Return-to-work guide
Returning to work after a psychological or stress-related injury
A psychological or stress-related claim is treated as an injury under the NSW workers compensation scheme. The medical care sits with your own nominated treating doctor and their team, and Nexus Rehab does not provide treatment or counselling. What we coordinate is the return-to-work side — suitable duties, workplace adjustments and staying connected to work where that is appropriate. This guide is general information, not medical advice.
Coordinating return to work for a stress-related claim
Our role in a stress-related claim is coordination, not clinical care. Your nominated treating doctor directs any treatment and sets your certificate of capacity, and we build the workplace side around it. SIRA emphasises engaging a workplace rehabilitation provider early on psychological claims, so a plan can be put in motion while the claim is still young. Where it is safe and appropriate, staying connected to work — or returning to suitable duties — is treated as part of recovery rather than something that waits until the end of it. We keep the worker, employer, insurer and healthcare team working to one plan, and we move at the pace the certificate of capacity sets.
Workplace adjustments and suitable duties
For a stress-related claim, suitable duties and adjustments are workplace arrangements, not medical ones. Depending on what the treating doctor certifies, a plan might adjust workload, hours, tasks or reporting arrangements, or set out a graded return that rebuilds work over time. A workplace assessment can help identify practical changes, and a medical case conference brings the treating doctor together with the people managing the claim so treatment, capacity and return-to-work goals line up. We do not diagnose, treat or advise on symptoms. We translate the doctor's certificate of capacity into duties an employer can offer and the worker can safely take on.
Who is involved and how it is funded
A stress-related claim involves the injured worker, the employer, the insurer and the healthcare team, and these claims often need to be handled with particular care. We coordinate between the parties, document what is agreed, and keep the worker informed at each step. Under the NSW workers compensation scheme, Nexus Rehab is a SIRA-approved workplace rehabilitation provider, and you have the right to nominate your own provider. For approved services, there is no cost to you — the insurer funds workplace rehabilitation under the scheme. We work across all of NSW, metropolitan and regional.
This is general information about returning to work, not medical advice. Your treating doctor directs your medical care — Nexus Rehab coordinates the return-to-work side and works to their certificate of capacity.