A medical certificate can explain why you missed work. It will not necessarily explain what you would have earned, whether a business downturn came from the injury, or how an altered role affects your longer-term prospects.
A useful income claim joins those parts of the story. It shows the work you did, what changed because of the injury and the financial effect of that change. The aim is a supported comparison, rather than multiplying every week since the accident by the largest payslip you can find.
Past income and future capacity are separate parts of the assessment
Past loss concerns the period already elapsed. Records may show unpaid weeks, shorter shifts, lost overtime or the cost of keeping a business operating. The question remains whether the claimed difference resulted from the injury.
Future loss concerns what the injury is likely to change after the assessment date. It may involve reduced hours, restrictions on particular duties, a supported career change or disadvantage if the current job ends. Continuing to earn does not automatically answer that question, but a future award is not automatic simply because symptoms remain.
MAIC’s explanation of CTP losses identifies pre-accident earnings, employment history and future work potential as relevant. Its settlement guidance also emphasises records of lost wages and understanding future injury effects before settling.
Choose a baseline that represents the work you actually did
A baseline is the starting account of your work and earnings before the injury. It should explain the pattern, not conceal it. A recent promotion, seasonal roster, planned leave or period between contracts can make a short snapshot misleading.
Use records long enough to show the relevant variation. Compare equivalent pay periods and identify whether amounts are gross, net or inclusive of particular allowances. Bank deposits can help reconcile a payment, but do not always reveal the hours, deductions or period it represents.
Future changes need their own support. An accepted job offer, completed qualification or documented promotion process has a different evidentiary value from an aspiration that was never acted on. A genuine plan can still be uncertain; record the evidence and the uncertainty together.
Different working arrangements need different evidence
| Working arrangement | Useful comparison | What the records should explain |
|---|---|---|
| Employee on regular hours | Ordinary pay and duties before injury against actual pay, hours and duties afterwards. | Payslips, rosters, contract, leave records and employer confirmation of changes. |
| Casual, seasonal or variable-hours employee | The established work pattern and available shifts, allowing for genuine variation. | Longer roster history, payslips, availability, accepted shifts and reasons for reductions. |
| Sole trader or other business owner | The injury’s effect on personal earning activity and the business’s supported financial position. | Tax and accounting records, expenses, jobs, replacement labour and business structure. |
| Employee who returns with restrictions | Actual earnings and duties, alongside the supported future effect of the restrictions. | Return-to-work arrangements, medical restrictions, assistance, changed tasks and relevant employment evidence. |
There is no universal bundle that proves every loss. These comparisons help identify the records needed for the particular issue. They do not establish an entitlement to every item mentioned.
Employees: explain hours, leave and pay separately
A payslip may contain ordinary wages, overtime, allowances, a leave payment and a deduction in the same fortnight. Record what changed rather than treating the total deposit as a complete account of the injury’s effect.
Leave needs particular care. Being paid while absent does not make the leave history irrelevant, but it also does not justify claiming both full wages and the same payment again without assessment. Keep the leave type, amount used, applicable entitlement and any reinstatement or repayment arrangement available for advice.
Employer records can explain whether reduced pay came from injury restrictions, a general reduction in shifts, a shutdown or another cause. If you have more than one job, identify each employer and the work affected. An unchanged total from one job can conceal a loss in another, or income that partly replaces it.
Variable earnings need context, not a single average
Casual work, commissions, overtime and bonuses can make the comparison more demanding. Evidence of a regular pattern may support an expectation that the work would have continued. It still needs to account for availability, seasonal demand and the conditions on which a payment was earned.
Keep rosters and messages showing offered, accepted or cancelled shifts. A record that you declined a shift should include the actual reason where known. Injury-related inability, a holiday and lack of available work should not all be described as the same lost opportunity.
A spreadsheet can summarise these facts, but the underlying records matter. Mark an estimate as an estimate and retain the method used. Later corrections should be traceable rather than silently replacing an earlier account.
For a business owner, reduced sales are not the final loss figure
Turnover measures revenue, not what the owner personally earns. A job that could not be performed might also have involved materials, subcontracting or other expenses. Other costs may continue despite the injury. The accounting comparison needs to identify both sides.
Separate completed work awaiting payment from new work performed after the injury. Money received in a recovery month may relate to an earlier invoice. Equally, a quiet month may reflect the normal season or a lost customer for reasons unrelated to health.
The business structure matters. A company, partnership and sole trader do not hold income and expenses in identical ways. Salary, drawings, distributions and company profit should not be treated as interchangeable personal wage figures. The lawyer and accountant may need to identify whose loss is being assessed and how the documents support it.
The ATO’s business record-keeping guidance describes the importance of transaction records. Those tax records can contribute to the evidence, but tax compliance by itself does not decide a personal-injury damages calculation.
Replacement labour and help can change the picture
A business may maintain sales because someone else does the injured owner’s work. The sales figure alone would miss the additional cost or the change in the owner’s role. Keep invoices, payment records and an account of what the replacement person actually did.
Unpaid help from family also needs an accurate description. It is not automatically valued as the owner’s previous income, nor necessarily governed by the same rules as domestic care. Identify whether the help concerned business work, household tasks or both.
Illustration only: a sole trader’s monthly receipts remain similar after an injury because customers pay earlier invoices and a subcontractor completes current jobs. The supported comparison examines the work periods, expenses and replacement tasks. It does not infer “no loss” from receipts alone or treat every subcontractor invoice as an additional recoverable amount. This is a hypothetical, not a reported claim.
A medical restriction must be connected with the job
“Cannot lift” is useful only when the relevant tasks are understood. Work may involve repeated lifting, sustained sitting, driving, concentration, dealing with customers or an irregular roster. Describe the task, frequency and adjustments, while leaving medical conclusions to the appropriate practitioner.
After a return to work, record both what you can do and what assistance or modification makes it possible. Fewer hours, lighter duties, additional breaks or a colleague taking over part of the role can explain why unchanged pay does not necessarily mean unchanged capacity.
An examination report and vocational or financial evidence perform different jobs. The medical-examination guide explains the assessment role and report accuracy. A medical impairment rating should not be converted into the same percentage of lifetime wages.
Future earnings require supported assumptions
A future assessment needs to identify what is likely to happen with and without the injury. Relevant matters may include the recovery outlook, sustainable duties, work history, skills and realistic employment alternatives. A more expensive course or a hoped-for promotion does not automatically supply the future earning baseline.
Section 55 of the Civil Liability Act addresses loss that cannot be precisely calculated from a defined weekly amount. It requires a supported finding of loss and an explanation of the assumptions and method. Uncertainty does not remove the need for evidence.
Simply multiplying a current weekly shortfall to retirement can overlook recovery, changing work, contingencies and present-value rules. A proper assessment explains those assumptions. There is no payout prediction in this guide.
Check the scheme, limits and overlapping payments
Past lossexplain the actual difference Future losssupport the assumptions
The applicable legal scheme comes first. The Civil Liability Act’s application and exclusions mean its damages provisions should not simply be imported into a WorkCover or employer claim. A third-party defendant does not automatically remove a workers-compensation exclusion.
Within its scope, sections 54, 56 and 57 contain earnings-limit, employer-superannuation and present-value rules. These rules do not promise full replacement of every dollar claimed. No current dollar cap, superannuation rate or universal multiplier is supplied here.
Keep statutory compensation, wages, leave, Centrelink, income protection and reimbursements in separate columns. Different rules can govern their treatment, offsets or recovery. Tax treatment is also a separate question. Seek advice about the actual payments rather than deducting everything, or adding everything, by assumption.
Reasonable recovery efforts should be recorded accurately
A damages claim includes questions about reasonable steps to limit loss. That does not mean working against appropriate medical advice or accepting any suggested job without considering the circumstances.
Keep rehabilitation and return-to-work proposals, the restrictions they were intended to accommodate and any practical problem with them. If a proposed task cannot be performed, identify the reason and obtain the relevant medical or employment clarification. An unexplained refusal tells less than a supported account.
Section 53 addresses specified mitigation suggestions and their assessment. The consequences depend on reasonableness and the applicable process. This guide does not determine whether a particular treatment or job must be accepted.
What to do when an injury affects your earnings
- Step 1 Identify each job or business activity and the work you did before the injury.
- Step 2 Retain a representative earnings history, rosters, contracts and relevant tax or business records.
- Step 3 Record the actual changes in hours, duties, pay, leave and assistance, with dates and reasons.
- Step 4 Connect work restrictions with the relevant medical evidence and keep return-to-work arrangements.
- Step 5 Separate revenue, expenses and replacement labour for a business, and identify overlapping payments.
- Step 6 Have the past comparison and future assumptions assessed under the correct claim scheme before relying on an offer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim if I am back at work?
A return to work can reduce a current loss while leaving a question about restrictions and future earning capacity. The answer depends on evidence of the disadvantage, not simply whether you have resumed receiving wages.
Which payslip should I use if my hours varied?
Use a representative history that explains the pattern and relevant changes. A single unusually high or low week can mislead. Preserve rosters and the reasons for reduced hours so an average can be assessed in context.
Does using sick leave mean there was no loss?
Keep the leave record and entitlement details for assessment. Paid absence, use of an entitlement and unpaid wage loss are different matters. Their treatment needs advice; neither an automatic rejection nor double recovery should be assumed.
My business turnover stayed the same. Does that end the claim?
No single revenue figure settles the issue. Earlier invoices, replacement labour, continuing expenses and the owner’s actual work may explain the result. A supported accounting comparison is needed; stable turnover does not itself prove either a loss or its absence.
Can an impairment percentage be applied to my wages?
That is not a reliable calculation. Medical impairment, functional restrictions and their economic consequences are different questions. The work and financial evidence need to explain the effect on your actual and future ability to earn.
Should I wait until the financial records are complete before getting advice?
No. Identify what is available and what is missing, but obtain advice about the claim and deadlines promptly. Records can be developed while the appropriate legal steps are addressed; a spreadsheet does not protect a time limit.
Sources and further reading
- Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld), sections 4–5 and 53–57. Application and exclusions must be checked before using its damages rules.
- MAIC, What can be claimed and Claim processing and settlement, linked above. These explain CTP assessment and supporting records.
- Australian Taxation Office, Overview of record-keeping rules for business, linked above. Tax record requirements are distinct from proof and valuation of an injury claim.
Help explaining the work and income change
The compensation payout guide places economic loss alongside the other components of a claim. You can contact Carter Capner Law with your work history, the changes following the injury and the records available.
General information only. This guide does not value an individual loss, determine tax treatment or replace advice about workers compensation, insurance benefits or a particular return-to-work proposal.