Mental Injury Webinar Series: Part One - Lived Experience

For workers with a mental injury, one of the most important things you can do to support your recovery is to start getting the help and treatment you need right away.

While your claim is being assessed, you can access certain psychological treatment funded by WorkCover to support your recovery right now.

This treatment might include:

• GP mental health appointments
• counselling or psychology sessions
• psychiatry appointments
• reasonable travel expenses incurred to access/attend treatment
• medication, such as antidepressants

We can also help with mediation services between a worker and their employer, to support your recovery and the return to work process.

The social workers at the Workers' Psychological Support Service can help you connect with this support or treatment. This includes psychologists, counsellors, doctors and social support services. They can also link you to emergency accommodation and housing support, family and domestic violence services, grief and loss support, financial counselling, and social inclusion programs. You and your family can access the service at any time. Call 1800 370 732 (during business hours) or email info@wpss.org.au.

What we don’t cover:

• in-patient hospital costs
• costs related to a hospital stay, such as nursing, or medications received in hospital

Getting the treatment you need early on puts you on the path to recovery sooner and may prevent your symptoms from becoming worse.

If you’re not sure how to access the treatment options available to you, we can discuss this with you after you lodge a claim. If you have any questions, you can always contact us on 1300 362 128.

If you would like some independent guidance on the claims process you can reach out to the Workers' Compensation Information and Advisory Services (WCIAS) on 1800 102 166 or visit the website to submit a query online.

How do I know what type of allied health provider can support my psychological treatment?

You can check a provider's necessary qualifications by reviewing our Mental Health Services Table of Costs located under Fees.

You can also find registered psychologists in your area via the Australian Psychological Society’s ‘Find a Psychologist’ webpage.

If you are unsure, you can ask your provider to confirm they are able to deliver the necessary services, or you can ask them to contact us directly.

Please note:

To access these early mental health support services, you'll need to have lodged a WorkCover claim and have a work capacity certificate, sometimes referred to as a WorkCover Queensland medical certificate, from your doctor confirming the diagnosis of a mental injury.

If we decide we are unable to accept your claim we’ll let you know, and if this happens, funding for your treatment will stop.

If you have had a previous WorkCover claim for a mental injury that was caused by the same or a similar circumstances, you should talk to us about whether we’ll pay for this treatment while your claim is assessed.

For mental injuries that occurred prior to 30 October 2019, we still encourage you to seek treatment early, and the costs may be reimbursed if your claim is accepted.

• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
• Workers’ Psychological Support Service A free, confidential and independent callback support  service where Queenslanders who are struggling mentally due to an injury at work can access support from a social worker. Call 1800 370 732 (during business hours) or info@wpss.org.au. Please note, this is not a crisis service.
• Suicide Call Back Service A national 24/7 telehealth provider that offers free professional phone and online counselling for people living in Australia.
• 1300 MH CALL (1300 642 255) A confidential mental health telephone service for Queenslanders that will link you to public mental health services.
• QLife (LGBTIQ+) 1800 184 527 (3pm - midnight, 7 days)
• Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800. A free 24/7 online and phone counselling service for teens and young people aged up to 25.

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• 13 Yarn Crisis Support 13 92 76. 24-hour crisis support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.
• Brother to Brother 24-hour crisis line 1800 435 799.
• WellMob Social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People.
• Black Dog Institute offers a list of support services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Domestic and family violence support

• 1800 RESPECT 1800 737 732. 24-hour national domestic, family and sexual violence counselling, information and support service.

Emergency service workers

• The National Emergency Worker Support Service offers free and confidential mental health support for emergency service workers and volunteers (both active and retired).

Financial hardship

• Centrelink
• Your superannuation fund
• The Salvation Army Australia Emergency Relief 1300 371 288

Victims of crime

If you’re a victim of a violent crime, you can access support through Victim Assist Queensland

MATES in Construction

MATES in Construction supports workers in construction and mining through peer support, suicide awareness and connecting workers to mental health support services.

Workers' Compensation Information and Advisory Services (WCIAS)

For workers

• Call 1800 102 166 or visit the website to submit a query online.

Independent and free information and advice for workers navigating the Queensland workers’ compensation scheme.

For employers

This helpline offers independent and free advice and support to all Queensland employers, obligation-free.

• Call 1300 365 855 or visit the website.