• Introduction
• Overview of this guide
• Glossary
• Element 1 - Commitment and Corporate Governance
• Element 2 - Planning
• Element 3 - Implementation
• Element 4 - Measurement and Evaluation
• Element 5 - Review and Continuous Improvement
• Promoting a continuous improvement strategy for providing appropriate remedial action identified by audits
• Examples of success
• How can we improve?
• Reporting rehabilitation performance to board or executive
• Audit program outcomes are reported to Comcare
• Action Summary Sheet
• Reference list & resources
• Disclaimer

Case study¹⁶

In working toward their vision of becoming a world leader in their field, Linfox Australia Pty Ltd and Linfox Armaguard Pty Ltd have invested significantly in resources to improve rehabilitation and return to work practices over the past two years.

Research highlighted a number of focus areas for Linfox Armaguard to address in the development of its return to work model.

Linfox Armaguard developed a return to work process designed to help rehabilitation and case managers prioritise and focus work processes on the key requirements for the life of an open case. At the same time, the business line was engaged to facilitate the necessary assistance throughout a claim. 

• Virtual pay report
• A charge back model designed to help branches understand the hidden costs associated with rehabilitation and return to work 
• Internal case reviews on a monthly and six-weekly basis
• Formal reviews of high cost cases or those where an employee is away for more than eight weeks
• Development and use of a job dictionary
• A major claims conference designed to bring together all parties involved in the process to have an open dialogue concerning case progression and requirements.

The introduction of these processes has resulted in a 'user-pays' premium allocation and significant cultural change at the management level. It has also achieved a major improvement in communication and understanding with regard to rehabilitation and return to work. It has improved leadership engagement with safety committee members and health and safety representatives, and an increased awareness and understanding of the impact of an injury to an employee, and the business.

Statistically, Linfox Armaguard has recorded significant reductions in incapacity. These can be attributed to the new model.

There has been a reduction in the number of cases reaching 30 days of incapacity by:

• Linfox Australia – 40 per cent
• Linfox Armaguard – 60 per cent.

There has been a reduction in the number of cases reaching 60 days of incapacity by:

• Linfox Australia – 54 per cent
• Linfox Armaguard – 80 per cent.

¹⁶ 2007 SRCC Safety Awards