Results from the industry's biggest salary survey are in, explore national benchmarking data from 1,500+ Insurance, Personal Injury, and WHS professionals.
DownloadAt HAYLO People, we speak to the Personal Injury market across Australia every day, across Workers Compensation, CTP, injury management, self-insurance, government and specialist insurer environments. That national view matters, because capability requirements are no longer shifting evenly. What employers need in NSW is not always the same as what is needed in VIC, QLD, WA or SA, and each scheme is being shaped by different pressures, caseloads, reforms, customer expectations and talent availability are Australia’s leading recruitment agency.
Here’s what our 2026 Talent & Salary Insights Report, and our conversations with employers and candidates nationally, tell us about the changing capability profile of Personal Injury professionals.
Scheme knowledge, legislation, return-to-work principles, medical literacy and end-to-end claims management are still non-negotiable.
But across every sector we surveyed, communication (33%), adaptability (27%), critical thinking (22%) and leadership (18%) were all named as becoming most important.
The hiring implication? Scheme experience will get someone considered. Human and adaptive capability will determine how well they perform.
This is where a national lens becomes important. In states and schemes experiencing heavier psychological injury claims, reform pressure or higher portfolio complexity, employers are not just asking for claims experience. They are asking for professionals who can interpret legislation, manage uncertainty, build trust with injured people and stakeholders, and stay effective when the pathway is not straightforward.
Psychological claims and complexity is the number one pressure point for Personal Injury professionals in 2026, ahead of legislative pressure and talent shortages. That means claims professionals are navigating more complex conversations, vulnerable customers and longer recovery journeys.
The ability to build trust, communicate clearly and exercise sound judgement is becoming just as important as technical expertise.
The development implication? Technical expertise alone doesn’t make a strong leader anymore. It should also be assessed on judgement, communication and people capability too.
Across Australia, we see this show up differently by scheme. Some markets need stronger legislative interpretation and claims strategy. Others need deeper injury management, RTW coordination, stakeholder engagement or resilience under larger portfolios. The common thread is that the best people are no longer just technically competent. They can flex their approach to the scheme, the customer, the employer and the claim environment they are operating in.
Technology is changing how claims teams operate.AI is already being used across administration, reporting, case notes, document summarisation and workflow support. That changes the capability mix employers need. If technology removes some of the transactional work, the value of the role shifts further toward judgement, communication, claim strategy, stakeholder influence and the ability to make sense of complex information.
The capability implication? Digital fluency is becoming part of baseline capability, but it cannot sit on its own. Personal Injury professionals need to use AI critically, validate outputs, understand scheme context and know when the human layer matters most.
Recruitment and development strategies need to reflect this shift. The strongest Personal Injury professionals will be those who can combine:
Strong technical foundations
Empathy, communication and judgement
Adaptability and digital capability
For employers, that means looking beyond years of experience alone and thinking more deliberately about the capability profile your state, scheme and operating model actually needs. A strong NSW case manager may be navigating different reform pressure, stakeholder expectations and salary movement to someone in WA, QLD, VIC or SA. A self-insurer may need a different mix of prevention, injury management and internal influence than a scheme agent or specialist insurer.
The Personal Injury profession is becoming more complex, more human and more technology-enabled at the same time. As the industry comes together at PIEF, the conversation around how we build, develop and retain the next generation of Personal Injury professionals has never been more relevant.
The future of Personal Injury won’t be defined by one skillset, it will be defined by professionals who can bring all three together. Want the full data set? Personal Injury pressure points, skills rankings, portfolio benchmarks by state and scheme, and salary benchmarking by role, employer type and experience.
HAYLO People is Australia's specialist recruitment agency for Personal Injury, Workers Compensation, Injury Management, WHS and General Insurance. 📧 hello@haylopeople.com.au 📞 +61 2 9174 5379
What is the HAYLO People 2026 Talent & Salary Insights Report?
It's HAYLO People's annual national benchmarking report, covering salary data, retention drivers, benefits ranking and workforce sentiment across Insurance, Personal Injury and WHS. This year's edition is built from responses from 1,500+ industry professionals.
Why are there three reports this year instead of one?
To make the data easier to act on. Alongside the full report, there's a General Insurance & Broking edition and a Personal Injury & WHS edition, each with sector-specific benchmarks and trends so you only need the data relevant to your team.
Who should download the Personal Injury & WHS report?
Employers and professionals in Workers Compensation, Injury Management and WHS who want salary benchmarks and hiring trends specific to that market.
Is the report free to download?
Yes. All three reports are free, available at the link above.
How often does HAYLO People release this report?
Annually. The 2026 edition follows the 2025 report and includes year-on-year comparisons where relevant.
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