What is workplace rehabilitation?

A Workplace Rehabilitation (WR) provider is comprised of tertiary qualified health professionals that specialise in the complex needs of workers and employers to achieve timely and sustainable Return to Work (RTW) outcomes following injury or illness, be it either a physical or psychological injury or illness. 

Like treating health professionals, they are independent of other stakeholders and strive for a safe and sustainable RTW for workers with an injury, in consultation with their treating medical practitioners. WR providers can be relied on to provide expert opinion and solutions to resolving workplace injury, illness and disease and to manage the relationship between the worker and their employer where attempts to RTW have broken down.

Every workplace insurance policy in Australia includes the right to an accredited WR provider. These services are vital in helping a worker (and their employer) safely stay and recover at work, or transition back to work after an injury, accident, illness or disease. 

In addition, rehabilitation consultants are each required to maintain their own registration with their relevant allied health professional authorities. This includes mandatory professional development to accrue Continuing Professional Development (CPD) points which would include courses to access updated research and guidelines.