Profile of initial and recurrent workers’ compensation claims by category in Victoria, 1995–2008
| Category | Initial claims | Recurrent claims | Total claims | p Value | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N | Rate, 95% CI | Row % | Col % | N | Rate, 95% CI | Row % | Col % | N | Rate, 95% CI | Row % | Col % | Row | Col | |
| Total claims | 448868 | 19.1 (15.2 to 20.1) | 46.2 | – | 523413 | 22.3 (21.2 to 23.4) | 53.4 | – | 972281 | 41.5 (39.4 to 43.5) | 100 | – | 0.000 | – |
| Total claimants | 448868 | 19.1 (15.2 to 20.1) | 76.8 | – | 135349 | 5.8 (5.5 to 6.1) | 26.2 | – | 584217 | 24.9 (23.7 to 26.2) | 100 | – | 0.000 | – |
| Claims per claimant | 1 | – | – | – | 3.86 | – | – | – | 1.66 | – | – | – | – | – |
| Gender* | ||||||||||||||
| Males | 274915 | 17.7 (16.8 to 18.5) | 75.1 | 61.2 | 91072 | 5.9 (5.6 to 6.1) | 24.9 | 67.3 | 365987 | 23.5 (22.3 to 24.7) | 100 | 62.6 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Females | 163059 | 20.7 (19.6 to 21.7) | 79.8 | 36.3 | 41111 | 5.2 (5.0 to 5.5) | 20.2 | 30.4 | 204170 | 25.9 (24.6 to 27.2) | 100 | 34.9 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Missing | 10894 | 0.46 (0.44 to 0.49) | 77.5 | 2.4 | 3166 | 0.13 (0.13 to 0.14) | 22.5 | 2.3 | 14060 | 0.59 (0.57 to 0.63) | 100 | 2.5 | 0.003 | NS |
| Age category* | ||||||||||||||
| 15–19 | 33393 | 54.3 (51.6 to 57.0) | 76.0 | 7.4 | 10571 | 17.2 (16.3 to 18.0) | 24.0 | 7.8 | 43964 | 71.5 (67.9 to 75.1) | 100 | 7.5 | 0.000 | NS |
| 20–24 | 68421 | 27.6 (26.2 to 29.0) | 76.6 | 15.2 | 20858 | 8.4 (8.0 to 8.8) | 23.4 | 15.4 | 89279 | 36.0 (34.2 to 37.8) | 100 | 15.3 | 0.000 | NS |
| 25–34 | 117817 | 18.2 (17.3 to 19.1) | 76.5 | 26.2 | 36132 | 5.6 (5.3 to 5.9) | 23.5 | 26.7 | 153949 | 23.8 (22.6 to 25.0) | 100 | 26.4 | 0.000 | NS |
| 35–44 | 103799 | 17.2 (16.4 to 18.1) | 75.3 | 23.1 | 33963 | 5.6 (5.4 to 5.9) | 24.7 | 25.1 | 137762 | 22.9 (21.7 to 24.0) | 100 | 23.6 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 45–54 | 87619 | 16.5 (15.7 to 17.3) | 77.1 | 19.5 | 26057 | 4.9 (4.7 to 5.2) | 22.9 | 19.3 | 113676 | 21.4 (20.3 to 22.5) | 100 | 19.5 | 0.000 | NS |
| 55–59 | 24086 | 15.4 (14.6 to 16.2) | 81.0 | 5.4 | 5667 | 3.6 (3.4 to 3.8) | 19.0 | 4.2 | 29753 | 19.0 (18.1 to 20.0) | 100 | 5.1 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 60–64 | 10828 | 14.8 (14.1 to 15.6) | 85.6 | 2.4 | 1817 | 2.5 (2.4 to 2.6) | 14.4 | 1.3 | 12645 | 17.3 (16.5 to 18.2) | 100 | 2.2 | 0.000 | 0.003 |
| 65+ | 2905 | 10.4 (9.9 to 11.0) | 91.1 | 0.6 | 284 | 1.0 (1.0 to 1.1) | 8.9 | 0.2 | 3189 | 11.5 (10.9 to 12.0) | 100 | 0.5 | 0.000 | NS |
| Nature of affliction | ||||||||||||||
| Injury | 340203 | 14.5 (13.8 to 15.2) | 47.4 | 75.8 | 376033 | 16.0 (15.2 to 16.8) | 52.6 | 71.8 | 716236 | 30.5 (29.0 to 32.1) | 100 | 73.6 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Disease | 108665 | 4.6 (4.4 to 4.9) | 42.4 | 24.2 | 147380 | 6.3 (6.0 to 6.6) | 57.6 | 28.2 | 256045 | 10.9 (10.4 to 11.5) | 100 | 26.4 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Compensation benefits paid | ||||||||||||||
| Income replacement ± medical expenses† | 257082 | 11.0 (10.4 to 11.5) | 46.8 | 57.3 | 292340 | 12.5 (11.8 to 13.1) | 53.2 | 55.8 | 549422 | 23.4 (22.3 to 24.6) | 100 | 56.5 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Medical expenses only | 191786 | 8.2 (7.8 to 8.6) | 45.4 | 42.7 | 231073 | 9.9 (9.4 to 10.3) | 54.6 | 44.2 | 422859 | 18.0 (17.1 to 18.9) | 100 | 43.5 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
*The rates are presented for claimants, not claims.
†‘Income replacement ± medical expenses’ group represents these claimants, who had time off work and/or required compensation for medical expenses.