Plenty of people still call it WorkCover. Whatever name you use, the NSW workers compensation scheme is built on one idea: when the work fits what the doctor has certified, people generally recover better at work than away from it. That can sound convenient for employers and insurers, so it is worth looking at why the scheme says it, what the evidence actually shows, and what it means for a worker holding a certificate that says they can do some work.
Redux Rehab · October 2026
WorkCover NSW has not existed as an agency since 2015, but the word stuck, and workers, employers and even treating practitioners still use it every day. Today icare stands behind the scheme for most NSW employers, a scheme agent (icare now calls them claims service providers) such as EML, Allianz or Gallagher Bassett runs most of those claims day to day, and SIRA regulates the whole scheme, including self insurers and the providers who work in it, such as workplace rehabilitation providers like Redux Rehab.
Under that scheme, going back to work is not something that waits until you are fully better. From early in a claim, the certificate of capacity asks not only what a worker cannot do, but what they can. The plan built around that answer is called a recover at work plan, and the choice of words is deliberate.
The case for staying connected rests on medical evidence, not on what suits insurers. In 2006, Waddell and Burton completed an independent review of the evidence, commissioned by the UK Department for Work and Pensions. They concluded that work is generally good for physical and mental health, that being out of work is generally bad for it, and that for most people with common health problems, suitable work that makes allowance for their condition can be therapeutic and helps recovery.
The Australasian Faculty of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, part of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, drew on that evidence in the Australian and New Zealand Consensus Statement on the Health Benefits of Work, which a wide range of organisations across both countries have since signed through its Health Benefits of Good Work initiative.
Two points from that evidence matter most on a live claim. The longer someone is away from work, the harder the way back tends to become, and the reasons are rarely only physical: routine, confidence, identity and relationships at work all fade with time. And the word good matters. Work that is meaningless, isolated or beyond what has been certified does not carry the same benefit, which is why the quality of suitable duties decides so much.
Staying connected is not the same as being back on site full time. For some workers it starts with a phone call from their supervisor in the first week, a visit to the team, or a few hours of duties that use their real skills. What it looks like on paper matters less than whether the worker still feels part of the workplace.
On the claims that go well, the same things keep showing up. The duties are real work, named task by task and checked against the certificate. Hours step up on dates everyone knows. The supervisor who runs the plan helped build it. Treatment is booked around the roster, not the other way round. And the worker is still included in the ordinary life of the team: the rosters, the meetings, the morning coffee.
The Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 puts obligations on both sides. Under section 48, a worker who has current work capacity must, in cooperation with their employer or the insurer, make reasonable efforts to return to work in suitable employment or in their pre injury job.
Under section 49, when a worker who is able to return to work asks for suitable employment, the employer liable for the claim must provide it, and so far as reasonably practicable it should be the same as, or equivalent to, the job they had when they were injured. That duty does not apply if it is not reasonably practicable, if the worker has voluntarily left that employer, or if the employer ended the employment for a reason other than the worker being unfit because of the injury.
The worker also has real say in the process. They choose their nominated treating doctor, who issues the certificate of capacity, and a recover at work plan works best when it is built with the worker rather than handed to them. If something goes wrong, the first call is the case manager at the insurer. If that does not resolve it, the Independent Review Office is a free, independent service that helps workers with complaints about their insurer and can fund independent legal advice.
It usually stalls for ordinary reasons. The duties are busywork, so the worker feels parked rather than needed. The supervisor was never told what the plan says. The hours have not moved in weeks. A duty sits outside the certificate and nobody notices until symptoms flare. Or the relationship between the worker and the workplace has frayed and nobody is saying it out loud.
Each of those is fixable, and none of them is fixed by another form. They are fixed at the workplace, with the worker, the supervisor and the treating team agreeing what the next step is and when it happens. That is the point at which a workplace rehabilitation provider is most useful.
Redux Rehab is a SIRA approved workplace rehabilitation provider (approval 1037) working with injured workers and their pre injury employers across NSW, with regional visits by arrangement. We go to the workplace, see the job, talk to the supervisor who will run the plan, match every duty to the current certificate, and set hours that step up on dates everyone can see. Then we stay on it, and when the certificate changes, the plan changes with it.
If a claim on your desk has a worker sitting at home with a certificate that says some capacity, or duties that nobody believes in, that is the conversation to have with us early rather than late.
Not as an agency. WorkCover NSW was replaced in 2015, though many people still use the name. Today icare insures most NSW employers, a scheme agent such as EML, Allianz or Gallagher Bassett manages most claims, and SIRA regulates the whole scheme. When someone says WorkCover in NSW, they almost always mean the workers compensation scheme.
Light duties is the everyday name for what the scheme calls suitable work. If your certificate of capacity says you can do some work and your employer offers suitable work within it, the law expects you to make reasonable efforts to take part, and if you do not, the insurer can suspend or stop your weekly payments after giving you written notice. If the duties do not match your certificate, or you are unsure, raise it with your supervisor, your nominated treating doctor and your case manager before you start.
Ask your employer, ideally in writing, for suitable work. If you are able to return to work and you ask, the law requires your employer to provide suitable work unless that is not reasonably practicable, and as far as practicable it should be the same as or similar to your old job. If your employer still says nothing is available, tell your case manager. A workplace rehabilitation provider can often find or design duties with your employer that were not obvious at first, and if that genuinely is not possible, your case manager should talk with you about the other options on your claim.
Work that fits your certificate is not expected to. The evidence generally points the other way: suitable work supports recovery. If a duty clearly makes your symptoms worse, stop that task, tell your supervisor or return to work coordinator straight away and ask for other duties within your certificate, then let your nominated treating doctor and your case manager know so the plan can be reviewed promptly.
You may earn somewhat less than before, but you are not left to cover the gap alone. If you earn less on reduced hours or different duties, weekly payments from the insurer may make up part of the difference, and how much depends on how long you have been on the claim, how many hours you are working and your pre injury earnings. Your case manager can explain exactly what applies to you.
Redux Rehab takes referrals from insurers and case managers, and requests for workplace rehabilitation from employers, treating practitioners and workers across NSW.