Q: We use a rolling 12-month record of LTIs (lost time injuries), LTI frequency rates (FRs), MTIs (medical treatment injuries) and MTIFRs. Occasionally, an MTI recorded in one month will convert to an LTI in a later month due to changes in circumstances/treatment required. Should this be recorded twice or is it usual practice to alter the original record and just record only one statistic? Similarly, how is a recurrence of an injury to be captured?

A: When recording lost time injuries, medical treatment injuries and their frequency ratios, there is no mandatory standard as to how to do this. The usual practice would be to only record an MTI or LTI once. The relevant period for reporting the injury is the period during which the worker receives medical treatment or suffers lost time.

In the cases of a recurring injury, it should not be counted as a separate occurrence unless there was a separate identifiable incident associated with the recurrence.

Australia Standard AS 1885.1 – 1990 Workplace Injury and Disease Recording provides non-mandatory guidance on how to record workplace injuries. A copy of that standard is accessible at the SafeWork Australia website.

Please note: The answer is correct at the time of publishing. Be aware that laws may change over time. Refer to Notification of incidents for current advice.