We would like your expert input to help us understand how these systems work.
Researchers from Monash University and the University of Melbourne are conducting a national study to define how workers’ compensation systems operate across Australia. We would like your expert input to help us understand how these systems work.
This survey aims to:
- Consolidate expert perspectives on how workers’ compensation systems function across States and Territories.
- Identify areas where systems can be strengthened or made more consistent.
- Support the development of consumer and evidence-informed tools for research and policy.
What is this research about?
The purpose of this study is to find out how well people understand typical Australian workers’ injury compensation processes. This information will be used to test and validate an existing computer model of a generic workers’ compensation system.
Who can participate?
Australian adults aged 18 and over can participate.
What will I be asked to do?
Should you agree to participate, you will be asked to complete an online survey once. We estimate that this survey will take you around 40-45 minutes to complete. This survey will present you with 11 sets of diagrams of workers’ compensation processes in the form of a flow-chart. You will be asked to select the one that is most realistic and state why you think this is the case.
What are the possible benefits?
The benefits of this research are that we are aiming to understand the structure of injury compensation systems to a high degree of accuracy to allow us to redesign them in safe, computational environments. This provides a platform for testing policies that could be implemented in workers’ compensation schemes, which has the potential to benefit injured workers.
What are the possible risks?
There are minimal risks associated with this project. All data collected will be de-identified by the research team prior to analysis and fully anonymised for publication. It is possible that some people with direct experience of workers’ compensation may experience mild distress, although this is unlikely.
In case any of the information presented in this survey is distressing and you would like support, the following services are available:
Lifeline Australia – 13 11 14 https://www.lifeline.org.au/
BeyondBlue – 1300 224 636 https://www.beyondblue.org.au/
Will I hear about the results of this project?
Study findings will be published in academic articles, government reports, and presented at conferences. Participants can also contact the research team (Professor Jason Thompson – Jason.thompson@unimelb.edu.au or Ms Branislava Godic – b.godic@unimelb.edu.au) if they would like more information about the study findings.
What will happen to information about me?
Data collected from participants will be deidentified, then transferred and stored on secure servers operated by the University of Melbourne. All data will be securely stored for a minimum period of 5 years at the University of Melbourne and only accessed by researchers directly involved with the project for the purposes of analysis. All study results used in publication or presentations will be de-identified and data will only be presented in aggregate form.
Is there any potential conflict of interest?
There are no conflicts of interest for the researchers involved in this study.
Who is funding this project?
This research is part of an Australian Research Council supported project (DP230100585).
Where can I get further information?
If you would like more information about the project, please contact the researchers; Professor Jason Thompson (Jason.thompson@unimelb.edu.au), or Ms Branislava Godic (b.godic@unimelb.edu.au).
Who can I contact if I have any concerns about the project?
This project has human research ethics approval from The University of Melbourne [2025-33051-67971-1]. If you have any concerns or complaints about the conduct of this research project, which you do not wish to discuss with the research team, you should contact the Research Integrity Administrator, Office of Research Ethics and Integrity, University of Melbourne, VIC 3010. Tel: +61 3 8344 1376 or Email: research-integrity@unimelb.edu.au. All complaints will be treated confidentially. In any correspondence please provide the name of the research team and/or the name or ethics ID number of the research project.
To stay up-to-date with the progress of the project you can subscribe to our project updates here.
The survey is open until January 2026.
Complete the survey HERE.
Help us spread the word!
We have created some ready to go assets and images to assist you in sharing information about the Workers’ Voice survey with your contacts, and on your social media and marketing platforms.
You can follow us on Facebook here.
Download our Stakeholder kit for the validation survey which includes information above the study and copy-and-paste social media content and tiles.