In Queensland, a return to work plan (formally a rehabilitation and return to work plan) is a written plan that the workers’ compensation insurer must ensure is in place once a worker’s compensation application is allowed. It sets out rehabilitation objectives and the steps to reach them. The employer helps, mainly by offering suitable duties.
Workers’ compensation claims in Queensland are decided by the insurer, which is WorkCover Queensland or, for a self-insured employer, the self-insurer, under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). That is separate from the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld). WorkCover is the insurer, not the work health and safety regulator (that is Workplace Health and Safety Queensland). This guide covers the general steps for employers and when to talk to the insurer. It is not medical advice, and claim decisions are always the insurer’s.
Return to work plan, program and policy: what is the difference?
- Plan: the written plan for one injured worker. Section 221 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) requires the insurer to ensure there is a plan outlining the worker’s rehabilitation objectives and the steps to achieve them.
- Program: rehabilitation under section 40 of the Act includes necessary and reasonable suitable duties programs, and section 220 refers to an accredited rehabilitation and return to work program of the insurer, which the insurer can refer a worker to.
- Policy: your written workplace rehabilitation policy and procedures (section 44 of the Act). An employer that must appoint a coordinator (see below) must have them and review them at least every 3 years (section 227).
The policy covers everyone, the plan is for one worker, and suitable duties are how the plan works in practice.
Who prepares the return to work plan?
The insurer is responsible for making sure the plan exists. Under section 221 it must be in place within 10 business days after the worker’s application for compensation is allowed, reviewed and changed as information arrives and progress is assessed, and prepared in consultation with the worker, the employer and the registered persons treating the worker, so far as reasonably practicable.
So the insurer or its rehabilitation provider usually leads and the employer contributes. If you have a coordinator, they do much of the day-to-day work: under section 148 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld) their functions include early contact with the injured worker, coordinating the return to work, consulting the worker and employer on the suitable duties part of the plan, and making sure it fits the worker’s current medical certificate or report. The treating doctor sets the medical restrictions, not the employer.
What a return to work plan contains
The Act requires the plan to outline the rehabilitation objectives and the steps to achieve them. The layout is the insurer’s or provider’s, but plans commonly record:
| Part of the plan | What it usually covers |
|---|---|
| Goals | Return to usual duties or, if that is not feasible, other suitable duties (section 40(3) sets the order). |
| Medical restrictions | What the treating doctor says the worker can and cannot do now. |
| Suitable duties | The tasks offered, where, and who supervises. |
| Hours | Agreed hours, which often build up as the worker recovers if the medical information supports it. |
| Review dates | When the plan is checked and updated. |
What are suitable duties?
Section 42 of the Act says suitable duties are work duties for which the worker is suited, having regard to matters including the nature of the incapacity and pre-injury employment, relevant medical information, the worker’s plan, your workplace rehabilitation policy, the worker’s age, education, skills and experience, and whether it is reasonable to expect the worker to attend another location.
They might be the normal job with changes, part of it, or different work, always within the doctor’s restrictions. The worker is still a worker at your business, so the duty in section 19 of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) still applies. Check the modified tasks are safe before they start.
If you form the opinion that a suitable duties program is not practicable, section 228(2) of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) requires you to give the insurer a written notice stating your evidence. The insurer forms its own opinion and, if not satisfied, must tell you why and give you a reasonable opportunity to respond. Talk to the insurer before deciding there is nothing available.
Do you need a rehabilitation and return to work coordinator?
Section 226 of the Act requires an employer to appoint a coordinator if it meets criteria prescribed by regulation. Under section 149 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld), the test compares your Queensland wages for the preceding financial year with a threshold set under that Regulation, which is lower for a high risk industry (an industry the Workers’ Compensation Regulator specifies by gazette notice). Check the current threshold, and whether your industry is a listed high risk industry, with the Workers’ Compensation Regulator.
The coordinator must be in Queensland, employed by you under a contract, and appropriately qualified (section 41 treats completing a training course approved by the Workers’ Compensation Regulator as qualified). Appoint within 6 months of establishing a workplace or starting to employ workers there (for this purpose, only from when you first meet the wage criteria: section 149(2) of the Regulation), unless you have a reasonable excuse or the Workers’ Compensation Regulator approves a later period, and give the insurer the prescribed details. Employers below the threshold still have duties: section 228 applies to the employer of any injured worker.
What an employer does after an injury: step by step
- Look after the person. Arrange first aid or emergency help and make the area safe.
- Record what happened. Complete an incident report while it is fresh, for example with the free incident report form template. Our guide on why you must report and record all workplace injuries explains why.
- Check whether it is notifiable. Notifying the work health and safety regulator is separate from your workers’ compensation reporting. See notifiable incidents in Queensland.
- Report to the insurer. Under section 133 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), an employer whose worker sustains an injury for which compensation may be payable must complete the approved report and give it to the insurer immediately after the first of these: it knows of the injury, the worker reports it, or the insurer asks for the report. Not doing so within 8 business days is an offence unless you have a reasonable excuse. If a worker asks you for compensation, section 133A requires written notice to the insurer. If unsure, ask the insurer.
- Stay in touch with the worker (see below).
- Get the medical information. Ask for the current medical certificate or capacity information. Your role is to apply the restrictions, not question them.
- Identify possible suitable duties against those restrictions, with the worker, their supervisor and the coordinator or insurer contact.
- Work with the insurer on the plan. Provide the information requested, take part in plan discussions and agree the duties, hours and supervisor in writing.
- Brief the supervisor on the restrictions and hours, not the medical details, and review on the plan’s review dates and when new medical information arrives.
- Keep records and look at the cause. See workplace incident investigation in Queensland.
Section 228 sets the overall duty: take the action required by the scheme directions, take all other reasonable steps to assist or provide rehabilitation, and cooperate with the insurer. WorkCover can require an employer (other than a self-insurer) that fails to take reasonable steps to pay a penalty (section 229).
Writing your process down helps. The Return to Work Policy & Procedure Template can help you set out who does what, the Incident Management Policy & Procedure Template covers the injury response before it, and a current employee emergency contact register (free) is handy on the day.
Communicating with the injured worker
- Make early, friendly contact, explain that you want them back and that duties will follow their doctor’s advice, then keep regular contact even while they are off work.
- Do not pressure the worker to skip treatment, work outside restrictions or avoid claiming. Section 46A of the Act says an employer must not give a benefit or cause detriment to a person if the reason is to influence an injured worker to refrain from applying for, or otherwise pursuing, compensation.
- Workers have duties too: sections 231 and 232 require them to satisfactorily participate in rehabilitation. Any decision about that is the insurer’s.
Privacy of medical information
Medical information is sensitive. As general good practice, collect only what you need to manage safe duties, tell the supervisor the restrictions rather than the diagnosis (unless the worker agrees to more), keep records somewhere secure and restricted, and do not discuss the injury or claim with other workers. Privacy rules can vary between businesses, so ask the insurer or a legal adviser if unsure.
Dismissing or replacing an injured worker
Section 232B of the Act says that within 12 months after a worker sustains an injury for which compensation is payable, the employer must not dismiss the worker solely or mainly because the worker is not fit for employment in a position because of the injury. Under section 232A, dismissal includes imposing an unreasonable employment condition designed to make the worker leave, if the worker then leaves. If you bring in a replacement, section 232C requires written notice before they start that the job is temporary and the injured worker has a right to return. Get advice before any step towards termination.
What about non-work injuries?
Section 32 of the Act describes an injury as personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment if the employment is a significant contributing factor. Sections 34 and 35 extend this to some situations, including some journeys between home and work. An injury from weekend sport or a car accident that is not connected with work generally does not fit, so the insurer’s rehabilitation process may not apply. Whether a particular injury qualifies is for the insurer to decide on a claim.
You can still offer modified duties for a non-work injury. Ask for medical information, check the duties are safe, treat workers consistently under your own policy and keep the same privacy care. Other laws, such as discrimination and employment law, may apply, so get advice before reducing someone’s duties or ending their employment.
When to talk to the insurer
- You are unsure whether an injury needs reporting.
- The restrictions leave you with no suitable duties you can find.
- The worker disagrees with the plan, or medical certificates change, stop or conflict.
- The worker asks about their claim or payments, or you are thinking about dismissing or replacing them.
Claim decisions, payments and the content of the rehabilitation plan are the insurer’s, not the employer’s. Under section 134 of the Act, the insurer first allows or rejects an application for compensation. When in doubt, ask the insurer and note what you were told.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check the current law or talk to Workplace Health and Safety Queensland for your situation.
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