Key Takeaway
The median serious workers’ compensation claim for a mental health condition involved 35.7 working weeks off work in 2022-23. Across all serious claims the median was 7.4 working weeks. For backfilling, that is the difference between covering a role for under two months and covering it for most of a year.
The SafeMinds Psychosocial Risk Cost Calculator uses the mental health figure: 35.7 working weeks, or 178.5 working days, of backfilling per psychosocial claim.
Mental Health Claims Against All Claims
| Measure (Safe Work Australia) | Mental health conditions | All serious claims |
|---|---|---|
| Median time lost, 2022-23 | 35.7 working weeks | 7.4 working weeks |
| Median compensation paid, 2022-23 | $67,400 | $16,300 |
| Serious claims, 2023-24 | 17,600 (12.0%) | 146,700 |
Safe Work Australia reports that mental health claims lead to “significantly more time off work and higher compensation paid when compared to other injuries and diseases”.
The Duration Is Rising
Median time lost on mental health claims has climbed steadily:
| Year | Median time lost, mental health claims |
|---|---|
| 2015-16 | 18.8 working weeks |
| 2019-20 | 30.7 working weeks |
| 2022-23 | 35.7 working weeks |
Longer absences are a system-wide pattern too. In 2022-23, claims with more than 13 weeks off work were 21.9% of all claims but 74.8% of total compensation payments.
Working Weeks, Not Calendar Days
Safe Work Australia measures time lost in working weeks. Converting to days for a cost model means working days: 35.7 working weeks is 178.5 working days (five a week), costed at the daily rate for 250 working days a year. Mixing calendar days with a working-day rate overstates or understates the cost, depending on which way the conversion runs.
How the Calculator Uses It
The calculator estimates backfilling as:
- the number of psychosocial claims (your headcount, the overall claims rate and the psychosocial share of claims);
- multiplied by the share of those claims that need backfilling;
- multiplied by 178.5 working days;
- multiplied by the average daily wage.
Every input can be replaced with your own organisation’s figure. Backfilling counts replacement wages only. Agency margins, recruitment for temporary roles and supervision time are not included, so the figure is conservative.
Workforce Planning Implications
- Plan for months, not weeks. A psychological injury claim is likely to need cover for most of a year, which usually means a fixed-term contract rather than overtime or short-term temps.
- Budget for the tail. The minority of long claims drives most of the cost, so average-based budgets understate exposure.
- Invest upstream. Durations this long are the strongest argument for identifying and controlling psychosocial hazards before they become claims.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does the average workers’ compensation claim last in Australia?
The median serious claim involved 7.4 working weeks off work in 2022-23, according to Safe Work Australia.
How long do mental health workers’ compensation claims last?
The median mental health claim involved 35.7 working weeks off work in 2022-23, almost five times the median across all serious claims. That duration has risen from 18.8 working weeks in 2015-16.
How many backfilling days does the SafeMinds calculator assume?
178.5 working days per psychosocial claim, which is Safe Work Australia’s 35.7-week median converted at five working days a week. You can replace it with your own figure.
References
- Safe Work Australia, Key Work Health and Safety Statistics Australia 2025. Median time lost is reported for 2022-23; claim counts for 2023-24 are preliminary.
- Safe Work Australia, Latest trends in mental health conditions (2015-16 and 2019-20 medians).
- Safe Work Australia, National Dataset for Compensation-based Statistics.
Updated 24 September 2026. Earlier versions of this article gave 7 weeks (49 days) as the backfilling benchmark; that was the duration for all claims, expressed in calendar days.