About the National Return to Work Survey Data

The statistics in this dataset are compiled from the National Return to Work Survey, a biennial survey that has been conducted since 2012. The National Return to Work Survey measures the outcomes of ill and injured workers who are currently receiving or have previously received workers compensation, to better understand their experiences and the factors that influenced their return to work. The survey collects this information from both worker and employer perspectives.

Field Input
Survey years 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2021, 2025
Data last updated 2025
Survey frequency Workers – Every 2 years
Employers – Every 4 years
Target population

Injured workers who had made a workers’ compensation claim, or employers of workers with these claims, who:

  • had at least one day away from work due to their workplace injury or illness,
  • had a workers’ compensation claim in the specified 24 month period
  • had either an open or closed workers’ compensation claim, and
  • worked in either premium-paying (including own businesses) or self-insured organisations.
Excluded population

Ill or injured workers with the following characteristics were not contacted as part of the survey:

  • injured workers who are deceased
  • injured workers who are involved in active legal proceedings (including appeals)
  • injured workers identified as being likely to be adversely affected by participating in the survey
  • claims for compensation for fatalities and/or where a date of death is recorded
  • injured workers under the age of 18 at the time of sample extraction
  • injured workers classified as 'risk clients' (e.g. 'violent' or similar indicator) for whom an interview is deemed inappropriate by the jurisdiction
  • injured workers who 'opt-out' of research from their respective jurisdiction
  • injured workers who are residing outside of Australia (in the case of Australian jurisdictions), and
  • claims that have been rejected.
Publicly available data? Partial - see 'National Return to Work Data Hub' for available data, otherwise request data.
Author Safe Work Australia

Notes:

To ensure results calculated from the dataset represent the target population as closely as possible, a weight was calculated for each survey respondent. All data presented from the National Return to Work Survey use weighted data, unless otherwise noted.

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