Medical certificates

To claim workers' compensation, you’ll need to provide a medical certificate.

The medical certificate helps your claims manager make a decision about your claim and what treatment you can be compensated for. After your claim is accepted, medical certificates support ongoing management of your claim and rehabilitation.

Where to get a medical certificate

You will need a medical certificate from your treating doctor (GP) or specialist, such as a psychiatrist, surgeon or dentist. We sometimes refer to these as ‘legally qualified medical practitioners’ (LQMPs). 

Information on the medical certificate

Workers’ compensation claims need more information than an ordinary medical certificate provides.

Your doctor or specialist should give you a certificate that includes:

• your name
• your diagnosis (see specific requirements for first responders with post-traumatic stress disorder
• how your injury or illness is related to your work
• your symptoms
• for physical injuries, the date it occurred
• the treatment you need
• your capacity for work, and any changes needed to your work or workplace
• a date for review
• the practitioner’s contact details, provider number and signature
• the date of the examination.

You can ask your doctor to use Comcare’s certificate of capacity (PDF, 229.94 KB), which includes all of the necessary information. 

However, you can provide any type of medical certificate that has this information, including certificates from other workers’ compensation schemes.  

If the medical certificate you provide doesn’t have all the information we need, we will still assess your claim. If necessary, your claims manager will contact you or your doctor for more information.

If you’re only claiming for the cost of your treatment

If you only plan to claim for the cost of treatment (such as physiotherapy, counselling or optometry) you can use a medical certificate from the allied health provider who is treating you. It’s helpful to include:

• a specific diagnosis
• the cause of your injury or illness
• the proposed treatment.

Keep invoices and receipts

Keep tax invoices for your medical appointment and certificate costs. If your initial claim for compensation is accepted, you may be able to claim for part or all of these costs.