Mental Health Claims Continue to Rise: What the 2025 Work Health and Safety Data Tells Us

Safe Work Australia releases its Key Work Health and Safety Statistics and the 2025 figures once again highlight the growing challenge of psychological health at work. The story they tell is familiar but increasingly urgent: mental health-related claims continue to rise, and their impact on people and organisations is profound.

Here are a few of the standout insights:

• Mental health conditions are now the 4th most common cause of serious workers’ compensation claims, with 17,600 cases recorded a 14.7% increase on the previous year.
• These claims are also the most costly: the median compensation is $67,400, more than four times higher than the average across all serious claims ($16,300).
• The median time lost for psychological injury, 35.7 weeks is nearly five times longer than for other serious claims.
• Women continue to bear a disproportionate share of this burden, with mental health conditions accounting for 17.2% of all their serious claims, compared with 8.2% for men.
• The leading psychosocial hazards remain consistent: harassment and bullying, work pressure, and exposure to violence and aggression.

While these figures are sobering, they reinforce what many organisations already know, that mental health risks are not just wellbeing issues, but core safety and business risks. The sustained rise in psychological injury claims underscores the importance of moving beyond awareness campaigns to systematic risk management and job design improvements.