REPORT Trends in Northern Territory Workers Compensation Claims 2008-2012

Clinical Psychology Assessment & Consultancy PTY LTD Phone: (08) 8981 5392 Fax: (08) 8981 2352 Email: cpac@wisemind.com.au REPORT Trends in Northern Territory Workers Compensation Claims 2008-2012 SEPTEMBER 2013 Suite 3 PsycHealth Centre 34-36 McLaclan StreetDarwin NT 0800 GPO BOX 107 DARWIN NT 0801

Executive Statement This report identifies trends in Workers Compensation claims in the Northern Territory for the period 2008-2012 inclusive. Claims data are explored across a range of areas in both ernment and non-ernment sectors. Mental stress claims and observable trends in claims and cost are identified and discussed in regard to National patterns where applicable. Summary of Key Trends: 1. Most compensation claims between 2008-12 were lodged from the non-ernment sector and predominantly related to injuries involving hitting or being hit by an object. 2. The Government sector made proportionally less compensation claims between 2008-12, however claims related to mental stress and biological factors were proportionally higher in this sector. 3. Males lodged more overall claims, however mental stress claims were made more frequently by women. 4. The incidence of mental stress claims increased over the 2008-12 period constituting 12-15% of ernment claims and accounting for 25-35% of costs. In comparison, mental stress claims constituted 3-5% of non-ernment claims and up to 1 of costs for this sector. 5. Education, Health and Community Services and Personal and Other Services, are among the eight most expensive industries in the Northern Territory for 2008-12. 6. A marked increase in workplace bullying as the primary cause of mental stress claims was evident over the 2008-12 period. 7. A similar trend in psychological injury claims was evident with anxiety and stress disorders accounting for 40-7 of non-ernment cost and 35-55% of ernment costs for 2008-12. 8. Mental stress claims had a lower acceptance rate compared with all other claims across both sectors. A larger percentage of accepted mental stress claims was evident in the ernment sector over the four-year period, however the average cost of accepted mental stress claim has decreased across both sectors. This report provides a description of observed trends in workers compensation claims in the Northern Territory 2008-12. To gain a detailed picture of causal factors underpinning future trends, systematic longitudinal research is required. Such investigations would most likely provide useful evidence upon which to develop preventative and educational programs to reduce psychological hazards in the work environment. The outcomes of such research could inform effective psychosocial rehabilitation and return to work for psychologically injured or mentally stressed workers. Cindy Wall BPsych(Hons), MPsych (Clinical), PhD Clinical Psychologist Marleesa Ly BSc (Hons) Research Scientist 2

Trends in Workers Compensation Claims in the Northern Territory 2008-12 1. Most Common Claims in the Government and Non-Government Sectors. In the Northern Territory between 2008 and 2012 non-ernment claims consistently made up approximately 8 of claims each year, with the most common claims being for injuries involving collisions (either hitting or being hit by an object). As presented in Figure 1, it can be seen that claims related to mental stress and biological factors, were proportionally more often made by ernment employees. 35% 3 25% 2 15% 1 5% HIT BY MOVING OBJECTS BIOLOGICAL FACTORS BODY STRESSING CHEMICALS FALLS, TRIPS AND OTHER AND SLIPS SUBSTANCES HEAT, ELECTRICITY AND OTHER ENV HITTING OBJECTS MENTAL STRESS OTHER AND SOUND AND UNSPECIFIED PRESSURE Figure 1: mechanism of injury by sector, average percentage of total claims per year (2008-2012) 2. Gender of Claimants Across Sectors. Males were more likely to make compensation claims in both sectors however, females were more likely to make claims for mental stress (Figure 2) which is consistent with the findings published in the Safe Work Australia Report into the incidence of accepted Workers Compensation Claims for Mental Stress in Australia (2013). 8 All Government Claims 8 Government Mental Stress Claims 6 6 4 4 2 2 FEMALE MALE FEMALE MALE 8 6 4 All Non- erment Claims 8 6 4 Non- ernment Mental Stress Claims 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2 2 FEMALE MALE Figure 2: gender distribution of claims FEMALE MALE 3

3. The Incidence of Mental Stress Claims the Northern Territory The incidence of mental stress claims increased in the Northern Territory over the timeframe, differing from the reported national trend of declining mental stress compensation claims from 2003-04 to the present day (Safe Work Australia, 2013, p2). In the NT in 2008-09, nearly half of all mental stress claims were from the ernment sector, even though the ernment sector only made up a fifth of all claims. Mental stress claims were seen to be increasing year on year, both in terms of number of claims (Figure 3 left) and the percentage of total claims (Figure 3 right), with larger increases seen in the non-ernment sector over the 2008-12 period. However, mental stress claims remained more prevalent in the ernment sector where they made up 12-15% of total claims each year, compared to 3-5% of non-ernment claims. 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 16% 14% 12% 1 8% 6% 4% 2% 0 Figure 3: number of mental stress claims each year by sector (left), mental stress claims as a percentage of total claims for each sector (right) 4. Cost of Mental Stress Claims in the Northern Territory Mental stress claims made up 12-15% of ernment claims, however they account for 25-35% of ernment compensation costs in 2008-12. Similarly, mental stress claims constituted 3-5% of non-ernment claims, but accounted for up to 1 of the sector s compensation costs. The total cost of mental stress claims over time did not reflect the increasing number of claims (Figure 4 left) and the average cost per accepted claim decreased over time in both the ernment and non-ernment sectors (Figure 4 right). $4,500,000 $4,000,000 $3,500,000 $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $1,500,000 $500,000 $3,296,267 $4,004,362 $4,039,074 $3,021,691 $3,096,685 $2,565,161 $1,960,331 $2,123,625 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $91,563 $75,554 $62,140 $38,740 $129,029 $106,882 $44,553 $44,242 Figure 4: total cost of mental stress claims (left) and average cost per accepted mental stress claim (right) by sector. 4

5. Age and Mental Stress Claims Claimants were more likely to make a claim for mental stress as they aged until they reached 50-55 years where the likelihood of lodging a claim decreased (Figure 5). This is consistent with the trend identified in the Safe Work Australia report (2013) that saw the number of claims increase with age with a decrease in mental stress claims from 54 years. 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60 60-65 > 65 unknown Figure 5: total number of new claims per age group The total cost of mental stress claims shows a similar pattern as the total number of claims (Figure 6). The average payment per claim for each age group was similar between sectors with the exception of the 35-40 and 40-45 age groups where the average payments were $20,000 higher for non-ernment claims. $4,000,000 $3,500,000 $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $1,500,000 $500,000 15-20 20-25 25-30 30-35 35-40 40-45 45-50 50-55 55-60 60-65 > 65 unknown $14,261 $298,038 $692,441 $1,050,41 $1,684,49 $3,432,03 $2,311,72 $2,613,95 $1,182,40 $1,058,84 $21,877 $901 $17,436 $52,078 $431,668 $319,121 $333,828 $1,622,93 $2,319,25 $1,830,76 $1,417,81 $1,297,38 $88,305 $15,205 Figure 6: total cost of mental stress claims by age group 5

6. Costs Associated with the Eight Most Expensive Industries in the Northern Territory The percentage of total costs by industry, for the eight most expensive industries is presented in Figure 7. There are notable peaks in two areas. In 2008, 6 of costs for the ernment sector came from education, which gradually decreased over time. Similarly, ernment health and community services saw a large increase in cost in 2010-2011. 7 6 5 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 4 3 2 1 CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES PERSONAL AND OTHER SERVICES PROPERTY AND BUSINESS SERVICES RETAIL TRADE TRANSPORT AND STORAGE 7 2008-2009 6 2009-2010 2010-2011 5 2011-2012 4 3 2 1 CONSTRUCTION EDUCATION GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION AND DEFENCE HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES PERSONAL AND OTHER SERVICES PROPERTY AND BUSINESS SERVICES RETAIL TRADE TRANSPORT AND STORAGE Figure 7: percentage of total yearly cost by industry non ernment (top) and ernment (bottom) 6

7. Cost of Workplace Bullying in the Northern Territory. The cost of claims related to workplace bullying increased in both the ernment and nonernment sectors from 2008 to 2012. Workplace bullying became the primary cause and cost of mental stress claims in the Northern Territory time. This trend differs from the national picture, which identifies work pressure not workplace bullying as the most common identified cause of mental stress claims (Safe Work Australia, p8). In the Northern Territory, a decline in the cost of traumatic event and workplace violence claims in the ernment sector was also evident over time (Figure 8). $1,800,000 $1,600,000 $1,400,000 $1,200,000 $800,000 $600,000 $400,000 $200,000 work pressure bullying violence traumayc event work pressure bullying violence traumayc event 2008-2009 $1,221,379 $966,030 $192,753 $794,417 $888,722 $784,636 $601,255 $803,232 2009-2010 $1,531,515 $1,320,193 $337,583 $615,466 $695,022 $686,174 $636,971 $487,799 2010-2011 $1,562,194 $1,737,518 $383,951 $154,296 $437,037 $761,522 $290,165 $244,109 2011-2012 $869,525 $1,560,250 $320,429 $232,130 $722,100 $869,843 $78,265 $433,573 Figure 8: total cost of claims per year by type of incident. Non-ernment claims (left) and ernment claims (right) 7

8. Psychological Injury in Government and Non-Government Sectors. Similar trends to those evident in workplace bullying claims are seen in the costs of psychological injuries across sectors, with anxiety/stress disorders accounting for 40-7 of total non-ernment costs and 35-55% of ernment costs (Figure 9). $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $1,500,000 $500,000 DEPRESSION POST- TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER ANXIETY / STRESS DISORDER ANXIETY / DEPRESSION COMBINED REACTION TO STRESSORS - OTHER OR UNSPECIFIED 2008-2009 $557,512 $154,598 $1,300,352 $704,287 $576,287 2009-2010 $138,218 $1,054,775 $1,844,264 $477,054 $486,854 2010-2011 $217,384 $195,045 $2,625,030 $858,376 $31,101 2011-2012 $439,409 $197,066 $1,949,015 $328,542 $101,206 $3,000,000 $2,500,000 $1,500,000 $500,000 DEPRESSION POST- TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER ANXIETY / STRESS DISORDER ANXIETY / DEPRESSION COMBINED REACTION TO STRESSORS - OTHER OR UNSPECIFIED 2008-2009 $1,109,045 $412,719 $991,315 $424,989 $158,617 2009-2010 $91,257 $905,780 $1,130,895 $424,359 $12,870 2010-2011 $229,836 $161,457 $1,044,995 $517,539 $4,951 2011-2012 $404,262 $116,586 $915,400 $282,670 $202,998 Figure 9: psychological injuries total cost per year. Non-ernment (top) and ernment (bottom) 8

9. Incidence of Accepted Mental Stress Claims Mental stress claims had a lower acceptance rate than non-mental stress claims in both ernment and non-ernment sectors (Figure 10 top). There was an increase in the percentage of accepted mental stress claims in the ernment sector, while the percentage of accepted claims in the non-ernment sector remained steady over time. This trend was also reflected in the percentages of rejected claims (Figure 10 bottom). 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Accpeted Claims - Mental Stress 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Accpeted Claims - Other 10 9 Rejected Claims - Mental Stress 10 9 Rejected Claims - Other 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 Figure 10: Percentages of accepted (top) and rejected (bottom) claims. Reference: Safe Work Australia (2013) The Incidence of Accepted Workers Compensation Claims for Mental Stress in Australia. Author: Canberra ACT. 9