Return To Work Plan Template
Bring an injured worker back safely, on a plan everyone has agreed.
What's in this template
A fill-in return to work plan for Australian employers, in four parts:
Key information and medical advice worker, claim, contacts, and what the treating practitioner has certified. Return to work goals — what the worker is working towards, and by when.
Suitable duties and adjustments — what changes about the work, and about the workplace. Review, actions and sign-off — who does what, when you check in, and who signs.
Includes prompts for the goals conversation and worked examples for duties and milestones.
How to use it
Print it and complete the parts in order, with the worker in the room. Fill in every field or write "not applicable" — a blank field is a decision nobody has made yet.
Turn the certificate into named duties, set hours and a review date. "No heavy lifting" isn't a restriction; write down the weight, the frequency and when you'll review it.
Keep the completed copy where the people applying it can find it. Workers compensation is state and territory based, so confirm what your scheme requires before you finalise the plan.
Why it matters
A worker is injured on Tuesday. By Friday there's a certificate, a call with the doctor and a rough agreement about half days. None of it is written down.
Three weeks later the supervisor thinks they're cleared for full shifts, the worker thinks they're on four hours, and the insurer has nothing on file.
Notification clocks are short and start the moment you know — in NSW the insurer must be notified within 48 hours of a work-related injury being reported. A written plan is the difference between a recovery everyone is working towards and a dispute nobody can resolve.
FAQs
Who's it for?
Return to work coordinators, HR and people leaders, supervisors applying restrictions on the floor, and owner operators carrying the coordinator role themselves.
What do we need from the treating practitioner?
Nature of the injury, current capacity, specific restrictions (weights, postures, repetitions, durations), estimated timeframes, how to increase duties safely, and anything else affecting recovery. Send them the actual task list, not just a fitness-for-work question.
What counts as suitable duties?
Duties the worker can do safely today, written down with hours attached. You have three levers: tasks, hours and pacing. Meaningful work beats invented light work.
Does it work for psychological injuries?
Yes. A psychosocial injury needs suitable duties, adjustments and a review date the same way a torn shoulder does.
Do we need signatures?
In some states and territories, agreement must be documented. Check your scheme before you file the plan.
Hello 👋 I’m Joel the founder of Foremind.
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Answers to the frequently asked questions.
Our last EAP was barely touched. Why would this be different?+
Most EAPs go unused because of how they're accessed, not because staff don't need them. Phoning a stranger, explaining yourself, then waiting weeks is enough to stop most people before they start. Foremind removes all three steps: staff see real counsellor profiles, pick someone themselves, and book the same day.
If you already have a provider, the question worth asking is what your current utilisation is. Most traditional EAPs sit in low single digits, which means you're paying for cover your people aren't reaching. If yours is being used, staff can get seen quickly, and it covers your psychosocial obligations, there's no reason to move. If not, it's worth knowing what you're getting for the spend.
Do you offer 24/7 support?+
Yes. A 24/7 after-hours crisis line means staff can reach someone immediately at any hour, including nights and weekends.
Counselling appointments are also available outside standard business hours, so shift-based and on-call teams aren't limited to a nine-to-five window. Those are two different things, and it's worth checking any provider offers both rather than just the crisis line.
Are your EAP counsellors based in Australia?+
Yes. Every practitioner on the platform holds current membership with an Australian professional body and practises under Australian standards, codes of ethics and disciplinary frameworks. There are no offshore call centres.
Practitioners hold membership with the Australian Counselling Association, the Psychotherapy and Counselling Federation of Australia, or the Australian Association of Social Workers, along with a current Working with Children or Vulnerable People Check.
How much does an EAP cost?+
Pricing is usually per employee per month, based on total headcount rather than how many people use the service. Costs vary widely depending on whether sessions are bundled in and whether compliance tooling is included.
A more useful comparison is cost per employee who actually uses it. An EAP with 2% utilisation can work out several times more expensive per person helped than one that gets used. Foremind offers pay-as-you-go, inclusive session plans and compliance-inclusive plans, with discounted pricing for not-for-profits and charities.
For full breakdown of our plans, see our EAP pricing page or request a quote for a tailored proposal.
What information does an employer receive about EAP usage?+
Nothing that could identify anyone. All counselling is completely confidential and all reporting is anonymous - you'll never see who booked, when, or what was discussed.
What you do see is the aggregated picture: how many people are using it, what psychosocial risks are prevalent in the business, and which teams are under pressure. Enough to know the investment is working and where to act, never enough to identify a person. Reporting thresholds mean small teams can't be reverse-engineered from the data.
Does having an EAP meet an employer's psychosocial duty of care?+
No. An EAP is a control measure, and a valuable one, but it only addresses harm after it has occurred. It doesn't identify hazards, assess risk, or evidence that controls are working.
Australian WHS law requires you to identify psychosocial hazards, assess the risk, control it so far as is reasonably practicable, and review whether those controls are working — with documented evidence at each step. Offering counselling on its own leaves three of those four steps undocumented.
Foremind covers both in one platform. See how the compliance side works in our product tour.