Return To Work Fund

Following the successful launch of the $10 million Return to Work (RTW) Fund in July 2006, WorkSafe Victoria received overwhelming interest from unions, employer associations and other eligible organisations. As a result, applications closed on 31 October 2007.

The Fund has provided WorkSafe Victoria an opportunity to support innovative projects designed to improve outcomes for injured workers in Victoria in priority areas.

About the RTW Fund

Returning injured workers to appropriate work, in a timely and sustainable way is a primary objective of WorkSafe Victoria.

The RTW Fund was created to encourage and support collaboration between employer and worker groups and workplace parties to increase return to work (RTW) opportunities.

Purpose: The purpose of the RTW Fund is to support initiatives that focus on improving opportunities for injured Victorian workers to successfully return to work.

Objectives: The objectives of the RTW Fund are:

To raise awareness of the RTW process among all parties involved in RTW
To raise the understanding of what constitutes timely and effective RTW practice
To support the development of methods that improve the ability of both employers and workers to initiate and manage RTW
To support initiatives that will increase the opportunities for injured workers to successfully RTW
To generate collaborative RTW solutions involving employer and worker parties that can be expanded or more widely applied
To explore innovative approaches to RTW issues.

Priority areas for the RTW Fund

The Fund priorities focus on encouraging workplace based RTW opportunities, with particular emphasis on the early stages of RTW. These are:

The encouragement of effective employer and worker communication, education and RTW processes, especially during the pre-claim phase
The development of real RTW opportunities for injured workers who are unable to RTW with their pre-injury employer
- Limited capacity for work (either temporary or permanent) which is unable to be accommodated by the employer
- An inability to RTW due to the fact that the injury employer is no longer in operation, or
- The need to assist a worker, who is not yet ready to RTW, with a workplace based RTW program in a work environment that will assist them in returning to work more quickly.
Assistance to employers with little or no experience in managing the RTW of injured workers
The development and management of employer and worker networks to share learnings and address RTW issues and opportunities through shared resources, skills and experience.
The customisation of WorkSafe approved RTW Co-ordinator training package that includes delivery and follow up support and meet the specific needs of particular industries or regions
The improvement of RTW outcomes in areas that traditionally have difficulty with RTW, including (but without being limited to) regional Victoria and small and medium sized business.

Further information

For more information, please contact the RTW Fund Manager ontelephone (03) 8663 5052 or refer to our RTW Fund fact sheet:

RTW Fund Fact Sheet

Approved Initiatives

Funding has been granted for 21 initiatives. These cover the following areas:

Education and awareness
Conflict and stress
Changing culture
Training in the workplace or for the workplace
Best practice
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) workers

ORGANISATION: Victorian Trades Hall Council
PROJECT TITLE: "More durable RTW outcomes through awareness"
DURATION: 3 Years
STATUS: Due for completion May 2010

The aim is to deliver more durable RTW outcomes through raising awareness among workplace parties about their rights and obligations on RTW issues. The project will also focus on ways to help them achieve more effective and durable RTW outcomes.

Three central aims include:

raising awareness of the rights and obligations of both employers and injured workers to effectively manage the RTW process
improved capabilities among workers and employers to deal with RTW issues in a collaborative way, and
providing workplace parties with the tools to improve RTW through ground level support and training.

ORGANISATION: Bendigo Health
PROJECT TITLE: "Educating for Early RTW Targets"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Completed

The undergraduate component of this project was unfortunately unable to progress. Instead, Bendigo Health expanded another aspect of its project: education and training of practicing GPs in the Bendigo region.

Bendigo Health’s initiative reconfirmed that a GPs time is limited. As a result, access to training and development about workers compensation and return to work is a challenge. Bendigo Health identified that Practice Managers could have a valuable role to play in facilitating the return to work processes for the GP.

Bendigo Health also identified that international medical graduates are an important group to target for education on workers compensation and return to work, especially due to their high exposure to injured workers in rural settings.

As a result of this project, a significant number of Bendigo based health professionals and practicing GPs have received information or training about RTW processes and better practice.

ORGANISATION: ResWorks
PROJECT TITLE: "RTW Knowledge Base"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Completed

ResWorks successfully created a website titled www.rtwknowledge.org.au which presents summaries of 120 articles about workplace injury recovery and return to work. Each summary is presented from four perspectives: the injured worker, employer, WorkSafe Agent and treating practitioner.

A survey of the websites current and potential users indicated that treaters and employers had the highest awareness of the site and were the highest users. However, all stakeholder groups who had used it reported that it was informative and easy to navigate.

The website continues to be managed and maintained by ResWorks and is freely available online.

As a result of this initiative, all stakeholders in the return to work process have access to a source of valuable information that compliments and supports their existing knowledge of return to work good practice, issues, barriers and opportunities.

ORGANISATION: National Union of Workers
PROJECT TITLE: "A collaborative approach to improving durability of employer/employee RTW"
DURATION: 3 years
STATUS: Due for completion May 2010

The purpose of this initiative is to develop a model that facilitates workplace support to injured workers and their employers. It seeks to achieve this through the development and delivery of a tailored RTW training program, targeted at Health and Safety Representatives.NUW will also provide assistance to employers and workers to help integrate these representatives into their workplaces.

ORGANISATION: Ballarat & Gippsland Trades & Labour Council
PROJECT TITLE: "Return to Work Project"
DURATION: 3 years
STATUS: Due for completion September 2009

The aim of the Ballarat and Gippsland Trades and Labour Council is to raise awareness among all workplace parties in regional Victoria about their rights and obligations in relation to RTW issues. This initiative has been designed with three central aims:

To identify existing problems in the RTW process which are unique to regional Victoria
To identify factors that contribute to successful RTW programs in regional Victoria, and
To identify and develop workable solutions using the above information.

ORGANISATION: Australian Industry Group (AiG)
PROJECT TITLE: "Claim Ready"
DURATION: 18 months
STATUS: Due for completion December 2009

AiG is testing the hypothesis that WorkSafe?s Health and Safety Small Business program can be adapted to the claims and RTW environment in medium-sized employers to positively impact RTW outcomes. AiG anticipate that this initiative will help small and medium employers approach RTW in a more positive way by helping them to understand what they need to do if a claim occurs, and the benefits of having appropriate strategies in place before an injury occurs.
AiG will conduct a pilot program with its member which involves a minimum of 276 workplace visits in industries where RTW outcomes are traditionally poor and the nature of work creates a likelihood of injury occurring.

ORGANISATION: Victoria Police
PROJECT TITLE: "Stress Intervention Process - videoing of the case conference process"
DURATION: 6 months
STATUS: Completed

Victoria Police successfully developed a professional DVD about the case conference process and disseminated it to all injured workers in the Victoria Police Stress Intervention project. The aim was to improve worker participation rates in return to work case conferences.

Victoria Police has received positive feedback from workers and injury management consultants involved in the initiative.

Data collected and analysed to date suggests that the DVD is achieving its aim of demystifying the case conference process and as a result, improving worker participation rates in these conferences. Ongoing monitoring over a longer period of time is needed to confirm this and is being undertaken by WorkSafe.

The DVD has additional potential to serve as an education and training tool for Agents and employers.

ORGANISATION: Australian Services Union (Private Sector Branch)
PROJECT TITLE: "Improving communication, improving outcomes"
DURATION: 3 years
STATUS: Due for completion January 2010

The purpose is to:

explore stress claims in the community sector and the legal industry (part of the financial, property and business services industry) ;
develop a model for early intervention to reduce the incidence of claims; and
evaluate RTW programs in host organisations for the sustainable return to work of injured workers recovering from a stress injury.

ORGANISATION: Catholic Education Commission of Victoria
PROJECT TITLE:? "Padre Pio Project"
DURATION: 18 months
STATUS: Completed

This initiative seeks to develop and implement an early intervention strategy targeted at workplace stress. The project will focus on the education of key stakeholders in the awareness and management of stress related conditions, and will look at how early intervention can prevent stress from evolving into medical disease.

ORGANISATION: Austin Health
PROJECT TITLE: "Managing interpersonal conflict to improve return to work outcomes"
DURATION: 18 months
STATUS: Due for completion February 2010

Austin Health will develop a program of interventions to prevent and manage psychological injuries and improve RTW outcomes, specifically for cases resulting from interpersonal conflict. The initiative will be conducted in key Austin Health departments and has the following key components:

Manager training - a training program will be implemented to improve the skills of line managers in identifying and managing interpersonal conflict.
Organisational awareness program ? this program will aim to develop the abilities of workers to identify interpersonal conflict to seek and support.
Mediation process - the Austin hospital will refer workers through to a "mediation" service to help resolve cases of interpersonal conflict identified through the project, whether that is pre-claim or post claim.

By establishing workplace awareness, educating line managers to identify interpersonal conflict, and referring through to mediation services, this initiative will significantly reduce barriers of conflict to RTW and at the same time create a supportive RTW environment.

ORGANISATION: St Vincent's & Mercy Private Hospitals
PROJECT TITLE: "Changing the Culture - An integrated workplace health management approach to improve RTW outcomes"
DURATION: 2 years
STATUS: Completed

St Vincent?s & Mercy Private aim to test the hypothesis, that by creating a positive and supportive workplace culture in the hospital, it is possible to reduce injury claims and achieve more timely, effective and sustainable return to work outcomes. The range of workplace based initiatives will be trialled across two campuses.

ORGANISATION: Australian Nursing Federation (ANF)
PROJECT TITLE: "Nurses return to work in hospitals"
DURATION: 3 years
STATUS: Due for completion April 2010

The aim of the ANF initiative is to develop and implement a 3 phase program designed to assist the hospital sector to:

Improve rehabilitation and RTW outcomes
Reduce the human and financial costs of injury and illness
Reduce the loss of skilled nurses and the associated costs of nurse shortages, recruitment and training, and
Promote recruitment and retention

Regular progress reports on the project will be available on the Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) website at
www.anfvic.asn.au/issues/topics/5618.html

ORGANISATION: Recruitment and Consulting Services Association (RCSA)
PROJECT TITLE: "Alternative RTW research model project"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Completed

RCSA’s initiative provided insights into the barriers to return to work in the labour hire industry.

As part of its initiative, RCSA also proposed a return to work model titled WorkerBank, which could be used to support work ready injured workers to find employment with a new employer. The model is IT based and enables potential employers to access a database of worker profiles that detail the workers skills and experiences in a de-identified format.

Relevant stakeholders were consulted throughout the initiative, with a variety of responses and queries received. Scoping of the IT and implementation requirements was not undertaken and therefore considerable more work would be required by way of a feasibility study before it could be considered.

Despite this, the project has provided a valuable contribution to WorkSafe’s future considerations for improving the outcomes of injured workers seeking new employment. RSCA is investigating further opportunities to progress this model.

ORGANISATION: VECCI
PROJECT TITLE: "RTW Co-ordinator information package for small / medium employers"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Completed

VECCI successfully modified the two day RTW Coordinator training course into a four hour seminar targeting small and medium sized employers. Those attending were also invited to participate in a round table discussion following the seminar. VECCI created brochures and a supporting booklet. While achieving training attendance targets proved challenging, overall feedback was positive from those who did attend the seminars.

A return to work hotline was established but was largely unused despite extensive marketing. Target employers continued to use the main VECCI enquiry line for their return to work queries.

VECCI’s project recognised that cultural change is required by return to work coordinators in how they perceive their role, their skills, how they apply return to work in a small business environment and understanding of injury management and return to work. It was also identified that to undertake their role effectively, they also had to have appropriate authority and recognition within their organisation.

ORGANISATION: Barwon Health
PROJECT TITLE: "Development of an effective manager training program in the process of injury management to facilitate an early RTW"
DURATION: 2 years
STATUS: Due for completion March 2010

The aim of the Barwon Health project is to develop a tailored training package for managers and supervisors about facilitating early RTW. Barwon Health has identified that managers and supervisors are integral to the RTW process but their training needs are not necessarily being well met. The proposed face to face training program will be supported by the development and implementation of an online competency based assessment tool that will form part of an annual refresher program.

ORGANISATION: CFMEU General and Construction Division (CFMEU)
PROJECT TITLE: "Trialling a Suitable Jobs Register (for RTW) for the construction industry"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Due for completion February 2010

The aim of this project is to develop a resource to encourage and support increased participation in RTW planning and processes among key parties. This includes the injured worker, RTW coordinator, supervisor and treating health practitioner.

CFMEU will develop and pilot a Suitable Jobs Register for the construction industry in consultation with participating employers. This resource is intended to be a simple, easy-to-use guide encompassing approximately 30 general building and construction jobs. It will be general enough for use by different worksites and employers

ORGANISATION: Murray Goulburn Cooperative Co Limited
PROJECT TITLE: "Project ICE - Intervention, Communication & Education"
DURATION: 18 months
STATUS: Completed

Murray Goulburn successfully developed and implemented an early intervention and communication return to work model at its Cobram site. This involved consultation and collaboration with GPs (and managers/ workers) and resulted in professional quality support materials (hard copy and online).

The support materials consisted of three reference books, one each specific to GP’s, managers and injured workers. They included details of the return to work philosophy, policy and process and a detailed documentation of all jobs at the Cobram site. An innovative inclusion were four ‘re-entry’ roles available to any injured worker. These were sufficiently physically light to enable the majority of injured workers to return to these roles very soon post injury.

Murray Goulburn’s initiative identified the importance of clear and early communication and setting of expectations with injured workers, the GP and employer relationship, engagement of all levels of management in implementing an initiative of this type, and that cost savings can be made by employers who adopt better return to work practices.

Murray Goulburn has completed implementation of the model at its other sites and WorkSafe will continue to monitor the long term results of such an initiative.

ORGANISATION: Australian Services Union (Victorian Authorities & Services Branch) (ASU)
PROJECT TITLE: "Better RTW for Home and Community Care Workers"
DURATION: 21 months
STATUS: Due for completion May 2010

The ASU project aims to influence RTW outcomes for Home and Community Care (HACC) workers employed in the Victorian local government sector. HACC workers often work individually, unsupervised and in a variety of household settings. These aspects of their employment have historically limited RTW opportunities. ASU hypothesise that RTW outcome for these workers can be improved by promoting cooperation within individual local Councils and by increasing awareness of RTW among relevant stakeholders, including supervisors and workers.

ORGANISATION: Australian Workers Union (AWU)
PROJECT TITLE: "The workers perspective of the implementation of the CBDMA program within a company"
DURATION: 19 months
STATUS: Due for completion March 2010

This project aims to support the implementation of the Consensus Based Disability Management Audit (CBDMA) program in Victoria through a number of interventions that will prepare employees to participate in an audit. Key elements of the initiative include the development of an awareness program and information resources. Research will be undertaken to capture employee perceptions of the audit experience and the value of pre-audit awareness raising.

ORGANISATION: Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (Vehicle Division) (AMWU)
PROJECT TITLE: "Improving access to RTW for workers where English is a second language"
DURATION: 18 months
STATUS: Due for completion December 2009

The AMWU aims to improve the understanding of and access to RTW for workers whose second language is English. The proposed project has three key aims:

To test the hypothesis that existing support material is limiting access to RTW options for workers whose second language is English
To review local, national and international research identifying barriers to injury management and RTW for workers whose second language is English
To develop alternative visual material to assist with access to RTW for workers whose second language is English

A trial of alternative visual material follows a research and development phase that includes literature and material reviews, focus groups and workplace consultation activity.

ORGANISATION: Textile Clothing Footwear Union (TCFUA)
PROJECT TITLE: "Successful and Sustainable RTW for injured clothing and textile workers"
DURATION: 1 year
STATUS: Due for completion January 2010

This 12 month initiative aims to raise awareness of the workers compensation scheme, injury reporting and return to work. The focus population for this project is textile clothing and footwear factory workers and clothing outworkers with limited English language and literacy skills (particularly Vietnamese and Chinese workers). The project will operate in the Springvale and Footscray areas. Workers will be reached by the TCFUA through language classes and worksite visits.

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