Although the team processes invoices and pays loss of earnings, these administrative tasks account for a very small percentage of the team’s overall time. The team is focused on returning our injured people back to health, capacity and wellbeing.
This involves a wide range of activities including:
- maintaining regular contact with the injured person
- contacting doctors to ensure the person receives appropriate and timely reviews and treatment
- helping the person to access local treatment providers
- referrals to rehabilitation providers to assist with return to work
- purchasing and delivering aids and appliances
- arranging for specialist reviews
- supporting the injured person’s choice to obtain other medical opinions
- drafting return-to-work plans
- encouraging employers to provide suitable duties for injured workers and to continue to employ them as they recover from their injury
- finding alternative employment and facilitating training or upskilling.
Team members also frequently offer a sympathetic ear and just listen to what the injured person has to say when things aren’t going well.
In other words, the Compensation Team organises and manages medical practitioners and other providers to deliver treatment and services to help the injured person recover from their injury, while also giving a high level of support to the injured person as they recover.
After reflecting on the wide range of services it offers, the Compensation Team changed its name in 2019 to the Injury Recovery and Support Services Team, and a few other changes were made at the same time. To improve the point of contact between injured CFA members and the team, we now have regional injury recovery advisers who manage both WorkCover and volunteer claims in their regions.
We now also have specialists who handle the required processes when a claim is first submitted and to calculate and pay loss of earnings. Having these roles ensures our injury recovery advisers can focus on what they do best - helping our injured employees and volunteers to recover from their injury and promote a positive return to their normal day-to-day life.
You can contact the Injury Recovery and Support Services Team by phoning 9262 8244 or emailing injuryrecovery@cfa.vic.gov.au.