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Work-Related Psychological Injury in NSW and Australia: What the Public Data Shows

Last updated: June 2026

All figures in this page are drawn from publicly available government datasets. Sources are linked inline and listed at the end. Where data is not publicly accessible -- for example, SIRA's internal claims statistics -- this is noted explicitly rather than estimated. This page does not fabricate or extrapolate figures.

1. How common are work-related psychological injuries in Australia?

The most comprehensive national data on work-related injuries comes from the ABS Work-Related Injuries Survey (2021-22). This survey covers all types of workplace injuries and illnesses, including psychological and mental health conditions. Key findings:

• In 2021-22, 497,300 people in Australia experienced a work-related injury or illness -- 3.5% of the 14.1 million people who worked during the year.
• Stress and mental health conditions accounted for 6.8% of all work-related injuries in 2021-22, up from 5.6% in 2017-18.
• This represents approximately 33,800 people nationally who experienced a work-related stress or mental health condition in 2021-22 (6.8% of 497,300).
• This proportion has grown: in 2017-18 it was 5.6%, meaning psychological injuries have increased as a share of all work injuries over the past four years of comparable data.

Psychological injuries take the longest to recover from

Of all work-related injury types, psychological and stress-related conditions result in the longest time away from work. The ABS 2021-22 data shows:

Source: ABS Work-Related Injuries Survey 2021-22. Average days off refers to those who took time away from work. Published at abs.gov.au.

At 43.7 days, psychological injuries take 51% longer to recover from than fractures, and more than twice as long as sprains and strains. This places significant pressure on workers, their families, and the scheme overall -- and makes early access to psychological treatment particularly important.

2. Are psychological injuries as a share of claims growing?

The ABS data shows a consistent increase in the proportion of work-related injuries that involve psychological conditions:

Source: ABS Work-Related Injuries Survey 2021-22. ABS notes this is not the full count of psychological injury workers compensation claims -- it is a population survey of all people who reported a work-related injury or illness, including those who did not lodge a formal claim.

The increase from 5.6% to 6.8% represents a 21% relative increase in the share of work injuries that are psychological in nature. This is a national trend consistent with broader mental health data, and it runs counter to the overall injury rate, which has declined (from 4.2% of the workforce in 2017-18 to 3.5% in 2021-22), suggesting that psychological injuries are not simply tracking with overall workplace injuries.

3. What proportion of injured workers receive compensation?

The ABS 2021-22 survey found that overall, 31% of workers who experienced a work-related injury received workers' compensation, up from 27% in 2017-18. A further 57% received some form of financial assistance (including sick leave or income protection insurance).

The ABS does not provide compensation claim rates broken down by injury type (i.e., the data does not tell us what proportion of the ~33,800 psychological injury cases actually lodged a workers compensation claim). However, the overall 31% compensation rate suggests that the majority of injured workers -- including those with psychological conditions -- manage their injury outside the formal workers compensation system, whether through sick leave, private health insurance, or no formal treatment at all.

For those whose psychological injury does qualify as a workers compensation claim and is accepted, NSW workers compensation provides funded psychological treatment through the SIRA/icare framework -- described in the section below.

4. What counts as a psychological injury under NSW workers compensation?

Under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), a psychological injury is a diagnosable mental health condition that has been caused, aggravated, or accelerated by employment. There is no single list of conditions that qualify; rather, the question is whether the condition meets the causal test. Common conditions that form the basis of NSW psychological injury claims include:

• Adjustment disorder (most common)
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including from workplace trauma or incident exposure
• Depressive episodes arising from workplace events
• Anxiety disorders arising from bullying, harassment, or extreme workplace stress
• Secondary psychological injury (where a physical workplace injury leads to a psychological condition)

Important exclusion (s.11A): A psychological injury claim will not succeed if the injury is the result of reasonable management action conducted in a reasonable manner. This includes lawful performance management, workplace restructuring, and reasonable disciplinary action. This is a frequently litigated exclusion. Evidence of what constitutes "reasonable" management is central to these disputes.

There is no publicly available SIRA statistical breakdown of claims by condition type, accepted vs. disputed rate, or s.11A exclusion rate. SIRA publishes aggregated scheme data in its Annual Report and the biennial Comparative Performance Monitoring (CPM) report (produced jointly with Safe Work Australia), but these documents are not machine-readable and their granular psychological injury data is not reproduced here.

5. How psychological treatment is funded under NSW workers compensation

When a psychological injury claim is accepted by the insurer (icare or a licensed insurer), psychological treatment is funded directly -- the worker pays nothing for approved sessions. Treatment is authorised through an Allied Health Treatment Request (AHTR) submitted by the treating psychologist.

SIRA sets a gazetted fee schedule that determines what insurers pay psychologists. For telehealth psychology sessions (video consultations), the current gazetted rates from 1 February 2026 are:

Source: SIRA Allied Health Fee Schedule, effective 1 February 2026, following 4.57% annual indexation. SIRA's fee schedule is published at sira.nsw.gov.au (access may require navigation through the health professionals section). In-person items (PSY001 initial, PSY002 subsequent) are set at comparable rates. Workers pay no gap fee for approved sessions.

The SIRA rate of approximately $271.60 for an initial session is considerably higher than the Medicare rebate for an equivalent telehealth session ($145.25 for a clinical psychologist; $98.95 for a registered psychologist). This reflects the fact that workers compensation psychology is not subject to the Medicare rebate framework -- it is a separate funding pathway with its own fee schedule.

How does the SIRA fee compare to Medicare and private rates?

Medicare rebate figures effective 1 July 2025. MBS items 91167 (clinical psychologist telehealth) and 91170 (registered psychologist telehealth) verified via MBS Online. SIRA rate from SIRA fee schedule 1 February 2026 (via existing SIRA documentation). Sydney private fee range is indicative based on published practice fees; actual fees vary by practitioner.

6. Mental health in the Australian workforce: the broader picture

Understanding work-related psychological injuries requires context about how prevalent mental health conditions are across the working-age population. The ABS National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020-21 (published 2023) found:

• 17% of adults aged 16-85 (3.3 million people) experienced an anxiety disorder in the prior 12 months -- the most prevalent category of mental disorder.
• 8% (1.5 million people) experienced an affective (mood) disorder, including depression.
• 43% of Australians aged 16-85 are estimated to have experienced a mental disorder at some point in their lifetime.
• Of those with recent symptoms, only 21% had consulted a psychologist and 36% had consulted a GP for mental health reasons.

These figures span all settings -- work-related and non-work-related. The intersection of these population-level rates with work-related causation is what makes psychological injury claims possible but also contested: many people who experience mental health conditions at work do so due to a complex combination of factors, not all of which are clearly work-caused.

For comparison, Australia spent approximately $14.5 billion on mental health-related services in 2023-24 across all settings (public hospitals, community services, Medicare, pharmaceutical benefits). Of this, approximately $1.6 billion was paid in Medicare benefits for psychology and psychiatry sessions in 2024-25. (AIHW Mental Health Expenditure data)

7. The 2026 NSW workers compensation reforms: what changed for psychological injuries

From 1 July 2026, new rules introduced by the NSW Government limit income replacement payments to 130 weeks for workers with a primary psychological injury (a psychological injury that is not secondary to a physical injury). After 130 weeks, income support under the Workers Compensation Act 1987 ends unless the worker meets a whole-person impairment threshold.

This cap applies only to income replacement payments, not to treatment funding. Approved medical and psychological treatment continues to be funded by the insurer regardless of the income cap. Workers with an accepted psychological injury claim can continue to receive funded psychology sessions beyond 130 weeks if the treating psychologist demonstrates ongoing clinical need through the AHTR process.

The 2026 reforms do not alter the definition of what constitutes a psychological injury, the s.11A reasonable management action exclusion, or the SIRA treatment fee schedule.

8. What data is and is not publicly available about NSW psychological injury claims

Several categories of useful data about NSW psychological injury claims are not currently published in accessible form:

• NSW psychological injury claim volumes by year: SIRA and icare publish scheme-level data in annual reports and the biennial Safe Work Australia Comparative Performance Monitoring (CPM) reports, but granular psychological injury breakdowns -- such as accepted claims by condition type, disputed rates, or return-to-work rates by condition -- are not available in a publicly accessible format at the time of writing (June 2026).
• Average time to claim acceptance: Not publicly reported with specificity for psychological conditions.
• Section 11A dispute rates: Not published separately from overall dispute statistics.
• Condition-specific return-to-work rates: The AIHW and Safe Work Australia publish national return-to-work rates, but condition-specific data for psychological injuries in NSW is not readily accessible.

The most accessible source for historical NSW scheme data is the Safe Work Australia Comparative Performance Monitoring reports, published biennially, and the icare annual report. Both contain aggregate NSW workers compensation statistics, though detailed psychological injury breakdowns may require accessing specific data tables within those documents.

9. What this means for workers and practitioners in NSW

The data available supports several practical observations:

• Psychological injuries are growing as a share of work-related injury claims. The 2017-18 to 2021-22 increase from 5.6% to 6.8% represents a meaningful trend, not noise. This is happening while overall injury rates decline, suggesting a relative shift in what types of work injuries are being experienced.
• Psychological injuries are the most time-intensive to recover from. At 43.7 days average time off work, they significantly outpace all other injury categories. Early access to appropriate treatment -- including telehealth psychology -- has the potential to shorten return-to-work timelines.
• Funded access under workers comp is better than private funding for many workers. The SIRA gazetted rate of ~$227-$272 per session (worker pays nothing) is considerably more generous than the Medicare rebate ($98.95 to $145.25 for telehealth), where a gap of $60-$165 typically applies. For workers with an accepted claim, the workers compensation pathway provides substantially better financial access to psychology than Medicare alone.
• Telehealth psychology is explicitly funded under SIRA. PSY301 and PSY302 are gazetted telehealth items, meaning the insurer-funded pathway is available for video sessions -- a significant practical benefit for workers who cannot reach a practice in person due to the nature of their injury or location.

If you are a worker in NSW with an accepted or potential psychological injury claim and are looking for a SIRA-approved psychologist who provides telehealth sessions, our directory lists verified practitioners.

Related guides

• Psychological injury claims under NSW workers compensation: plain-English guide -- the claims process, s.11A exclusion, and treatment pathway explained.
• icare psychology NSW: what icare covers and how billing works -- how direct insurer payment works, AHTR approval, and telehealth funding.
• SIRA-approved psychologist telehealth NSW -- what SIRA approval means, how to verify a practitioner, and how telehealth sessions work under workers comp.
• Returning to work after a psychological injury -- what the return-to-work process looks like and the psychologist's role.

Sources

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Work-Related Injuries Survey 2021-22. Published 2022. ABS Cat 6324.0. abs.gov.au
2. Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing 2020-21. Published 2023. ABS Cat 4329.0. abs.gov.au
3. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Expenditure on mental health services 2023-24. Updated 2025. aihw.gov.au
4. Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). Medicare mental health services 2024-25. aihw.gov.au
5. Department of Health (Australia). Medicare Benefits Schedule -- MBS item 91167. Effective 1 July 2025. mbsonline.gov.au
6. Department of Health (Australia). Medicare Benefits Schedule -- MBS item 91170. Effective 1 July 2025. mbsonline.gov.au
7. SIRA NSW. Allied Health Fee Schedule. Effective 1 February 2026 (4.57% indexation). sira.nsw.gov.au
8. Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW). Sections 11A and 4 (definition of injury). legislation.nsw.gov.au
9. Safe Work Australia. Comparative Performance Monitoring Reports (biennial). safeworkaustralia.gov.au

About this page: This is a data reference resource produced by Workers Comp Psychologist Sydney, a directory of SIRA-approved telehealth psychologists for NSW workers compensation. It is not legal or clinical advice. If your situation is legally complex, consult a workers compensation solicitor. If you are in distress, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14, Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, or 13YARN on 13 92 76. This directory is not a crisis service.