatment plan to help with your recovery. You can access provisional payments even if your claim is ultimately rejected.

Services you can access without a referral

You can access the following services for your compensable injury without a referral or initial approval from your agent.

Click on each service for more information.

• Ambulance
• Chiropractic
• Dental
• Family counselling (if it meets criteria in the policy)
• MRI scan
• Optometry (if your injury is eye related)
• Osteopathy
• Physiotherapy
• Podiatry

Services that need a referral

You can access the following services with a medical referral and approval from your agent .

Click on each service for more information.

• Acupuncture
• Attendant care
• Aids and appliances
• Audiology
• Community access
• Car modifications
• Childcare
• Community nursing
• Counselling
• Dietetics
• Elective surgery
• Equipment
• External case management
• Exercise physiology
• Gym or swim programs
• Hearing device
• Home modifications
• Household help
• Implantable pain therapy
• Mental health social work
• Naturopathy
• Network pain management program
• Neuropsychology
• Occupational therapy
• Outreach services
• Pain management program
• Private psychiatric hospital
• Prosthetist and orthotist services
• Psychology
• Remedial massage
• Removalist costs
• Respite care
• Social work
• Speech pathology

Note: Your medical practitioner as well as physiotherapists, osteopaths and chiropractors can make referrals for the following treatments/services.

• Aids and appliances
• Equipment
• Household help
• Gym/swim

If you need more than one treatment

WorkSafe will only pay for one type of physical treatment (physiotherapy, osteopathic or chiropractic) at a time. It's difficult to measure the benefits and outcomes of each treatment when delivered at the same time.

If a healthcare provider is registered with WorkSafe for more than one type of service (for example, exercise physiology and remedial massage), WorkSafe will only pay for one of the treatments on the same day.

Making decisions about your treatment

Your agent will consider all available information about paying for your treatment. This can include:

• 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 and necessary.

The agent must give you a clear explanation of their decision about the treatment or service.