Psychological injury claims are the fastest-growing part of Queensland's workers' compensation scheme and the most contested. They are decided on evidence that is harder to gather than an X-ray, against an exclusion that insurers apply broadly. Understanding both from the start is the difference between a claim that is accepted and one that spends a year in review.

Key points

  • A psychological injury is compensable where employment was a significant contributing factor; since 2019 it no longer has to be the major factor.
  • The exclusion for reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way is the main battleground; it does not cover bullying, overload or trauma.
  • Early treatment is funded while the claim is assessed and does not have to be repaid if the claim is rejected.

The test

A psychiatric or psychological disorder is an injury under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act if it arose out of, or in the course of, your employment and employment was a significant contributing factor to it. Until 2019 the Act required employment to be the major significant contributing factor; that word was removed, and the current test is the same one that applies to physical injuries. Work does not have to be the only cause, or the main cause. It has to be a significant one.

Common causes that meet the test: bullying and harassment, sustained excessive workload, exposure to a traumatic event, assault by a client or member of the public, and a physical injury at work that leads to a psychological condition (a secondary psychological injury, which is claimable in its own right).

The exclusion

The Act excludes a psychological injury that arose out of reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way by the employer in connection with your employment. It also excludes injury arising from your expectation or perception of such action, and from action taken by the Regulator or insurer on the claim. The examples the Act gives are performance management, disciplinary action, transfer, demotion, retrenchment and dismissal.

Insurers rely on this exclusion heavily, and the fight in most rejected claims is here. Two points matter. The management action must have been reasonable, judged objectively, and it must have been carried out in a reasonable way: a legitimate performance concern raised through an ambush meeting, without notice or support, can fall outside the exclusion. And the exclusion only covers injury that arose from the management action: where the real cause was bullying, an unsafe workload or a traumatic incident, the exclusion does not apply even if some management action was also happening.

The evidence

These claims are decided on the record of what happened at work, so keep it: emails, messages, rosters, complaints you made and the responses, notes of meetings with dates and who was present, names of colleagues who saw what you experienced. See your GP early and describe the work situation as well as the symptoms; a referral to a psychologist or psychiatrist, and their reports, are the medical foundation. The insurer will interview your employer and co-workers; your account needs to be the one that matches the documents.

Early treatment

While a psychological injury claim is being assessed, WorkCover funds early treatment, GP mental health appointments, psychology and psychiatry, on a work capacity certificate that confirms the diagnosis. If the claim is rejected, the treatment already received does not have to be repaid.

If it is rejected

Three months to apply to the Regulator for review; 20 business days after that to appeal to the Industrial Relations Commission. A rejection is not necessarily the end of a psychological injury claim. The initial decision is often made on the employer's account before the medical evidence and the documents are fully before the decision-maker, and a review looks at the decision afresh.

The damages claim

Where the psychological injury was caused by the employer's negligence, most commonly a failure to act on known bullying or an unsafe workload, a common law damages claim may follow the statutory claim, on the same terms and with the same 20 per cent election as any other injury.

Proposed changes before Parliament

A Bill introduced into the Queensland Parliament in October 2026 proposes a stricter test for psychological injury and a shorter time to seek review. It is not law, and the current test applies unless and until it passes. Our guide to the proposed WorkCover changes for psychological injury explains what the Bill would change and for whom.

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim WorkCover for stress or anxiety in Queensland? Yes, if a psychiatric or psychological disorder was caused by work as a significant contributing factor and did not arise from reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way.

What is reasonable management action? Legitimate employer action such as performance management, discipline, transfer or dismissal, carried out reasonably. Injury arising only from such action is excluded; injury from bullying, unsafe workload or a traumatic event is not.

Can I claim for a psychological injury caused by a physical work injury? Yes. A secondary psychological injury is claimable in its own right.

Sources

  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), s 32(1), (3) and (5) (injury; psychiatric or psychological disorder; reasonable management action exclusion) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2019 (Qld) (removal of "the major" from the significant contributing factor test) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • WorkSafe Queensland, Psychological injuries (early treatment while a claim is assessed) — worksafe.qld.gov.au
  • Workers' Compensation Regulatory Services, Information statement for workers — worksafe.qld.gov.au