Flower petals and half-days off: The prizes given to WorkCover staff for closing claims

2 hours ago 2

WorkCover Queensland caseworkers have come under extreme pressure to finalise workers’ compensation claims, being pitted against colleagues to earn “flower petals” for each closed claim to win prizes.

Internal documents, seen by this masthead, show competition between co-workers being encouraged, with team incentives including half-days off and team lunches being offered.

“It’s certainly been heating up on the floor! Loving the healthy competition amongst you all,” a senior manager said in an email to staff.

The “handy visual” for caseworking teams.

“This week as a segment we have already finalised 94 claims with two working days left in the week to go. If you haven’t noticed already, we have a handy visual on the wall near the lifts showing our progress each week towards our monthly stretch target for BP [business partnerships]. We are well over halfway there!”

A WorkCover caseworker told this masthead there had been a noticeable shift in the organisation’s goals.

“Management are demanding daily claim closure numbers,” the worker said.

“The pressure is to close as many as possible in the shortest time. This is despite claims being managed according [to] the medical advice and [caseworkers] always working toward closure where medically supported.”

The caseworker, whose assertions have been verified independently, said the push would “100 per cent” result in workers having claims closed prematurely, so the adviser would get a prize.

“Yes, workers can appeal a closure, but the regulator takes three to nine months to do a review,” they said.

A WorkCover Queensland spokeswoman said decisions on claims were based on medical and related evidence, in line with legislation.

“Our focus is on helping injured workers return to work and live their best possible lives, by being proactive, showing genuine care and working in partnership with employers,” she said.

Management is running the WorkCover competition.

Crisafulli government-appointed WorkCover chair Chloe Kopilovic – who sought preselection for the LNP in the federal seat of Fairfax in 2015 – and chief executive Michael Pennisi talked up the organisation’s clearance rate in its 2024-25 annual report, prepared in August.

“In the past financial year, we’ve renewed our commitment to our core business of getting injured workers back to work safely and as quickly as possible and making faster claim decisions to benefit both workers and employers,” they wrote in the annual report.

“In 2024-2025, we determined 61.7 per cent of claims in five days, and 91.3 per cent in 20 days. We know that providing certainty to our customers as soon as possible is critical and helps workers and employers focus on recovery and getting back to work.”

But some WorkCover staff remained unhappy, saying the focus had moved from supporting workers to being “a world-class insurer”.

“Turnover was already high, but this will push more experience out the door which only causes negative outcomes for workers,” the caseworker said.

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