Dermatitis and skin exposure at work: NSW workers compensation guide

Irritant or allergen, concentration, skin area and contact route. Hand-wash count, waterproof-glove time and wet-contact duration. The task history should quantify force, weight, repetition, duration, posture or exposure rather than rely on a label such as “overuse”.

Healthcare, cleaning and food-handling workers doing frequent wet work. Hairdressers, beauty, painting and manufacturing workers using sensitising products. Rosters and role records can identify who performed or observed the same work cycle.

Dermatitis or skin condition. Chemical burn. A symptom label does not replace a diagnosis or a reasoned opinion linking that diagnosis to the measured work history.

SDS, ingredient list, product and glove specifications. Wet-work, handwashing, glove and task records. Early records should show when symptoms began, changed and were reported, even where there was no single accident date.

• Photographs taken over time with dates and privacy preserved.

SDS, ingredient list, product and glove specifications. Wet-work, handwashing, glove and task records. The strongest task history connects objective work records with the symptom and treatment chronology.

• Photographs taken over time with dates and privacy preserved.
• Patch testing, dermatology, prior skin history and reports of product change.

Diagnosis distinguishing irritant dermatitis, allergic dermatitis, infection and chemical burn. Distribution, timing, patch-test or other clinical evidence where appropriate. Medical causation evidence should address the diagnosis, measured work exposure, pre-existing conditions and relevant non-work factors.

• Pre-existing eczema, domestic products and non-work exposure considered.

The product did not contact the affected skin or was correctly diluted. Gloves or handwashing prevented material exposure. The insurer’s written reasons should be answered with evidence directed to the actual causation or eligibility issue.

Treatment may include exposure avoidance, skin care, medication or specialist review according to diagnosis. A visible flare can change over time, so contemporaneous clinical records may matter more than one later photograph. Treatment and restrictions should be tied to the accepted diagnosis and the work factor that needs to be reduced or avoided.

Restrictions may identify wet work, glove type, products, handwashing and heat. Another cleaning or care role may remain unsuitable if it repeats the same exposure. Sustainable capacity depends on the complete shift and repeated exposure, not whether one movement can be demonstrated once.

A visible rash does not automatically create WPI. Stable skin impairment is assessed under the NSW skin method using its actual functional and treatment features. The assessment must follow the method for the accepted diagnosis, such as Dermatitis or skin condition, Chemical burn, Scar injury. WPI is assessed after stabilisation using the NSW method for the accepted diagnosis; exposure duration or pain alone does not set a percentage.

A severe acute chemical burn should be recorded as a discrete event rather than hidden within a gradual dermatitis history. Any employer-negligence, TPD, CTP, dust-disease or other pathway is separate and depends on its own facts and eligibility rules. Any other compensation or insurance pathway remains separate and has its own eligibility rules.

Organise a task-by-task exposure chronology with weights, repetitions, duration, posture, equipment or contaminant details. Compare the insurer’s written reasons with the medical diagnosis, prior history and contemporaneous workplace records. The purpose is to match the disputed decision to reliable work and medical evidence, not to promise an outcome.