Overview
How this affects your claim in practice
Useful evidence connects a diagnosed condition to the relevant work events through a reliable chronology and explains functional effect and capacity. Medical evidence should address diagnosis, causation, competing non-work factors and treatment. Workplace records can support the events, conduct or workload alleged. Post-1 July 2026 notifications require careful classification under the relevant-event and relevant-conduct framework.
- Confirm the first notification date and whether the condition is primary or secondary.
- Use accepted medical terminology rather than “stress” alone.
- For new primary claims, identify the statutory relevant event and employment connection.
- For secondary claims, connect the physical injury and its consequences to the condition.
- Match evidence to every insurer reason, including Section 11A, capacity and treatment.
- Preserve contemporaneous records before workplace access is lost.
Practical review
What to check in this situation
- Preserve contemporaneous reports, emails, rosters, complaints, workload records and witness information.
- Ask clinicians to distinguish history reported by the worker from their own findings and opinion.
- Collect evidence answering any section 11A management-action allegation without assuming distress alone proves injury.
Records that may help
Keep GP and psychologist notes, Certificates of Capacity, treatment requests, workplace chronology, insurer notices and relevant non-work history.
Next procedural step
Focus on the specific statutory and medical dispute; a long collection of unrelated material can obscure the strongest evidence.
Record the framework before collecting documents
Write down the date the injury was first notified, the diagnosis stated on the certificate, whether the condition is primary or secondary, each work event relied upon and every ground in the insurer decision. This prevents an evidence file being built for the wrong legal test.
The post-1 July 2026 primary psychological injury gateway does not apply in the same way to primary injuries notified before that date, secondary psychological injuries, exempt workers such as police officers, paramedics and firefighters, coal miners, volunteers or dust-disease claims. The notification date, worker category and transitional provisions must be checked before applying the new rules.
Do not describe a pre-reform claim only by the new test, or a new primary claim only by the former “wholly or predominantly caused” wording.
Medical evidence should explain more than diagnosis
A report is stronger when its history matches contemporaneous GP notes and workplace records. A doctor does not determine the legal outcome, but a reasoned medical opinion can address diagnosis, causation, treatment and capacity.
- Accepted medical diagnosis and when symptoms first became clinically apparent.
- Work events or physical-injury consequences said to have caused the condition.
- Other stressors or pre-existing conditions and their actual contribution.
- Treatment provided, response, prognosis and requested next steps.
- Practical effects on hours, attendance, pace, concentration, interaction and travel.
- Reasons for any change in work capacity over time.
Workplace and event evidence
For a direct primary claim, preserve the documents that identify what happened, when, who was involved, who witnessed it and how it connected with employment. For excessive work demands, measurable workload, staffing, hours, role expectations and repeated demands matter more than a general description of being busy.
For a secondary condition, use the physical-injury, treatment and rehabilitation chronology rather than forcing every later employment disagreement into the causal case.
- Incident and complaint reports.
- Emails, messages and meeting records.
- Rosters, workload data, role descriptions and performance documents.
- Witness details and lawful audio, video or access records.
- Physical-injury, surgery, pain and rehabilitation records.
- Return-to-work plans and proposed suitable duties.
Evidence for a Section 11A dispute
For a claim within the amended provision, identify the exact management action, expectation or perception relied upon, whether the action and its implementation were reasonable, and whether the psychological injury was predominantly caused by it. Earlier claims may use the former wholly-or-predominantly-caused test.
Separate management action from threats, violence, relevant conduct or other events. The employer’s label and the worker’s sense of unfairness are not conclusive; contemporaneous process records and medical causation evidence matter.
Capacity and treatment evidence
Certificates should translate symptoms into work restrictions. Treatment requests should explain why the proposed care is connected to the injury and reasonably necessary, with functional goals. If the insurer relies on an IME, compare the report with the history supplied, treating evidence and actual duties.
Where payments or treatment are disputed, keep the formal notice and answer its reasons directly. A large bundle without a chronology or explanation may obscure the most useful evidence.
For permanent impairment, keep the classification issue separate: section 65A excludes permanent impairment compensation for secondary psychological injury and prevents those symptoms being added to a physical or primary psychological WPI assessment.
A practical evidence file
| Folder | What to include |
|---|---|
| Decision and procedure | Claim form, Section 78 notice, work-capacity decision, internal-review material and filing correspondence. |
| Medical | Certificates, GP notes, referrals, psychology or psychiatry reports, medication and treatment requests. |
| Workplace | Chronology, emails, messages, rosters, complaints, policies, workload and witness records. |
| Capacity and rehabilitation | Actual duties, suitable-duties plans, rehabilitation notes, failed attempts and earnings records. |
Keep originals and a clean dated copy. Do not alter messages, medical records or screenshots.
Official sources
Sources are listed for transparency. This guide is general information only and is not legal advice.
- SIRA - psychological injury claims for workers and employers
- SIRA - current psychological injury guidance for insurers
- Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), including section 65A and the earlier provisions
- Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2025 No 72 (NSW), as made
- Industrial Relations Commission - workplace conduct proceedings
- Independent Review Office and ILARS
Frequently asked questions
What evidence helps a NSW psychological injury claim?
The useful evidence depends on the claim type, but commonly includes a medical diagnosis, reasoned causation evidence, a dated workplace or physical-injury chronology, certificates of capacity and records answering the insurer’s reasons.
Is a diagnosis enough?
No. Diagnosis is important, but the legal test also requires the applicable work connection and causation evidence. Capacity and treatment disputes need functional explanation.
What should evidence say about Section 11A?
It should identify the management action, timing, process and medical causation. The applicable pre- or post-reform wording must be checked from the claim history.
Do I need a workplace complaint before claiming?
An early complaint can be useful, but SIRA states that the absence of a report must not be the deciding factor by itself. Other contemporaneous evidence may still matter.
Should I rely on a payout estimate?
No. Entitlements depend on accepted injury, treatment, capacity, impairment and any damages pathway. Evidence and the actual insurer decision should be addressed first.
What if the insurer relies on an IME?
Obtain the report and documents provided to the examiner, identify factual errors separately from medical disagreements, and compare the opinion with treating evidence and actual work duties.
Need help identifying the evidence gap?
Send the insurer notice, certificates, medical reports and a short chronology. A focused review can identify the applicable framework and the documents that answer the actual dispute.