Work Capacity Certificate

The Work Capacity Certificate will help you to promote function through prescribing an active recovery for your patients with a work injury, helping them to achieve the best health outcome.

From the first consultation, it can be used to:

• reinforce realistic perceptions of injury severity and set expectations about recovery timeframes
• describe your patient’s functional abilities – what they can do
• certify work capacity to enable your patient’s employer and claims manager to look for and offer your patient work duties that fit their functional abilities
• share information with other treating practitioners, the employer and mobile claims manager, to encourage shared goals that will provide clarity for your patient.

The Work Capacity Certificate has to be completed by a medical practitioner. When completing the certificate, it is important to focus on your patient's functional abilities from a medical perspective – what is safe for them based on their injury. This will ensure that the employer and claims manager have the information they need to identify suitable duties at work that can be performed safely.

ReturnToWorkSA encourages the use of the electronic Work Capacity Certificate (eWCC) as the preferred method of certification. It is efficient for doctors and their patients and is actively reducing Scheme reliance on paper certificates.
For assistance with transitioning to the eWCC or to order paper certificates, please contact us on 08 8238 5757 or email providers@rtwsa.com.

Electronic Work Capacity Certificates

The electronic Work Capacity Certificate (eWCC) is an electronic format of the Work Capacity Certificate that enables doctors to quickly and efficiently certify patient capacity and prescribe treatment.

For guidance on completing the Work Capacity Certificate, please read our How to use the Work Capacity Certificate brochure (PDF, 2011 KB). For further information please contact Scheme Support via email providers@rtwsa.com or by phone on 08 8238 5757.

Note: A lodged Work Capacity Certificate does not mean that a claim has been made. To lodge a claim, the person injured should let their employer know so their claim’s agent can be notified.

Nurse Practitioner Work Capacity Certificate

When a person with a new work injury presents at a hospital emergency department, a nurse practitioner can complete a Nurse Practitioner Work Capacity Certificate. It can certify a patient’s capacity for work for a maximum period of seven calendar days.

The Nurse Practitioner Work Capacity Certificate allows nurse practitioners to:

• reinforce realistic perceptions of injury severity, and set expectations about recovery timeframes
• certify a patient’s capacity for work for up to seven days, and
• share information with other treating practitioners, the employer and mobile case manager.

The certificate can only be used for the purpose of supporting a new work injury claim. Only one certificate can be issued per patient, per injury event. Patients requiring a further certificate will need to see a medical practitioner. The certificate must include only the information provided by the patient and their clinical assessment on the day of examination.

A smart PDF version of the Nurse Practitioner Work Capacity Certificate can be downloaded here. Additional hard copies can be ordered by telephoning Scheme Support on 08 8238 5757 or providers@rtwsa.com