What Do You Know About WorkCover (Victoria, Australia)?
And, another question: Ever wondered why some psychologists in Victoria refuse to see clients receiving WorkCover? Judging by their online blurbs, it's because they had a bad experience: They fell into an administrative and/or treatment pitfall because they did not understand this system to which their clients are intrinsically tied.
Don’t let this be you. Not only are these pitfalls completely avoidable, workers’ compensation is a rewarding area of work. You just need a road map.
This 90 minute on-demand workshop consists of 1.5 hours of CPD for psychologists.
Only Tool of Its Kind
How do psychologists in Victoria learn to navigate workers' compensation (WorkCover) without this tool? They take clients, make mistakes, and learn. And then they make more mistakes, and learn. How do they know when they've finally learned all that they need? They don't. Many psychologists find themselves out of pocket, frustrated at the system, and with clients frustrated with them, owing to an expectation that they should have known more.
Bypass all of this uncertainty: Educate yourself and be confident in taking clients receiving WorkCover.
Drawing on 8 years of "inside knowledge"—experience in various roles on the claims management side of workers’ compensation—this on-demand workshop will help you to:
- Avoid unrecoupable invoices—the top complaint amongst psychologists—THIS WORKSHOP PAYS FOR ITSELF!
- Alleviate clients’ anxieties about navigating WorkCover: A system they are bound to
- Avoid treatment pitfalls that cause frustration and stall therapeutic progress
- Retain focus on the issues that brought your client to therapy
This workshop is relevant to claims managed by Victoria's 4 WorkSafe Claims Agents (Allianz, DXC, EML, and Gallagher Bassett). It is not relevant to federal employees (ComCare) or self-insured organisations.
Learning Objectives
This on-demand workshop consists of a series of videos, which provide psychologists in Victoria with knowledge of:
- Roles of the various agencies and actors encountered by psychologists
- Means through which these agencies and actors communicate with psychologists
- Limits of WorkCover with regards to mental injury: What it can do and what it can't do (but many think it can!)
- WorkCover processes our clients must navigate
- How to avoid providing a service to a client who does not have an entitlement (unrecoupable invoices)
- Early therapeutic goals
- The importance of work and meaningful activity
- Claim milestones that impact therapy
- Tools to prepare clients for returning to work
- How WorkCover supports those who cannot return to work
- How to protect clients from viewing themselves as "agency-less" and "victims of the scheme"
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1Introduction
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2PART 1: How the Victorian Workers' Compensation Scheme Works
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3PART 2: Mistaken Assumptions and Treatment Pitfalls
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4PART 3: Common Client Complaints and How to Respond to Them
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5My Professional Experience and Summary
Frequently Asked Questions
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Absolutely it is! This workshop provides the "roadmap" to navigate your first referral with confidence, ensuring you don't fall into the common pitfalls that lead to unpaid invoices, frustration, and burnout in this space.
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I'd be surprised if you didn't, for two reasons.
First, when working in claims management, I often saw psychologists with years of experience in need of education about the way the Victorian scheme works. The problem is, THERE IS NO OFFICIAL PATH FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS TO LEARN TO NAVIGATE THE SCHEME. Psychologists simply make mistakes and learn from them. There is no way to know what you don't yet know! So, let this workshop tell you where the pitfalls are, how to avoid them, and give you confidence in your practise moving forwards.
Second, The Victorian workers' compensation scheme (WorkCover) underwent major scheme reform in 2024. Changes to mental injury eligibility are covered in this workshop.
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This workshop is authored by Chloe Woodcock, an independent psychologist, who has held positions in claims management, including:
- Mental Injury Specialist - DXC
- Case Manager - Allianz
- Occupational Rehabilitation Consultant
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No. This workshop is authored by Chloe Woodcock, an independent psychologist.
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Each section in this on-demand workshop contains a video ranging from 2 minutes to 20 minutes, with all of the videos totalling 1 hour and 30 minutes. Simply watch the videos at a pace convenient for you. There are no assignments. There is simply learning.
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Absolutely it will!
The current (July 2025 - June 2026) WorkSafe scheduled fee for a 60 minute individual psychology consultation is $203.91. This on-demand workshop costs $79.00. So, if it helps you to avoid just one unrecoupable invoice, it has paid for itself!
That's not all. This workshop highlights an easily billable item that many psychologists miss. If this workshop prompts you bill this item just once, it has paid for itself!
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You will receive a certificate upon completion for your CPD records.
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Once purchased, you have lifetime access to the workshop materials. You can watch them all at once or break them down into smaller segments to fit your schedule.
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Nothing. The first incarnation (back in 1985) of the Victorian Workers' Compensation Authority was "WorkCare", which became "WorkCover" under subsequent government leadership. The current VWCA is "WorkSafe Victoria", yet many still refer to the Victorian scheme as "WorkCover". I prefer the broader term "workers' compensation" and so have used this term throughout.
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They are essentially 3 different workers' compensation systems, all operating in Victoria, but for employees of different types of organisations.
ComCare operates at a federal level and caters only to clients who are federal government employees.
If your client is employed by a self-insured organisation, it means the organisation is large enough to qualify for such an arrangement and usually operates over multiple Australian states. Coles and QANTAS are examples of organisations that are self-insured for workers' compensation.
All other Victorian businesses are required, by law, to be insured for workers' compensation with one of the 4 Victorian Claims Agents: Allianz, DXC, EML, and Gallagher Bassett. These 4 agencies oversee the payment of compensation to injured workers and are governed by the rules of the Victorian Workers' Compensation Authority: WorkSafe Victoria. The vast majority of Victorian workers' compensation claims are therefore managed by one of these 4 agencies, meaning this course relates to the most standard framework of rules regarding workers' compensation in Victoria.
Clients do not choose who manages their workers' compensation claim. It is determined by the policy held by their employer.
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No. Workers' compensation in Australia is governed by state legislation. As such, this course is relevant only to psychologists who see clients with claims governed by Victorian legislation.