Our emergency responders including CPSU members working as unsworn police, nurses, child protection staff, SES, corrections and youth justice officers, as well as forest firefighters will receive mental health support the moment they need it with the introduction of provisional acceptance payments from changes to our WorkCover system which will be informed through a twelve-month pilot ahead of an expanded rollout to every Victorian worker within two years.

Our emergency responders including CPSU members working as unsworn police, nurses, child protection staff, SES, corrections and youth justice officers, as well as forest firefighters will receive mental health support the moment they need it with the introduction of provisional acceptance payments from changes to our WorkCover system which will be informed through a twelve-month pilot ahead of an expanded rollout to every Victorian worker within two years.

Recognising that the heavy toll of trauma can manifest in many ways – from PTSD to panic disorders to anxiety – this reform will cover any mental injury sustained by our paramedics, police, Protective Services Officers (PSOs), firefighters and SES workers in the course of duty.  There will be no monetary cap on costs associated with these injuries – including appointments, medication and even hospitalisation.

As part of the initial twelve-month pilot for emergency workers, further work will be done to examine ways the WorkCover system can be improved for workers suffering from mental illness and consultation on options to widen the pilot to potentially include other workers such as nurses, child protection staff, corrections and youth justice officers, and forest firefighters will be undertaken before the end of 2018.