Australians for Mental Health has expressed major concerns over proposed changes to workers' compensation for psychological injury, as part of its submission into a NSW parliamentary inquiry.
Australians for Mental Health has warned any changes that make it harder for workers to get help under liability and entitlements for psychological injury will push thousands of injured employees straight into a public mental health system that is already at breaking point, overwhelming services and leaving many people without care.
Executive Director Chris Gambian said the proposed changes punch down on vulnerable people by making them fight legal battles before they can access counselling or paid leave; a process that could take months while symptoms worsen.
The proposed legislation would increase the injury threshold and create more barriers for people to get support, forcing them to either take other leave, keep working in conditions which exacerbate ill-mental health, or ultimately quit their jobs.
"If the NSW Government wants to ease pressure on the scheme, the answer is to stop people being harmed in the first place, not to push them into emergency departments and community clinics that are already under strain," Chris Gambian said.
The organisation's submission urges MPs to reject the legislation and instead pursue whole of system reform that would: • Design jobs to meet workers' wellbeing needs, including those with pre‑existing conditions • Hold employers accountable for maintaining psychologically safe workplaces • Resolve workplace relationship issues quickly and focus on rebuilding trust rather than litigating • Provide adequate interim supports so distressed workers can focus on recovery • Ensure long‑term care is available for those who need it • Have clinicians, not lawyers or politicians, make decisions about psychological injuries
"Making it harder for people to get help when they are suffering will only stigmatise mental ill health further. We agree a better approach to get people back to work is needed, but rushing through a bill which strips people of life-saving support is dangerous," Chris Gambian said.
