Overview
How this affects your claim in practice
An employer must provide suitable work where it is reasonably practicable, but the law does not create duties that genuinely do not exist or require unsafe work. If no suitable duties are presently available, the employer should document what was considered, consult the worker and insurer, continue recovery-at-work planning and review options as capacity changes. Lack of duties does not by itself prove no current work capacity.
Weekly payments remain governed by the statutory capacity and earnings rules. The insurer may consider suitable employment with another employer or vocational assistance, but any assessment must account for the worker’s restrictions, skills, age, education, labour-market factors and other statutory considerations. The worker should continue reasonable participation without agreeing that unsuitable work is safe.
- Keep the current Certificate of Capacity and every written duties proposal.
- Ask the employer to identify the tasks, hours, location, supervision and physical or psychological demands.
- Tell the insurer promptly if suitable work is unavailable or the proposal is unsafe or outside certified capacity.
- A payment reduction must be traced to the insurer decision and reviewed through the pathway that applies to that decision.
Practical review
What to check in this situation
- Ask the employer to identify the tasks, hours and sites considered and the practical reason each option is unavailable.
- Keep the current Certificate of Capacity and distinguish no duties from no capacity for any work.
- Participate in reasonable rehabilitation and alternative-work discussions while recording genuine safety or availability problems.
Records that may help
Keep Certificates of Capacity, job descriptions, proposed duties, consultation emails, rosters, workplace-rehabilitation reports, vocational material, job-search records and insurer work-capacity decisions.
Next procedural step
Request a written recovery-at-work plan and insurer position on weekly payments and vocational assistance; challenge any decision that assumes duties or capacity without supporting evidence.
What the employer may be saying
The employer may say there is no work within the certified restrictions, that the business cannot alter the roster, or that the proposed role is suitable despite the worker’s concerns. These are different positions. A genuine lack of available work requires different evidence from a dispute about whether a particular job is medically and practically suitable.
The insurer may then assess work capacity by reference to suitable employment that it says exists in the labour market, even if the pre-injury employer has no duties. That can lead to a work capacity decision affecting weekly payments. The employer’s roster decision and the insurer’s statutory payment decision should be kept separate.
Documents you may receive
Match each document to the question it is meant to answer.
| Document | What to check |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Capacity | Diagnosis, capacity status, hours, lifting, movement, concentration, travel and workplace restrictions. |
| Recovery at work or suitable duties plan | Exact tasks, hours, location, breaks, supervision, equipment, productivity expectations and review date. |
| Vocational assessment or labour-market material | Whether the assumed role exists, is realistically available and matches age, skills, experience and restrictions. |
| Work capacity decision | The earnings capacity adopted, evidence relied on, effective date and review or PIC information. |
The NSW suitable-work rule
Section 49 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 requires the employer to provide suitable work, so far as reasonably practicable, when the worker is able to return to work in some capacity. SIRA explains that the employer should examine modified hours, adjusted duties, reassignment, training and other available work, consult the worker and document why work cannot be provided.
The obligation has limits. SIRA identifies exceptions where providing the work is not reasonably practicable, the worker voluntarily left the employment, or the employment ended for reasons unrelated to the injury. Those exceptions do not automatically determine the separate questions of liability, weekly payments or treatment expenses.
Immediate steps
- Ask for the duties proposal or refusal in writing rather than relying on a phone conversation.
- Give the employer and insurer the current Certificate of Capacity and keep proof of delivery.
- Prepare a side-by-side list of each proposed task and the restriction it may conflict with.
- Ask the treating practitioner to address the real task demands, not only a generic job title.
- Keep a diary of shifts offered, work attempted, symptoms, assistance, breaks and why any task stopped.
- Do not resign or refuse all contact without first understanding how that may affect suitable-work and payment issues.
Evidence that usually matters
The strongest material is practical and specific. A label such as “light duties” says little about repeated reaching, customer conflict, driving, lifting, pace, concentration or access to help. Record the task as it is actually performed and compare it with the certificate and treating evidence.
- Current and earlier Certificates of Capacity showing how restrictions changed.
- Position descriptions, rosters, photographs of the work area and a task-by-task demands summary.
- Emails with the employer, return-to-work coordinator, insurer and rehabilitation provider.
- The written recovery-at-work plan and every revision.
- Treating notes explaining safety, endurance, symptom fluctuation and the reason for restrictions.
- Any work capacity decision, vocational report or labour-market material relied upon.
Illustrative example
A warehouse worker is certified for four-hour shifts with no repetitive lifting above shoulder height. The employer offers “light packing”, but the written task list shows repeated shelf work above shoulder level and no planned rotation. The useful response is not simply that the worker feels unable to work. It is a comparison between the task frequency, the certificate, the treating practitioner’s reasoning and any practical modification that was considered. This example illustrates evidence preparation only; it does not predict a decision.
If weekly payments are reduced or stopped
Obtain the complete insurer notice and identify whether it is a work capacity decision, another section 78 liability decision, a certificate-compliance issue or a payment calculation issue. The notice type affects the evidence, notice period and review process. A timely PIC referral can have a specific effect on some work capacity reductions, but that should not be assumed for every payment problem.
An insurer review may be requested, and a dispute within the Personal Injury Commission’s jurisdiction may be lodged with the necessary evidence. ILARS funding may be available for eligible workers compensation legal assistance, subject to an Approved Lawyer’s assessment and IRO approval.
Official sources
Sources are listed for transparency. This guide is general information only and is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Must my employer invent a job for me?
No. The obligation is to provide suitable work where reasonably practicable. The employer should genuinely examine available options and document why work cannot be provided, but the Act does not require an impossible role to be created.
Do weekly payments stop because no duties are available?
Not automatically. Weekly entitlement depends on the applicable statutory period, capacity, current weekly earnings and any valid insurer decision. Identify the document and calculation used.
Can I refuse duties that conflict with my certificate?
Raise the conflict promptly and specifically with the employer, insurer and treating practitioner. A blanket refusal without documenting the task and restriction can create a further dispute.
Can I get legal help with a suitable-duties dispute?
An IRO Approved Lawyer may assess the workers compensation issues and whether an ILARS funding application is available. Funding and representation are not automatic.
Are the duties unavailable or outside your restrictions?
Send the current certificate, written duties proposal, roster, recovery-at-work plan and any insurer decision. We can assess the workers compensation dispute and whether an ILARS application may be available, subject to eligibility, merits and IRO approval.