Certificate of capacity for health providers

How do you complete a certificate of capacity?

1. Talk to your patient about the health benefits of working and how they can safely stay at, or return to, work.
2. Complete a diagnosis identifying injury and include bodily location.
3. Complete the certificate based on what your patient can do.
4. Provide a timeline for recovery and return to work.

Certificates of capacity are used by WorkSafe agents and employers to determine a worker's capacity for work and the nature of their injury. It provides information about the date that the injured worker will have a capacity for pre-injury employment, suitable employment, or no capacity for employment.

Certificates can be issued by a medical practitioner, physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath. This video demonstrates how to complete the certificate of capacity.

The certificate of capacity is a communication tool for the treating health practitioner, worker and employer. It provides employers with the information they require to appropriately and safely plan their worker's return to work. Find a certificate of capacity software vendor.

You may be contacted by the employer, their appointed Return to Work coordinator, occupational rehabilitation provider, or the WorkSafe agent to coordinate your patient's successful return to work. As the treating health practitioner, you can call an employer to find out more about the worker's employment and any suitable employment options that may be available if you have not heard from the worker's employer.

Capacity assessment

The capacity assessment section of the certificate of capacity is used to identify how the worker's injury or condition has affected their functional capacity. The information you provide will be central to planning for a return to safe and sustainable work.

The capacity assessment provides physical and/or mental health function information. Certifiers should select applicable fields in the following areas:

The certifier's role

The best outcome for the worker is to return to normal life as soon as possible. A certificate of capacity provides critical information about the worker's injury, illness, capacity and limitations.

The information you include in the certificate of capacity will allow an employer to plan suitable return to work (RTW) arrangements for the injured worker and provide them with valuable information about what they can do once they are back at work.

The role of the certifier is to:

• provide information about the worker's injury or condition
• provide a medical opinion on the worker's current capacity and limitations based on the work-related injury or condition
• revise the certificate as the injury, condition or capacity changes
• assess and certify the capacity of the worker, regardless of whether suitable employment is available
• discuss returning to work with the worker from the first consultation and set realistic expectations with the worker about RTW timelines
• review any proposed RTW arrangements from the employer to ensure that the proposed duties fit within the capacity you have certified