Journey Claims Covered Under Workers Compensation

Authorised Breaks, Unauthorised Breaks, and Workplace Errands: What’s Covered?

One of the most commonly misunderstood aspects of workers’ compensation in NSW is what happens when you’re injured not during the commute itself, but during a break or interval in your working day. The answer depends largely on whether your activity was authorised or connected to your employment, and it matters more than most people realise.

Authorised Breaks and Recesses

Under the NSW Workers Compensation Act, a lunch break is classified as an “authorised recess.” This means that if you’re injured during an authorised break — even if you’ve stepped outside your employer’s premises — you may still be covered by workers’ compensation. For example, if you walk to a nearby café or park during your lunch break and are injured along the way, a claim may be available to you.

The same principle can apply to other authorised recesses, such as scheduled morning or afternoon breaks, provided the activity you were engaged in at the time of injury was reasonable in the circumstances.

Unauthorised Breaks and Reckless Activity

However, not all break-time injuries are automatically covered. If you take an unauthorised break — one that falls outside your normal work schedule or that your employer has not sanctioned — and are injured during that time, your claim may be at risk.

Similarly, if you engage in reckless or dangerous activity during a break, workers’ compensation cover may not apply. For instance, if a worker leaves the office for an unscheduled outing unrelated to work and is injured, or participates in a dangerous activity during downtime, the insurer may argue the injury did not arise out of or in the course of employment.

Whether an activity is considered unauthorised or reckless is assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Personal Injury Commission will examine the nature of the break, what the worker was doing, whether the employer was aware of or involved in the activity, and the circumstances leading to the injury.

Work Errands and Employer-Directed Activity

An area where many workers are surprised to find they have coverage is when they are injured while completing a task for their employer outside their normal workplace. If your employer directs you to run a work errand — picking up supplies, travelling between worksites, attending an offsite meeting, or delivering documents — and you are injured during that activity, you are likely to be covered under workers’ compensation.

This is because the injury occurs within the course of your employment: you are doing something your employer has induced or encouraged you to do. The connection between your work and the injury is direct and clear.

Intervals and Interludes During an Overall Period of Work

Beyond the standard commute and scheduled breaks, workers’ compensation principles also recognise that an injury can occur during an “interval or interlude” within an overall period of work. This concept became clearly established in Australian law following a significant High Court decision, and it reflects the reality that work is rarely a single, uninterrupted activity.

An interval or interlude might include a short break between tasks, downtime during an overnight work trip, or a period between attending morning and afternoon meetings at different locations. In these situations, whether you are covered depends on whether your employer, expressly or impliedly, induced or encouraged the activity you were engaged in at the time.

For instance, if your employer sends you interstate for two days and you are injured while resting at your hotel overnight, cover is likely available because sleeping is a natural and implied part of being on a work trip. On the other hand, if you use that same trip to visit a friend late at night and are injured on the way back, the connection to your employment becomes much weaker, and a claim may be denied.

This nuance matters because it goes beyond the commute entirely; it acknowledges that employment can create a context in which injuries occur even when you are not actively working. Understanding where that boundary sits is important if you’ve been injured in circumstances that don’t fit neatly into the “commute to work” category.

A Note on Jurisdiction

It’s worth noting that the specific principles governing intervals, interludes, and authorised breaks have been significantly shaped by decisions under Commonwealth workers’ compensation law (which applies to federal government employees). While NSW workers are covered under different legislation — primarily the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) — the underlying concepts of employer inducement, authorisation, and the connection between activity and employment are relevant across both systems. 

If you are unsure which scheme applies to you, our specialist workers’ compensation team can help you identify the correct framework and assess your options.