Assaulted by a client or member of the public: NSW workers compensation guide

Assaulted by a client or member of the public can occur through assault during an interview, inspection, home visit or service decision and threats, stalking or intimidation after a client interaction. The incident history should identify the task, equipment, location and sequence of events rather than relying on the job title alone.

People commonly exposed include welfare, housing, government and community-service workers and inspectors, compliance and enforcement staff. Employment records should identify each person's task, employer and position in the work area when the incident occurred.

Medical records after a assaulted by a client or member of the public may identify head, facial, neck, shoulder, hand or fracture injury and a diagnosed psychological injury after assault or threat. Each diagnosis should be linked to the event or exposure and to the worker's actual functional change.

After a assaulted by a client or member of the public, immediate reporting and safety records may include appointment, case allocation and authorised client-contact record and incident, security and police report. These records can establish what was known at the time without requiring the worker to repeatedly recount a traumatic event.

• Duress alarm, access, call and location records where lawfully available.
• Witness, supervisor and emergency-response records.

For a assaulted by a client or member of the public, the first evidence to preserve includes risk rating and prior warning records and lone-worker, home-visit or escort procedure. It is most useful when dates, people, equipment, duties and later medical histories tell a consistent account.

• Roster, workload and staffing support.
• Contemporaneous medical and employer correspondence.

Medical and psychological evidence after a assaulted by a client or member of the public may include physical examination and specialist evidence matching the mechanism and psychological assessment explaining diagnosis, symptoms and functional effect. A diagnosis alone may not answer causation or capacity: the records should explain the work event, symptoms, treatment and practical restrictions.

• Capacity certificate addressing client contact, travel and isolated work.
• Treatment history and any failed return to client-facing work.

After a assaulted by a client or member of the public, an insurer may dispute the contact is said to be outside assigned duties and confidentiality is incorrectly treated as preventing proof of the event. The written decision should be answered with evidence directed to those stated reasons.

Physical examination and specialist evidence matching the mechanism. Psychological assessment explaining diagnosis, symptoms and functional effect. If treatment is disputed after a assaulted by a client or member of the public, the request should explain the accepted diagnosis, expected functional benefit and reasonable alternatives.

Work capacity after a assaulted by a client or member of the public may turn on whether the worker can attend the same client or area and need for escorts, paired visits, remote work or non-client duties. Proposed duties must be compared with the real task demands and the worker's ability to sustain them for the proposed hours.

A lasting physical injury is assessed under the NSW method for the affected body system only after the condition is sufficiently stable. The event label does not predict a WPI percentage. Primary psychological impairment is assessed separately under the NSW psychiatric impairment method when the condition is permanent and the legal pathway is established. Diagnosis alone does not determine WPI. Any WPI assessment after a assaulted by a client or member of the public occurs after stabilisation under the NSW method for the accepted body system; the accident or surgery alone does not determine a percentage.

A primary psychological injury is the psychological condition said to arise directly from workplace events. For claims first notified on or after 1 July 2026, the event must fit a relevant-event category and satisfy the additional connection and causation requirements. A secondary psychological injury arises as a consequence of a physical injury, for example depression associated with pain, surgery or loss of mobility after an assault injury. The 2026 primary-injury reforms do not apply to secondary psychological injuries in the same way. The distinction depends on medical causation and the accepted injury history, not simply on which symptoms were noticed first.

A police, SafeWork, workplace, discrimination, Fair Work or protective-order process may exist alongside workers compensation. Those processes have different purposes and do not decide workers compensation automatically. A civil, victims-support or other claim may require separate advice depending on the person involved and circumstances. It should not be described as part of workers compensation without checking eligibility. These issues are separate from workers compensation and depend on the particular facts.

For a assaulted by a client or member of the public, assistance may involve identify the event category, incident date and claim pathway before responding to an insurer and organise incident, safety, medical, psychological and capacity evidence without circulating unnecessary private material. The purpose is to identify the disputed decision and the evidence needed for the next step, not to promise an outcome.