What should I do if I am ill or injured because of my work?

If you have been injured or fallen ill because of your work here are three simple steps you should take in order to claim WorkCover. 

Step 1: Report your injury/illness to your employer 

As with any work related incident, you should immediately report this to your employer. Make sure you keep a record of any reports you have made regarding the hazard such as OHS reports, incident reports, complaints to management or other correspondence notifying your employer of the risk. You must report your injury or illness to your employer within 30 days of becoming aware of your injury or illness, otherwise your claim may be rejected. Your employer should provide you with a Certificate of Capacity form and a workers’ injury claim form. 

Step 2: Go to your GP

The next step is to visit your doctor. Your employer should have provided you with a Certificate of Capacity. If they have not provided you with this, your doctor can or you can download the Certificate of Capacity form here. Your employer will assess you for your capacity for work and your diagnosis. It is important to visit your doctor as soon as possible because the true extent of your injury or illness will only be known through speaking to a medical professional. 

You have the right to see your own doctor and it is advisable to do so in possible WorkCover cases. This is important as your doctor will know you and your medical history. If your employer asks you to go to another doctor, such as a company doctor, for the purposes of receiving treatment, contact your union immediately for advice.  

Step 3: Submit your workers’ injury claim form

At the time of reporting, your employer should provide you with a worker's injury claim form. If they have not, you can also ask your doctor to provide you with one or you can download the workers’ injury claim form here. Physical forms are also available at post offices. You must complete this form, attach your completed Certificate of Capacity, and submit these documents to your employer. It is important to keep your own record of all documents associated with your claim for you to refer back to in the future. The claim form includes a "medical authority" which you must sign. We recommend that you contact your Union or in the alternative contact  Injured Worker Support before lodging the claim form if you have any questions or concerns. 

Once you have completed these steps, your employer's insurer will contact you. 

You must lodge your WorkCover claim within 3 months of your workplace injury or illness. If you have missed this timeframe, don’t worry. You can ask for advice from Injured Worker Support and someone will be in touch. 

If you do not need to take time off work but are claiming medical expenses (e.g. doctor's visits), receipts need to be kept and a claim form must still be submitted. Putting in a WorkCover claim after this could be more complicated.

We recommend finding out from your employer the name of the insurance company that covers the workplace.

If the employer will not accept the claim form, or cannot be located, you should contact your Union immediately for further advice.

Medical Certificates:

Only medical certificates in the prescribed Workers Compensation form will be accepted.

The first certificate must be obtained from a doctor, and cannot be for longer than 14 days. Certificates for longer than 14 days will not be accepted.

Once the Workers Compensation claim has been submitted, you must keep providing certificates from your treating doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor, or osteopath regularly - at intervals of no more than 28 days.

See Also:

• What should I expect once my WorkCover claim is lodged? 
• Injured Worker Support 
• What happens when your claim is accepted?

Last Modified: 01/07/2021

The information on this website produced and distributed by the IWSN is of a general nature. We do our best to ensure the information is accurate and up to date, but cannot take any responsibility for any loss arising out of its use. You should not rely on it applying in your own circumstances and should always take further advice from those with appropriate qualifications.