The PSA has a strong relationship with the Workers Health Centre, the state’s only not-for-profit rehabilitation service for injured workers.

In addition, the centre does not have a relationship with an insurance provider.

“Most or all other rehab providers are connected with insurance companies,” said Chief Executive of the Workers Health Centre, Natasha Flores. “They’re what we call panel providers, and they have connections to insurance companies. So, when a person is injured, the insurance company will often refer that person to the panel provider and that panel provider has a relationship with the insurer.”

“What you find with the panel providers is there’s a lot of box ticking and often the injured work is left out. So you’ll have a panel provider talking to a case manager who works for an insurer and the employer and they’re all talking, but the injured worker is not part of that conversation.”

Ms Flores said the Workers Health Centre focuses on the injured worker.

“We do what is what we call worker-centric,” she said. “So we will look at the person and the injured worker. We use our rehab consultants, who are allied health specialists, so they all have different qualifications. They will use that allied health knowledge and work with the injured worker to return them to work.”

The Workers Health Centre has been operating for 50 years, beginning as a research organisation for health issues affecting employees.

“Our board comprises of unions and union officials only,” said Ms Flores. “We have two positions that are community positions, but generally a union will recommend someone. It might be a retired member or a retired delegate.

“At the moment, one of our board members is actually a Police Association member and he is a working police officer.”

In compensation cases the injured worker has a right to choose their own return-to-work provider and to refuse a recommended provider from an insurance company.

“People who come to us don’t have to worry about being treated like a number, which is what they’d generally be treated like at a panel provider,” said Ms Flores.

There is a lot of pressure on workers from insurers to use the panel providers.”

She said if a worker is pushed to accept a panel provider, they should “contact their union”.

“A more timid worker is unlikely to engage in a heated argument with an insurer over something like this,” she said. “I think it’s just worth saying if the pressure is put on you, and it very likely will be, contact your union or contact the Workers Health Centre for assistance.”

Ms Flores said it is vital the rehabilitation process commences as soon as possible.

“You need quick treatment and you need quick rehabilitation services,” she said. “And if that all happens very, very quickly and timely at the right time for you, you will get back to work and you will recover. If things are left to fester, then that’s when it’s very, very difficult for us to get people back to work.

“If you want a career change, we have the people here who can help you do that. And we can do that within six to eight weeks.

“We can assist them in looking at their skills, saying, what are you, what are you, here are your skills, what would you like to do?”