UPCOMING EVENTS

PREVIOUS EVENTS

IPTC Symposium #3: Primary Mental Injury, Prevention and Management – 2 November 2023

A gathering of insurers/claims agents, regulators and others (rehabilitation providers, superannuation funds) met in Sydney on Thursday 2nd November ’23 to consider and openly discuss the prevention and management of mental injury claims.

The day was structured around panels, with panel members drawn from a range of organisations, and table discussions to share and discuss ideas and strategy options. The focus for the morning session was “prevention” led by a presentation by Sue Freeman from Finity and Emma Flynn from Steering Healthy Minds/Transport Workers' Union on collaborative interventions. The afternoon session was on claims management of mental injury claims.  

The worth the day was highly rated by attendees with further collaboration and follow up requested.  This is indicative of the importance of this topic and the significant impact on all parties involved: the workers' compensation schemes; the workers impacted by these conditions; and the employers trying to manage these workers. Claims for mental injury are often long in duration and costly, so prevention and better management are a priority. 

Biopsychosocial (BPS) Follow Up Session – 29 August 2023

Following the IPTC BPS Symposium earlier this year we held a half-day meeting on 29 August at the Adelaide Oval, just prior to the Personal Injury Education Foundation’s (PIEF) National Summit.  PIEF supported the meeting by funding the venue and catering. 

Professor Michael Nicholas spoke about the need to set up systems to be sustainable. That early psychosocial triage and matched care is effective but the approach needs care and attention to ensure the system and protocol are maintained. Dr. Mary Wyatt talked about the challenges and opportunities of scaling up successful practices. This was followed by a Q&A session on how to implement these ideas.

Attendees participated in group discussions to identify what their organizations and the entire industry need to move forward. To close the meeting, a Menti survey was conducted. The results showed a strong need for nationwide involvement, consistent guidelines, and a reliable system for assessing psychosocial risks. This was supported by all key groups involved.

IPTC Symposium #1: Early psychosocial triage and matched care - 27 April 2023

On 27 April 2023 insurers, regulators and claims agents gathered in Sydney, joined by industry experts.  Through a combination of short expert talks, panel sharing and Q&A, we explored the foundation concepts of early psychosocial triage and matched care.  This included the principles of triage, assessment and matched interventions, along with the role of the regulator and program evaluation. 

We thank everyone who attended, and particularly the experts and panelists. 

Participant feedback was:

• That the symposium was valuable (94% rated the value as 4/5 or 5/5)
• 98 % of respondents indicated a level 4/5 or 5/5 wish for ongoing collaboration on psychosocial triage and matched care; a follow up meeting, further expert talks, and case studies with program learnings and Q&A sessions
• 100% of respondents indicated their organisation would be interested in joining further similar symposia, on other topics
• Participants considered the format of the day was valuable, appreciating the input from experts and the experience of the panelists
• The day was compact, and a number of respondents requested more time for networking and group discussions.

We will incorporate this feedback into future symposia.

Thanks all for your participation. The desire for collaboration and doing better shone through. It was fantastic to hear the of the many constructive initiatives underway, and the opportunities to improve care of workers with better recovery and return to work.

WA WorkCover Conference - 13 October 2023

On 13 October 2023, Mary Wyatt and Sharon Stratford were on a panel discussion at the WA WorkCover conference talking about It Pays to Care. The session was lively and interactive highlighting the benefits of the policy to the 650 attendees: insurers, providers and employers many of whom appear to be actively embracing the spirit of the policy in their work. Other themes evident from the day in alignment with It Pays to Care included: purpose, leadership, culture, collaboration and importantly care.

As a result many stakeholders from the WA scheme have reached out to be involved and use the policy in their activities - a great outcome. The theme of the conference was 'Forward. Together' which certainly seems to be where we are heading with the policy in the West. We look forward to working together with WorkCover WA and its scheme participants next year.

IPTC Symposium #2: Influencing Employers – 31 August 2023

A gathering of insurers, regulators, claims agents and others (rehab, broker, occupational physicians, researchers) met at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday 31^st August (following the recent PIEF National Summit) to consider and openly discuss how to positively influence workplaces with effective RTW policies.  Workplaces have a strong influence on RTW. 

The day was structured around panels, with panel members drawn from a range of organisations. By grouping participants with particular areas of interest, roundtable discussions considered barriers and facilitators to influence employers. Groups considered the topics of small to mediums sized employers, large employers, government departments, linking post injury care to the prevention of psychosocial hazards, and the role of external providers in influencing workplaces. 

The usefulness of the day was rated as 8.9/10 by attendees. There was strong agreement that trust and collaboration with employers and other invested parties is paramount in gaining an improvement in the relationships involved in returning to work following injury.

Once again, we acknowledge and appreciate the support provided by PIEF in holding this event. 

Update meetings arising from the Early psychosocial triage and matched care Symposium #1 – April 2023

Following the recent “It pays to Care” Biopsychosocial Symposium held in Sydney on 27 April 2023, follow up activities were recommended as an avenue to continue the discussions around improving the knowledge and understanding about early psychosocial screening and matched care and supporting the effective implementation of this approach. 

As a result, we recently commenced a series of monthly online sessions to provide the venue for continuing the opportunities for sharing and learning from each other, with alternating sessions headed by expert Q&A participants sharing their expertise and experience.  The plan will be to run a total of 6 sessions over the coming months and reassess at the conclusion of that period. 

In addition, a follow up Face-to-Face half day meeting will be held in August in Adelaide (just prior to the PIEF national summit) thereby providing the opportunity to review the discussions from the Symposium and how those involved can take the learnings back to the practical workplace.

ARPA Roundtable March 2023

On 24 March, APRA hosted an industry roundtable in Sydney.  Representatives from across the Australian workers' compensation industry, including all scheme regulators and insurers, joined representatives of all ARPA state and territory Councils, the Personal Injury Education Foundation, HBGW Australian Signatories Steering Group and some members from ANZSOM.  

The aim was to discuss how as an industry we can work together to improve RTW rates using the It Pays to Care initiative. ARPA considered the day was an outstanding success.
The day started with a presentation on the It pays to care policy, focused on the importance of collaboration.

Sharon Stratford led discussions over the remainder of the day, exploring barriers to improvements and ways to overcome those barriers. It pays to care was regularly referenced by participants in these sessions, highlighting aspects of the policy including discussed opportunities for improvements.

Feedback from participants was that the opportunity to share and discuss common barriers was much appreciated. There was strong agreement the approach should be continued with further meetings.  ARPA National Council will consider the options and determine the next steps to move the initiative forward.