In personal injury matters, the injury itself is rarely the only issue, writes Sepi Agahi.
In personal injury matters, the injury itself is rarely the only issue. For many people in Victoria, an injury brings financial stress, employment uncertainty and, in some cases, immigration concerns all at once.
When someone is living in Australia on a temporary visa, a bridging visa, or under a sponsorship arrangement, an injury can trigger a different kind of anxiety. Not the kind that appears in court documents, but the kind that quietly changes behaviour. People stop asking questions. They delay medical treatment. They keep working when they shouldn’t. They downplay their pain or avoid explaining how serious the injury really is. They avoid anything that might “create a problem” because they don’t know which system will react first.
This is often where injury claims begin to unravel before they ever properly start.
The questions these individuals carry are not framed as legal entitlement. They are framed as risk. Can I make a claim if I am on a visa? Will speaking up affect my sponsorship or my job? If I tell my GP what really happened, will it be shared with anyone? What if I was paid cash-in-hand? What if I don’t have paperwork or formal records?
These are practical questions asked by people who understand that one wrong step can have consequences far beyond an injury claim.
In Victoria, compensation pathways are complex even for those who know the system well. When you add language barriers, insecure employment, and anxiety about visa conditions, silence often feels safer than curiosity. People delay reporting incidents because they fear workplace repercussions. They delay seeing doctors because they do not want records. They return to work early, not because they are well, but because they are scared.
By the time legal advice is sought, the damage is often already done. Medical histories are incomplete. Timelines are unclear. Important evidence is missing. Credibility can be questioned, not because the injury is exaggerated, but because fear prevented clear documentation at the beginning.
One of the least discussed pressure points is the gap between medical treatment and legal outcomes. General practitioners are usually the first professionals an injured person trusts after an incident, yet many patients do not understand how early medical notes can later affect legal processes. Doctors, understandably focused on care, may not be thinking about how initial observations relate to causation, capacity, or long-term impact. When these systems operate separately, injured people are the ones who bear the consequences.
Informal work arrangements add another layer of confusion. People paid in cash or working irregular roles often assume they have no protection at all. Sometimes they have been told that directly. Sometimes it is simply a belief they carry because they fear exposing themselves or their employer. Either way, that assumption stops them from seeking advice early, and delay becomes the most damaging factor in their case.
There is also widespread misunderstanding around insurance held within superannuation. Many workers have income protection or disability cover without knowing it exists. Some assume it would not apply to them because they have only worked briefly in Australia or are not permanent residents. Many discover this only after their health has deteriorated and financial pressure has set in, when options may already be limited.
What links all of these situations is not a lack of legal protection, but a lack of accessible information at the moment it matters most. Injury frameworks in Victoria are designed to provide support, but they rely on people feeling able to engage with them early.
When injury, immigration and insecure work intersect, fear becomes a barrier in its own right. It influences whether incidents are reported, whether treatment is sought, and whether the full story is ever told. These unspoken questions shape outcomes long before a claim form is lodged.
If we want injury systems to function fairly, we need to pay closer attention to the decisions people make in those early days and weeks. Because by the time the legal questions are finally asked, the most important ones may already have been answered in silence.
Sepi Agahi is the principal of Agahi Lawyers.
