Building the business case in Tasmania

On 11 June 2026, 96 Tasmanian hospital staff were on injury leave: 47 from Royal Hobart, 22 from North West Regional, 21 from Launceston General and 6 from the Mersey, with 26 more from Ambulance Tasmania (Legislative Council answers, June 2026). The Department’s claims cost rose from $34.7m to $48.9m in a year.

Across the whole Tasmanian state service, mental health claims were 29% of claims but 70% of payments (WorkSafe Tasmania scheme review). That pattern is the core of a Tasmanian business case: psychological injury is where the money goes, and aggression is a large part of what causes it.

What are the numbers in Tasmania?

Psychological claims rose 43% in a year and now cost as much as all physical claims combined.

Physical, 2023-24

$17.5m

Physical, 2024-25

$24.2m

Psychological, 2023-24

$17.2m

Psychological, 2024-25

$24.7m

Source: Legislative Council answers, June 2026 (Department of Health, including the Tasmanian Health Service and Ambulance Tasmania). Cost is salary, medical and rehabilitation costs on all open claims, new and carried over. Tasmania has one statewide health department, so there are no network figures.

Violence: Royal Hobart Hospital recorded 1,231 Code Blacks and 255 Code Greys in 2024-25, and Launceston General 771 Code Blacks (ABC, October 2025). The Secretary told Budget Estimates that psychological claims “tend to be more of the reaction to aggression” (Estimates Committee A transcript, 19 November 2025).

What is the Tasmanian government doing?

A safety and security plan is under way, and it names accredited training. The Department’s 10-point safety and security plan, launched in January 2025, covers all four major hospitals: dedicated security teams, a critical incident response model, updated policies on managing challenging behaviour, and better training and education for staff (Estimates transcript). It has also put more security into emergency departments (ABC, December 2025). The Health Minister told Budget Estimates in November 2025 that the immediate priorities include “identifying and implementing a new accredited training model for occupational violence prevention”, one that is scalable and suited to all areas of health, and establishing a statewide training delivery structure (Estimates Committee A transcript, 19 November 2025).

The national psychosocial provisions apply. Tasmania’s WHS regulations include the model provisions on psychosocial hazards, so the Department must eliminate or minimise the risk of violence and aggression, with training as one control among several (Safe Work Australia).

Which arguments land in Tasmania?

In Tasmania, lead with psychological injury: it is now half the claims bill.

1. Psychological injury cost. Psychological claims are 28% of the Department’s claims but just over half the cost, and the Secretary links them to aggression.
2. Workforce. In a small system, 96 hospital staff on injury leave on one day is felt on every roster. Every avoided injury is a shift that doesn’t need backfill.
3. Get ahead of the state plan. An accredited training model is coming. A service that can already show an evaluated program will shape it, not just receive it.
4. Security and clinical together. More security is going into emergency departments. Training security officers and clinicians in one approach makes that investment work.
5. Compliance. The psychosocial provisions expect a system of controls. Training with follow-up, champions and measurement is part of that system.

Where can the money come from in Tasmania?

With one statewide department, the main route is the Department’s own safety, education and workforce budgets, aligned with the action plan.

See Part 3 for national scholarships, research and philanthropy open to Tasmanian applicants.

Where do I find my own figures?

Ask your WHS and workforce teams: the statewide figures come from the same claims dashboard they use.

• Claims: the Department’s workers’ compensation claims dashboard, filtered to your hospital or service.
• Incidents: Code Blacks, Code Greys and occupational violence reports for your unit, from your incident reporting system.
• Injury leave: the number of your staff on injury leave, and the backfill cost.
• Seclusion and restraint: your service’s rates from the Chief Psychiatrist’s reporting.