If you have suffered an injury or illness in the course of your employment, you should ensure that you report it to your employer and record the details for your own records.
If the injury/illness requires you to take time off and/or seek medical treatment, you can lodge a workers' compensation claim. For information on this, see this info sheet.
After you have sought initial first aid treatment and any potential workplace hazards are made safe, these steps are what you should do when injured at work:
1. REPORT IT
Most employers will have a standard process for reporting an incident or injury, such as an incident report form or injury register. Complete this as soon as possible after you sustain the injury. Keep a copy of any forms you lodge with your employer, even if it just means taking a photo of it on your phone.
If you are unsure of the process for reporting an incident in your workplace, ask your Health and Safety Representative (HSR), Union Representative, First Aid Officer, or your line manager. If there is no process in place, make a verbal and/or email report to your line manager and keep a record for yourself noting the time and date of the incident, what happened, whether any witnesses were present, and any immediately apparent injuries which have resulted from the incident.
If your worksite has a Health and Safety Representative (HSR), they can inspect the worksite to assess if any actions need to be taken to ensure the worksite is safe for your workmates.
2. SEE YOUR DOCTOR
You should see your doctor as soon as possible after sustaining the injury to ensure there is a record of your injury and work capacity. Your employer may recommend you see a particular doctor. You can see the doctor they recommend, or you can see your own GP or a doctor of your choice – the decision is yours to make. If your employer is insistent that you attend a company doctor, you can still choose to see your own doctor as well.
Give your doctor a detailed history of how the injury occurred and ask that they make a note of this in your clinical records.
Ask the doctor to complete a Work Capacity Certificate (WCC). This is different to a normal medical certificate as it includes details about your injury and whether or not you are fit to be at work. WCC’s are important if you go on to lodge a workers compensation claim. If you do lodge a claim, you should continue to obtain work capacity certificates until such a time as you are certified fit to return to full duties, or “ceased to be incapacitated”.
3. Lodge a Workers’ Compensation Claim
If you have to take time off work due to your injury, and/or if you need to get medical treatment, you can lodge a Workers Compensation Claim.
More information: How to make a Workers Compensation Claim