Make a claim
If you’ve experienced a work-related injury or illness, you may be eligible to make a claim for workers' compensation with WorkCover (or a self-insurer).
Have you been injured at work, or while travelling to or from work, and want to know how to make a claim with WorkCover Queensland?
If you’ve been injured or become ill because of your work, we may be able to support you.
Usually, we can help with the costs of treatment to help you get better and pay some of your wages while you are off work recovering.
But first, you’ll need to make a WorkCover claim.
There are a few important things you need to know and do before you get started:
- See your doctor as soon as possible.
- Ask your doctor for a Work capacity certificate. This is a type of medical certificate you’ll need to make a claim.
- Next, use our online form to make your claim.
You’ll need to give us some personal details and information about your work.
You’ll also need to tell us about your injury or illness and how it happened.
If you decide to make a claim, there are a few ways to do this:
- Submitting a claim online is the quickest and easiest way to make a claim.
- You can call 1300 362 128 if you need additional help to start your claim over the phone.
- You can also download a form to complete.
Once you make a claim, we’ll be in touch to give you more information about what happens next.
You can also watch our video for After you’ve lodged a WorkCover claim to find out more.
Next, we’ll walk you through these steps in more detail.
The work capacity certificate from your doctor tells us about your injury or illness, and what treatment you need.
It will also say if you need time off work. This information will help us decide your claim and understand how to support you.
It’s a good idea to tell your employer about your injury or illness, because if you make a claim, we will contact them.
They’ll need to give us more information to help us decide whether your claim is accepted.
We’ll also get information about your wages if you’re off work.
If you lodge your claim together with your employer, we’ll get the information we need faster.
If you need to take time off work, getting back to work is an important part of getting better.
Your employer may be able to make changes to how or where you do your work, which might help you to get back sooner.
You could even keep working while you recover if your doctor says it’s safe.
Have a chat to your employer and your doctor about what’s possible.
When we’re looking at your claim, we look at:
- The time you first went to see your doctor about your injury or illness, because there are time limits to lodging a claim, usually 6 months after you first see your doctor.
- Whether you are considered a Queensland worker
- Where and how you were employed at the time of your injury
- Where and how the injury happened
- And whether your work is a significant reason why you were injured.
We need all this information to decide if we can accept your claim.
Everyone is different and we might need other information for your claim. Once we have your claim, we’ll be in touch if we need more information.
Giving us what we need early on means your claim can be looked at sooner, so you can focus on recovering and getting your life back on track.
We are here to guide you and help you understand the steps in your claim journey.
If you need help or have further questions, please give us a call, we’re here to help.
If you need help in your language call 1800 512 451 and ask for an interpreter.
You can also find out more information on our website.
You will need a work capacity certificate (your doctor will give you this at your initial consult for your injury) before you make a claim.
There are several ways to make a claim with WorkCover:
- the fastest and easiest way is to complete and submit an online claim
- phone 1300 362 128 and talk to a member of the WorkCover team.
- complete a claim form (DOCX, 0.09 MB) and either:
- upload using our online service
- fax it to 1300 651 387
- post your completed form to GPO Box 2459, Brisbane Qld 4001.
Before starting, we recommend you review the checklist below to ensure you have everything you need.
The more information you can provide to WorkCover (or the self-insurer) about your injury, the faster your claim can be assessed and the sooner you can get back to work.
To make a claim, you'll need to give us (or the self-insurer):
- your full name, date of birth and personal contact information—including email address and mobile phone number
- your employer's name and location
- a work capacity certificate from your initial consult for this injury (your doctor can give you this)
- your bank details—BSB, account number and account name (for weekly compensation or reimbursement claims)
- a Tax File Number declaration (PDF, 0.08 MB) (for time loss claims)
- information about your injury or illness, including details about how and when it happened.
Be sure to let your employer know what has happened as soon as you can, give them your work capacity certificate and let them know you are making a claim.
If your employer self-insures, you’ll need to contact them directly to make a claim. Find out if your employer is a self-insurer.
Find out more about the claim process.
Public hospital referral
If you go to the hospital with a work-related injury, the hospital will automatically send your work capacity certificate to WorkCover and we’ll contact you via SMS to see if you want to make a claim.
If you do, we’ll start the claim determination process for you. You don’t have to make a claim but if you decide not to, then any costs you have to pay relating to your injury will be your responsibility.
We won't move forward with a claim unless you tell us to.
I’m an employer
If you have the worker’s consent you can start the claim process on their behalf by submitting a claim form (unless you’re self-insured). You’ll need:
- your worker's full name, date of birth, and personal contact information
- your policy number—if you aren't sure, you can give us your business name, ABN or ACN
- the type of injury and details about how and when it happened
- your copy of the worker's work capacity certificate
- normal weekly earnings wage figures and working hours for your worker (if they’re taking time off work). You’ll also need the amount payable under your worker’s industrial agreement.
Employers can make a claim or access information on any existing claims by using the WorkCover Connect portal.
If one of your workers has experienced a work-related injury or illness, you may need to notify Workplace Health and Safety Queensland of the incident.
If your worker was injured, you may also need to report the injury.
Explore the sections below to find what you need for your individual situation.
Do I need to notify of an incident?
Find out by learning more about incidents.
Once you’re sure you need to notify, you can use our online services to let Workplace Health and Safety Queensland know about the incident and start the claims process with WorkCover Queensland.
If you don't need to notify of the incident, and you only need to make a claim on behalf of your worker, use the online claim form.
Self-insurer incident reporting
If your employer self-insures and you need to notify Workplace health and safety of an incident, you must fill out this online form.
Find out if your employer self-insures.
Report to WorkCover Queensland
As an employer, you must report a work-related injury or illness within eight days of becoming aware of it. Reporting the injury isn’t the same as making a claim for workers’ compensation.
There are several ways to report an injury or illness to WorkCover. You can:
- phone 1300 362 128 and speak to a member of WorkCover’s Customer Service Team, or
- complete the approved form (PDF, 0.14 MB) and
- upload using our online service. Select 'new claim' to report an injury
- fax to 1300 651 387, or
- post to GPO Box 2459, Brisbane Qld 4001, or
- complete the online form. We’ll be in touch if we need any extra information from you.
Report to a self-insured employer
If your employer self-insures you’ll need to complete the approved form (PDF, 0.14 MB) and submit it to your employer.
Find out if your employer self-insures.