Costs and entitlements

During the rehabilitation process you may be entitled to specialist care such as home nursing, help with child care and housework, hydrotherapy, remedial therapy (massage), and gym attendance. If you believe you need these types of specialist care, talk to your case manager.

You are entitled to be paid for all reasonable medical expenses (including medicines and aids such as heat packs) related to your injury or illness. You may be entitled to be paid for some other services such as hypnotherapy or acupuncture (if they are provided by a medical expert) but always talk to your case manager first before arranging an appointment.

Retraining

The best result after a workplace injury or illness is to return to your old job with your old employer – so things are 'back to normal'. But sometimes an injured worker may not be able to go back to their old job and may need to re-train for a new role or a new career. In these circumstances, you may be offered retraining to help you learn new skills, either with your pre-injury employer or with a new company.

Your case manager, sometimes in conjunction with a workplace rehabilitation consultant, will help you with researching training options, which may include:

• learning new skills on the job
• doing a formal training course (eg, a certificate course)
• doing work hardening or work experience.

Your case manager or workplace rehabilitation consultant is responsible for organising suitable training and evaluating your return to work progress.