Work injuries & WorkCover · stage by stage
Work injuries & WorkCover
WorkCover statutory claims and common law damages for Queensland workers, from reporting the injury to the deadlines that decide the claim.
6 monthsWorkCover claim3 yearsCourt proceedings
A notice of claim for damages comes before court proceedings, and needs your WorkCover claim number.
Stage 1
Right after an injury
Report it, get treatment and keep records from the first day.
- At the workplaceI’m Hurt at Work, Now What? Your First 72 Hours ExplainedWhat to do in the three days after a workplace injury — reporting, treatment, and the paperwork a WorkCover claim later stands on.
- At the workplaceWhat to do when you’ve been injured at work?The first steps after a workplace injury in Queensland, and the deadlines that start running from the day it happened.
Stage 2
Is there a claim?
Who is responsible, which scheme applies, and whether your situation is covered.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverTruck coupling and uncoupling injuries in Queensland: workers, equipment and claimsIdentify the changeover task, equipment and work arrangements before assessing compensation, responsibility and any separate motor claim.
- Aircraft & airline claimsLight-aircraft and helicopter ground-worker injuries: Queensland work and damages claimsStart with the ground task, employer, scheme and injury mechanism, then distinguish work benefits, negligence and any aircraft-specific claim.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverTruck cab entry and exit falls in Queensland: WorkCover, access equipment and other claimsSeparate the work connection and compensation application from the access equipment, landing conditions, business responsibilities and any possible motor claim.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverTruck loading and unloading injuries in Queensland: drivers, delivery sites and claimsSeparate the loading task, employment and delivery handover before assessing statutory compensation, other businesses' roles and any vehicle-related claim.
- Road & traffic accidentsTruck rollover and jackknife injuries in Queensland: drivers, other road users and claimsSeparate the truck's movement from its cause and the injured person's claim route, including employee-drivers, other road users and the evidence changed by recovery.
- Aircraft & airline claimsPilots and helicopter crew injured at work: Queensland claims and medical clearanceWork injury eligibility, capacity for duties and aviation medical clearance are different decisions. Understand the scheme, documents and evidence before assuming career loss.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverAsbestos-related disease in Queensland: old exposure, diagnosis and compensationUnderstand how a possible asbestos disease claim brings together the diagnosis, earlier work, insurer or scheme, benefit decisions and separate damages questions.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverStudent placement injuries in Queensland: work experience, internships and insuranceIdentify the arrangement behind a placement injury, the difference between student insurance and unpaid-intern cover, and the separate safety and negligence questions.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverQ fever after work in Queensland: exposure, diagnosis and WorkCoverExplain a possible work-related Q-fever claim through actual tasks and animal environments, medical assessment, continuing symptoms and the required employment connection.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverSkin cancer after outdoor work in Queensland: exposure history and WorkCoverExplain a possible work-related skin-cancer claim through the diagnosed condition, outdoor employment over time, actual sun protection and relevant non-work exposure.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverWork-related asthma in Queensland: diagnosis, exposure history and WorkCoverUnderstand the difference between asthma caused or worsened by work, the history a medical assessment needs, and the separate WorkCover and negligence questions.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverHand-arm vibration injuries in Queensland: WorkCover and the exposure historyUnderstand a possible vibration-related work injury claim, from medical assessment and tool identification to actual use, work history, technical evidence and suitable duties.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverDermatitis at work in Queensland: can you claim WorkCover?Understand work-related dermatitis claims, including repeated wet work, irritant and allergic contact, earlier skin conditions, suitable duties and the evidence needed.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverMachinery guarding injuries in Queensland: investigating the work and equipmentExplain the task and machine condition after a machinery injury. Understand guarding, control and isolation distinctions, record timing, training evidence and the separate claim questions.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverWorkplace burns and scalds in Queensland: the task, evidence and claimUnderstand the claim questions after a thermal burn or scald at work: the task and heat source, work controls, medical evidence, reporting and lasting effects.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverRepetitive strain and gradual work injuries in Queensland: explaining the claim historyA work injury can develop over time without one identifiable accident. Explain the actual tasks, medical history and changing capacity, and understand why different dates and claim pathways…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverLadder falls at work in Queensland: claims, work methods and evidenceA ladder does not have to break, and a fall does not have to exceed a nominated height, before a work injury claim can be assessed. Understand the…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverNeedlestick and Sharps Injuries at Work in Queensland: Care, Reporting and ClaimsA work-related sharps incident calls for prompt clinical assessment and a clear account. Understand exposure, injury, follow-up and separate claim decisions.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverHeat Illness at Work in Queensland: Conditions, WorkCover and ClaimsUnderstand how the work, conditions and medical evidence affect a Queensland heat illness claim, and why a weather reading is only part of the assessment.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverElectrical Injuries at Work in Queensland: Reporting, Evidence and ClaimsUnderstand the separate safety reports, compensation application and evidence questions after an electrical injury at work in Queensland.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverWorkplace Chemical Exposure in Queensland: Safety Records, Health Monitoring and ClaimsSeparate chemical hazard information, exposure history, medical assessment and compensation after a workplace incident or repeated chemical work.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverUninsured Employers in Queensland: How Injured Workers Can Pursue CompensationFind the claim pathway when an employer's WorkCover policy is missing, expired or uncertain, and separate your entitlements from the employer's insurance problem.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverWorking from Home Injuries in Queensland: Work Tasks, Breaks and Compensation CoverUnderstand when a home-working injury may be covered, how work tasks and breaks differ, and the records that explain the employment connection.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverIndustrial Hearing Loss in Queensland: Work History, Assessments and Compensation DecisionsUnderstand the special rules for industrial deafness, the work and hearing records to gather, impairment assessments and decisions before accepting an offer.
- Road & traffic accidentsWorkCover and CTP After a Queensland Road Accident: Coordinating Claims, Payments and SettlementHow work and road-injury claims fit together: separate applications, treatment approvals, payment records and the recovery accounting before settlement.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverReturning to Work After an Injury in Queensland: Suitable Duties and Rehabilitation PlansConnect your work capacity certificate with a practical suitable duties program, understand everyone's role and respond when a return to work arrangement is not working.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverDisputing a Queensland WorkCover Decision: Review Grounds, Evidence and Next StepsIdentify the right review route, respond to an insurer's reasons and organise relevant evidence when a Queensland WorkCover or self-insurer decision is disputed.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverFIFO Workers’ Compensation in Queensland: Are You Covered at Camp, in Transit and Off Shift?When WorkCover covers a FIFO or DIDO worker who is hurt on the way to site, on a charter flight, at camp or between shifts, and when you…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverInjured Working at Woolworths, Coles or Another Self-Insured Employer in QueenslandHow workers’ compensation works when your employer is self-insured, how to lodge a claim, how to challenge a decision, and when you can sue.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverLabour Hire Workers’ Compensation in Queensland: Casuals, ABN Workers and Suing the HostHow WorkCover works for labour hire, casual and ABN workers, when you can sue the host business as well as the agency, and how weekly payments are worked…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverInjured Working in Hospitality or Retail in Queensland: Your WorkCover RightsWhat casual, part-time and junior hospitality and retail workers can claim after a burn, cut, fall, lifting injury or customer assault, and what happens if your employer has…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverCompensation for Losing a Finger at Work in Queensland: Amputations and Crush InjuriesWhat WorkCover pays after a finger amputation or crush injury, how the lump sum is worked out, when you can also sue, and what decides how much a…
- At the workplaceFarm & Agricultural Worker Injury ClaimsHow injury claims work on Queensland farms — WorkCover, contractors and family workers, machinery, and the deadlines that apply to each.
- Psychological & mental health claimsWorkplace Bullying Made Me Sick: How to Claim for Psychological InjuryWhen bullying at work becomes a compensable psychological injury, what has to be proved, and the management-action defence that often decides it.
- Gig economy & contractorsUberEats, DoorDash, Menulog & HungryPanda Riders: Are Your Injuries Covered?What cover a delivery rider actually has when they are hurt working — platform insurance, CTP, WorkCover — and what to claim first.
- Gig economy & contractorsGig Economy Injuries: Are Uber Drivers and Delivery Workers Covered?Where rideshare and delivery workers stand when they are hurt on a job — employee, contractor, CTP or nothing — and what to claim first.
- Psychological & mental health claimsMental Health Claims in the Workplace: Legal Pathways for Psychological InjuriesHow a psychological injury from work is claimed in Queensland, the extra test it has to meet, and the deadlines that apply.
- At the workplaceAustralia’s most common work injuryThe injury that puts more Australians off work than any other, the industries where it clusters, and what a claim for it involves.
- At the workplaceWorkplace injuries – which profession are you most likely to get hurt in?The Queensland occupations with the highest injury rates, the injuries each one produces, and what claiming looks like in those industries.
Stage 3
How long have I got?
The notice periods and limitation dates that apply to these claims.
WorkCover claim6 months
Court proceedings3 years
A notice of claim for damages comes before court proceedings, and needs your WorkCover claim number.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverJob Loss During a Queensland Injury Claim: Payments, Rehabilitation and DeadlinesLosing a job and losing a compensation entitlement are different decisions. Understand ongoing payments, rehabilitation and separate dismissal deadlines.
- Time limits & deadlinesTime Limits for Workers’ Compensation Claims in QueenslandThe six months for a statutory claim, the three years for common law damages, and the steps that have to be finished in between.
Stage 4
What is it worth?
What these claims pay, and what decides the amount.
- Work injuries & WorkCoverForklift Accident Compensation and Warehouse Injury Claims in QueenslandWhat you can claim after a forklift accident or warehouse injury, what your employer had to do to keep you safe, and whether you can be sacked for…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverMining Injury Compensation in Queensland: Claims, Lump Sums and Suing the Mine OperatorWhat WorkCover pays after a mine, quarry or gas field injury, when you can sue your employer or the mine operator, and how mine dust lung disease claims…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverConstruction Site Injury Claims in Queensland: WorkCover, Subcontractors and Suing the BuilderWhat WorkCover pays after a building site injury, whether a subcontractor with an ABN is covered, when you can sue the builder or another trade, and the rules…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverEye Injury at Work Compensation in QueenslandWhat WorkCover pays after an eye injury at work, how loss of vision is rated, when you can sue, and what happens if you were not wearing safety…
- Work injuries & WorkCoverSilicosis Compensation in Queensland: Can You Sue, and What Is It Worth?The WorkCover benefits and common law damages open to Queensland workers with silicosis, what decides the amount, and why there is no time limit to sue but good…
Stage 5
Running the claim
Lodging the claim, and what happens after it.
Talk to us
Hurt at work and not sure where you stand?
Tell us what happened in a sentence. We will point you to the right guide, or tell you plainly if there is no claim in it.
No-obligation first consultation. We will be in touch within 2 business hours.