Newcastle faces rising mental health risk

Melanie Bonifacio (pictured, right), a senior injury prevention specialist at icare, advised NSW employers to consider how rising rates of anxiety and depression expose more of their employees to mental health pressure.

“The cost of time away from work and treatment for the state’s psychological claims reached a record 290 million dollars in 2022, and it shows the moment for all businesses to create a more mentally safe workplace is right now, not later on this decade,” Bonifacio said.

“The good news is that icare can help businesses to look at psychosocial risk through a risk management lens to protect their people to respond to issues earlier and promote protective factors at work. I encourage employers to always look at both simple things that can be changed today [and think] about their workplace mental health strategy into the future.”

Miriam Browne (pictured, middle), a partner with Turks and leading expert on workers’ compensation legislation, provided an in-depth presentation to employers on how to navigate the legal landscape of psychological injuries.