Central Safety Group Melbourne

May 2014

Australia’s failure to improve Return-to-Work Rates

Presentation by: Associate Professor Alex Collie, Research Leader and Acting Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research, Monash University

Presentation package now available (members only)

Current obstacles to successfully bringing injured people back to work and the need for new approaches was discussed by Associate Professor Alex Collie from Monash University in his lunchtime talk to Central Safety Group on 13 May, 2014.
Alex Collie has done substantial research on this and related issues. He said that surveys had shown that Australia has failed to improve return to rates for the past 15 years, describing this as a major public health and economic challenge.
There is abundant international research showing that a worker's recovery can be shaped by their interactions with employers, healthcare providers and the workers' compensation system. But it takes new thinking, careful planning and sustained effort on behalf of those involved in the process.
Alex presented some of his latest research findings, explored some of the key issues and made recommendations on what we should be doing to improve return to work outcomes.

The presenter:

Associate Professor Alex Collie, Acting Chief Executive Officer of ISCRR (Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research) at Monash University, is an applied public health and social policy researcher, with a specific focus on work disability benefit and compensation systems and their impact on the work, social and health outcomes of injured and ill people. Alex has advised multiple state and commonwealth government departments and in private sector organisations in matters relating to workplace health, insurance and injury compensation. He has held numerous board positions on non-profit health sector organisations. He has a PhD in psychology. He has published over 100 peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and technical reports, and is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences.