Health and wellbeing

EAP

Available 24 hours, 7 days a week.

To seek advice or make an appointment, call 1300 OUR EAP (1300 687 327) or 03 8681 2444.

For more information, see 'Counselling and other support' below

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Supporting the health and wellbeing of our staff at Federation University is an important priority.

At Federation, we are able to draw on our unique access to resources including academic research, staff and facilities that are each intrinsically linked with enhancing and promoting health and wellbeing.

Our health and wellbeing approach is guided through policy, increasing the skills and competencies of all managers and staff, increasing opportunities for participation and responsibility in health and wellbeing across the University and increasing the resilience of staff through personal and lifestyle focused support.

The following links provide access to our range of staff health and wellbeing related information and resources.

EAP servicesOther information and resources Domestic and family violence

EAP helplines

Call: 1300 687 327  (1800 OUR EAP)

  • free short-term counselling for all employees
  • totally confidential and independent
  • assistance with work and personal issues
  • referral for further sessions, if needed
  • crisis counselling available 24 hours 7 days a week
  • variety of locations available.
Specialist EAP helplines - available to staff during business hours
  • When you phone one of the specialist helplines you can request to remain with this specialist (or request a different specialist) for the remaining appointments available to you

EAP services

Our EAP covers up to four (4) free sessions per annum of counselling/Career Assist/Money Assist/Legal Assist combined.

Call 1300 687 327 (1800 our eap) | Staff members who are overseas should call +61 3 8681 2444.

You do not have to request authorisation from your manager or supervisor to access the service. Managers and supervisors can recommend their staff members access the EAP services but a staff member retains the right to accept or refuse the recommendation.

Staff members can choose between telephone counselling or off-campus face-to-face counselling during business hours. Registered psychologists conduct all counselling services.

Attending appointments

We want to support staff in accessing counselling when it is needed.  To ensure that confidentiality is maintained, we suggest that appointments be made outside of work hours.  If that is not suitable, leave can be booked to cover time taken off without specifying the reason, although normal leave approval processes still apply.  Alternatively, a staff member can seek approval from their supervisor/manager to attend a counselling appointment during work hours.

Any appointment alteration or cancellation should be made at least 24 hours prior to the appointment time or a non-attendance fee will be charged.

Managers and supervisors

Manager Assist provides advice and support for managers and supervisors on issues relating to staff management and those sometimes difficult situations that affect their particular workplace. As with other EAP services, Manager Assist is free of charge and strictly confidential. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days per week.

To use Manager Assist or for further information on this service call 03 8681 2444.

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Other information and resources

There are tip sheets and information resources available by visiting the Converge International web page via convergeinternational.com.au. To access all of the resources you need to:

Select 'Portal Login'

username = federation

password = eap

Converge International may also be engaged in special circumstances to provide the following services on a fee-for-service basis:

  • critical incident management and debriefs
  • home and hospital visits
  • training and staff development

These services can be requested via the Wellbeing and Injury Management Consultant or the Director, People and Culture.

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Domestic and family violence

If you are dealing with domestic and family violence, there is support available:

The University also offers special leave provisions to assist you in accessing necessary supports. You can speak to your manager about this or contact your People and Capability Partner directly.

Further information is available through the University’s Family and Domestic Violence Procedure.

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Mindfulness, exercise, diet, sleep and positive connections each contribute to supporting positive mental health.

We encourage you to look at our mental health resources and make your own personal wellbeing plan.This might include: participating in one of our online exercise, yoga or mindfulness classes; completing the online mindfulness or wellbeing courses shown below; signing up for a wellbeing-related workshop in our PD calendar; or participating in some community volunteer work.

All staff can access up to four (4) free, confidential, independent counselling sessions per annum through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP) as well as a range of other specialist services and helplines.

Further details about our EAP can be found under the 'Counselling and other support' section.

Federation University Mental Health Statement (pdf, 58kb)
Mental health and wellbeingMindfulnessHumourSleep
Social and community connectednessWork-life balanceReadingYoga

Managing mental health in the workplace

External mental health resources

Tip sheets by Converge (our EAP provider)

Mental health and wellbeing

Helpful tip sheets

Mindfulness

'Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgement.'

Consider signing up for one of these free online courses:

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Sleep

Sleep is your superpower Just launched - a highly interactive resource called Sleepfit for you and your family. This resource includes:

  • tailored strategies and tools for managing sleep, stress and anxiety
  • personalised guidelines to optimise your schedule based on your natural biological rhythm – your circadian rhythm
  • interactive support and tools for optimal mental and physical health and wellbeing, videos, ted talks, easy to access sleep and stress strategies
  • guided meditations and soothing sounds
  • bite sized 7-day programs to embed learnings - 'Less stress more sleep', '7 golden rules of sleep' and 'The Great Sleep Guide'
  • chat functionality – 'ask Sleepfit a question'.

Visit the Sleepfit site to find out more

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Social and community connectedness

Connecting with others is important for our wellbeing and helps us feel safe, less stressed and anxious.

While working

  • Call or video conference with colleagues instead of emailing or messaging
  • Inject some fun into your day with ‘getting to know you’ competitions within your team
  • Plan virtual morning tea or coffee catch ups
  • Organise a virtual team lunch

Outside of work

  • Write emails and letters to share a favourite memory
  • Play online video games or board games with friends or family
  • Start or join a virtual book club
  • Engage in a group chat with friends, family or workmates
  • Video chat with someone you care about
  • Host a virtual dinner or drinks catch up
  • Check on neighbours and people in your community and provide support where you can.
  • Volunteer within your community: Download: 7 ways volunteering can improve your life (pdf, 174kb)

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Yoga

Did you know that 30 minutes of yoga, reading or humour have similar effects in reducing stress?

Check out the 'Exercise and movement' section to find more yoga and exercise sessions.

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Reading

What better time to search for a book to make you laugh out loud, intrigue or inspire.

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Humour

Laughter is a great form of stress relief and can be a good way to defuse tensions, especially as we are now spending more time at home.

Work-life balance

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Exercise and movement

Being active, whether through formal exercise or simply by ensuring that we integrate more movement into our daily routines has numerous benefits.  It promotes strong muscles and bones, improves respiratory, cardiovascular and our overall health as well as reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Through our FedUni Well workplace health and wellness program, we offer staff discounts to our Mt Helen Health, Sports and Aquatic Centre as well as other facilities outside of Ballarat.

Find out more about our FedWell program

When working from home we tend to spend a lot more time sitting down. The Health, Sports and Aquatic Centre has developed the following short videos to help keep you moving.  Make sure you stand while you do them!

Here are some ideas that might help you to sit less and move more

  • start the day with a walk around the block – it’s a great way to set your mind to starting the work day and gives you a 'third space'.
  • make it a rule to stand up while you are have a conversation. Better yet, pace!
  • walk more around your house.
  • make a list of five-minute tasks/activities/exercises and do one every hour.
  • walk after you eat lunch.
  • dance when you can.
  • finish your work day with another quick 'walk home' around the block – again, using that 'third space' to transition from work to home.

Home office ergonomics – setting up your workstation

To avoid injury, set up your work space so that it's ergonomic. Don’t work from the couch or you will regret it by day three.

Please view the home workplace health and wellness checklist (pdf, 143KB) and ergonomic self-assessment checklist (pdf, 596kb).

You may also find the following videos useful:

Online exercise resources

This is the perfect time to try new recipes.

Nutrition

Heart Foundation

  • Healthy eating and drinking is an important part of looking after your heart. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make some changes that can improve your health.
  • Visit Recipes to find your next tasty meal.

Eat for Health

Visit the Australian Government's Eat for Health website and view Australian dietary guidelines and advice about the amount and kinds of foods that we need to eat for health and well-being.

Having access to good financial information and being able to manage money, insurance and savings are important factors in achieving financial wellbeing. Now might be a good time to get some advice on financial arrangements and supports.

Injury or illness doesn’t have to cause you to cease work. With some adjustments and modifications, we can often help you to safely remain at work while you receive treatment and recover.

Reporting an injury

We encourage early injury reporting and support an early intervention approach to injury management. The injury management process will commence as soon as possible after a work-related injury/illness is reported, taking into account all aspects of your recovery. Our injury management process is detailed in our Injury Management Policy and Procedures and is in accordance with the University’s obligations under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013.

If you become injured or ill because of work, please make sure you receive appropriate treatment as soon as possible. Your health is the most important thing. You also need to ensure that you report the injury as soon as possible. You can do this by downloading and completing an Injury Report form.

Talk to your supervisor and let them know what assistance or support you need to safely remain at or return to work. This could include reduced hours or modifications to your duties or work area. Your supervisor can also refer you to the University’s Wellbeing and Injury Management Consultant for advice or assistance.

Injury Support Program


If your injury is minor and likely to resolve after a small amount of treatment, you may be able to participate in our Injury Support Program which is based on the following criteria:

  1. a work-related injury has been sustained
  2. the injury has been reported and an Injury Report Form has been completed
  3. the injury is considered minor and likely to resolve after a small amount of treatment
  4. a worker's compensation claim has not been lodged.

Participation in the Injury Support Program does not prevent you from lodging a WorkCover claim if the injury does not resolve as anticipated. The University also notes that in paying for any expenses under the Injury Support Program, it does not imply that the University accepts liability for that injury under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013.  To find out more, download the Injury Support Program flyer.

Lodging a WorkCover claim

If you decide that you want to lodge a WorkCover claim, you can download a Worker’s Injury Claim Form or we can send a form out to you. You can choose to make a claim to cover many out of pocket expenses and loss of income. If your injury is the result of a motor vehicle accident, you must report the accident to the police.

If you wish to claim for loss of income (weekly payments), you will need to provide a Certificate of Capacity issued by a medical practitioner. The first certificate can cover up to the first 14 days of work capacity.

After the first certificate, all other certificates can be for up to 28 days and may be issued by a medical practitioner, physiotherapist, chiropractor or osteopath. You need to sign and date these Certificates of Capacity for them to be valid.

All completed claims paperwork should be sent to pc@federation.edu.au, attention: Wellbeing and Injury Management Consultant.

Contact

The person responsible for WorkCover at the University is:

Joanne Fiorenza
Wellbeing and Injury Management Consultant
PO Box 663, Ballarat VIC 3353
Ph: 03 5327 6197 | Email: j.fiorenza@federation.edu.au

The University must send the claim paperwork to their insurer within three to 10 days of receipt, depending on the claim type. The University’s WorkCover insurer is:

Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd
PO Box 324, Geelong VIC 3220
Ph: 03 5226 1000

Financial support while you are recovering from personal injury or illness

If you have an injury or illness that might require extended treatment or time off work, it helps to have a clear idea of what financial supports might be available to you.

We recommend that you check with your superannuation provider to see whether you might be eligible to claim income protection through an insurance policy attached to your superannuation.

Related policies and procedures

Ballarat campuses

  • Wellbeing Centre  03 5327 9470
    Health services including a nurse and pathology collection
    Ground floor, building T, Mt Helen Campus
    Tuesday to Thursday, 9:00 am to 3:00 pm
  • Exercise Rehabilitation Centre 03 5327 9172
    Can provide assessment, advice and guidance for those wishing to commence an exercise program or to commence exercise-based recovery or management of an injury or illness.
    Level one, building P, Mt Helen Campus
  • Federation Community Psychology Services 03 5327 8483
    Providing psychological services to Ballarat and surrounding communities
    Suite 4, Greenhill Enterprise Centre (GEC), Tech Park, Mt Helen
    Tuesday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm

Berwick Campus 03 9796 1500

Berwick Healthcare is a general medical practice located at our Berwick Campus.

Bulk-billed medical appointments are available to Federation University students.

Gippsland Campus 03 5122 6425

Nurse available on campus.

Latest session/s

Past session/s

Collaborative conversations (our webinar series for academic staff)

Quick links

We are continually reviewing the content on this page, and your feedback or suggestions to improve this resource are welcome via j.fiorenza@federation.edu.au.