Psychological injuries at work are now taken seriously, which is good, but it’s costing billions. So what is NSW proposing?

This week is crunch time for the New South Wales ailing workers’ compensation system. It has promised to spend $344m on preventing psychological injuries in the workplace, including more workplace inspectors. People have become much more aware of psychological injuries. Mookhey says businesses are facing a 36% increase in workers’ compensation premiums due to increased claims, mainly for psychological injury. The government has introduced clearer definitions of vicarious trauma and acknowledged that psychological injuries arising from repeated exposure to other people’s traumatic experiences are compensable.