Workers Compensation & CTP · Illawarra NSW
WorkCover and CTP Physiotherapy in the Illawarra
HealthPlex treats injured workers from across the Illawarra at the Centre Health Complex, Barrack Heights. If your injury sits under an accepted NSW workers compensation claim or CTP Green Slip claim, treatment is funded by the insurer — there is no out-of-pocket cost to you.
Injury management is the work this practice was built around: understanding what your job asks of your body, writing a plan aimed at getting you back to doing it, and handling the approvals and reports so you are not chasing paperwork while you are in pain.
HealthPlex
Barrack Heights
Centre Health Complex
9–25 Captain Cook Drive
Barrack Heights NSW 2528
Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00am–5:00pm
What to do after a workplace injury in NSW
The system is not complicated, but it is sequential: treatment approvals and weekly payments both hang off the certificate.
Report it however minor it seems. SIRA advises employers must notify their insurer within 48 hours; serious incidents go to SafeWork NSW immediately.
Your GP becomes your nominated treating doctor. There is a GP practice in this same complex if you do not have one nearby.
Your doctor completes the SIRA Certificate of Capacity: the injury, what you can and cannot do at work, and the treatment you need.
Certificate and claim go to the workers insurer — icare for most NSW employers, or a specialised or self-insurer. You get a claim number and case manager.
Bring your claim number, insurer details and certificate. Call 02 9072 9921 and we will confirm what the insurer needs first.
If it has stalled — claim lodged, but nobody has told you where to go — call anyway. Working out where a claim is sitting is a normal first call.
Insurer-funded treatment, not billed to you
Workers compensation and CTP are not Medicare and they are not bulk billing — they are insurer-funded schemes. Under an accepted claim, treatment the insurer approves as reasonably necessary is billed to the insurer at SIRA’s gazetted fees. There is no out-of-pocket cost to you and no gap on the day.
One caveat: treatment generally needs approval before it is delivered, so if an insurer declines liability or a request, accounts can fall back to the patient — which is why approvals are chased before sessions are booked. If you are not on a claim, physiotherapy here can still be bulk billed with a valid GP referral: a GP Chronic Condition Management Plan covers up to 5 allied health services per calendar year, shared across all allied health disciplines.
The first appointment assesses two things
A standard assessment looks at the injury. A workers compensation assessment looks at the injury and the job — the goal is not simply a comfortable shoulder, it is one that can do what your roster asks of it.
So the session covers the clinical ground (history, movement and strength testing, pain behaviour, red flags) and then the work: what you lift and how often, whether you are overhead or crouched or seated, shift length, and what duties your employer could offer meanwhile. A boilermaker, a warehouse packer and an aged-care worker doing transfers need different plans on the same diagnosis.
You leave with a treatment plan, a clear picture of which duties are safe now, and a graded return-to-work path rather than an open-ended wait. See our analysis of what drives claim duration.
The paperwork is ours, not yours
Physiotherapists treating workers compensation patients in NSW must hold a SIRA approval number. Under SIRA’s arrangements, where treatment starts within three months of injury and only a small number of consultations are needed, it can usually begin without a separate written request. Beyond that, an Allied Health Treatment Request goes to the insurer with findings, goals, proposed sessions and return-to-work milestones.
Then it is progress reporting: how you are tracking, what has changed in your capacity, and when treatment should taper. Those reports go to the insurer and your nominated treating doctor, so certificate, plan and duties stay in step.
Coordination is the other half. With your consent we speak to your employer, case manager, rehabilitation provider and GP — agreeing what suitable duties look like this fortnight, and flagging early when a task aggravates the injury. Employers can read more on value-based care in workers compensation and what workplace injuries really cost.
The injuries the Illawarra actually produces
Heavy industry. BlueScope reports it employs around 3,000 people directly in the Illawarra and supports roughly 10,000 jobs regionally through contractors and suppliers — shift work around hot metal, plant maintenance and confined spaces.
The port and logistics. Port Kembla is, per the Port Authority of NSW, the state’s largest motor vehicle import terminal and a major grain and bulk trade gateway. Stevedoring and freight bring manual handling and repetitive load injuries.
Construction. Residential growth around Shell Cove and Albion Park keeps a large trades workforce on site, where falls from height and cumulative back and shoulder strain dominate.
Health care and social assistance. The region’s largest employing industry, and one of the most under-recognised injury profiles in the state — patient handling injuries, occupational violence and psychological injury among nurses and aged-care staff.
CTP Green Slip claims after a motor accident
After a motor vehicle accident in NSW, treatment is funded under the CTP Green Slip scheme, also regulated by SIRA. Report the accident to police where required and lodge a claim with the CTP insurer of the vehicle involved. Early treatment for common road-trauma injuries — whiplash-associated disorder, seatbelt and airbag injuries, knee and hip injuries from dashboard impact — is generally available while liability is still being decided.
As with workers compensation, this is insurer-funded and there is no out-of-pocket cost to you. It is not bulk billing and not a Medicare service: the CTP insurer pays.
Psychological injury claims
Psychological injury claims are the hardest part of the scheme to get right. They run longer, return-to-work rates are lower, and the risk of a physical claim developing a secondary psychological layer — through pain, financial stress or a difficult claims process — is often missed.
Psychology is available alongside physiotherapy here, which matters when both parts of a claim must move together. Under an accepted claim, treatment is insurer-funded with no out-of-pocket cost to you. Off-claim, psychology can be bulk billed with a Mental Health Treatment Plan and a valid referral from your GP, covering up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year — the first referral usually covers up to 6, then your GP reviews. See return to work after psychological injury.
Referring an injured worker
Employers, WHS managers, case managers and rehabilitation providers can refer through refer to us or call 02 9072 9921. A worker can be booked in before a claim number is issued, so the assessment does not hold up the file.
Triage and assessment in the first days, so duties and treatment are set on evidence rather than assumption.
Treatment requests and progress reports written against capacity and return-to-work goals, not session counts.
What a worker can safely do now, reviewed as capacity changes — see value-based care.
Physiotherapy and psychology at one site, so a claim with both components is not split across providers.
Getting here from across the Illawarra
Appointments are at the Centre Health Complex, 9–25 Captain Cook Drive, Barrack Heights NSW 2528 — a medical complex, a short walk from Shellharbour Private Hospital, with a GP practice, pathology and radiology in the building.
Barrack Heights clinic
From Warilla
From Shellharbour
From Oak Flats
Frequently asked questions
What is a Certificate of Capacity?
It is the SIRA form your doctor completes describing your injury, your capacity for work and the treatment you need. The insurer and your employer use it to build your injury management plan, and it supports weekly payments while you are off. Get one from your nominated treating doctor early and bring it, with your claim number, to your first appointment.
Who pays for my physiotherapy under a WorkCover claim?
The workers compensation insurer. Under an accepted NSW claim, approved treatment is billed directly to the insurer at SIRA’s set fees, so there is no out-of-pocket cost to you and no gap on the day. This is insurer funding, not Medicare bulk billing — no Medicare card or care plan is needed. Because insurers generally approve treatment before it is provided, approvals are confirmed for you before sessions are booked.
Can I choose my own physio?
Yes. In NSW you choose your own physiotherapist for a workers compensation claim, provided they hold a SIRA approval number so the insurer can be billed directly. Your employer, insurer or rehabilitation provider may suggest a clinic — that is a suggestion, not a direction, and choosing elsewhere does not affect your claim.
I was injured in a car accident, not at work — can you treat me?
Yes. Physiotherapy after a motor accident is funded under the NSW CTP Green Slip scheme once a claim is lodged with the CTP insurer of the vehicle involved. Early treatment is generally available while liability is being determined. There is no out-of-pocket cost to you — the CTP insurer pays. Bring your claim number, the insurer’s name and the accident date.
Does this cover psychological injury claims?
Psychology is available at this clinic alongside physiotherapy, which helps when a claim has both a physical and a psychological component. Where psychological injury is part of an accepted workers compensation or CTP claim, treatment is funded by the insurer with no out-of-pocket cost to you. If you are not on a claim, psychology can be bulk billed with a Mental Health Treatment Plan and a valid referral from your GP, covering up to 10 individual sessions per calendar year.
General information only, not a substitute for individual clinical or legal advice. Scheme rules are set by SIRA and can change. Services are delivered by practitioners registered with AHPRA. Insurer-funded treatment depends on an accepted claim and insurer approval; Medicare bulk billing requires a valid referral from your GP and eligibility criteria apply.