Work Capacity | Moderate Risk

Can You Work While Taking Diazepam?

How Diazepam (Diazepam Elixir) affects work capacity, driving fitness, and return to work for case managers, RTW coordinators, occupational health advisors, and support workers.

Work Capacity Guide Updated April 2026

Diazepam (Diazepam Elixir) can affect work capacity due to its CNS depressant effects including drowsiness, impaired concentration, and reduced coordination. Case managers and RTW coordinators should assess whether the claimant can safely perform their pre-injury duties, whether modified duties are required, and whether the medication itself is a barrier to return to work.

Key Takeaways

  • Risk level: Moderate (3 points)
  • CNS depressant: Impairs driving, concentration, and coordination
  • Respiratory risk: May affect physical work capacity
  • Driving (AU): Driving while impaired by a benzodiazepine is an offence in every state — certificates should record driving restrictions
  • RTW action: Assess fitness to work, consider modified duties, document medication-related restrictions on work capacity certificates

Driving and Vehicle Operation

  • Drowsiness and sedation that can impair reaction time
  • Reduced alertness, particularly in the first weeks of treatment or after dose changes
  • Benzodiazepine-affected driving is an offence in every Australian jurisdiction — impairment applies regardless of a valid prescription

Driving and Prescription Medicines in Australia

In every Australian state and territory it is an offence to drive while impaired by any drug — prescription medicines included. A valid prescription is not a defence to impaired driving. Diazepam is a benzodiazepine, a class consistently implicated in medically impaired driving.

For claims teams: where Diazepam appears on a claim, driving restrictions should be reconciled with the certificate of capacity — a driving clearance certified alongside sedating medication is a contradiction to resolve with the certifier.

Cognitive and Mental Function

  • Impaired concentration and decision-making
  • Memory difficulties
  • Anterograde amnesia affecting new learning and task retention

Physical Work Capacity

  • Impaired coordination and balance, increasing fall risk
  • Respiratory depression risk, especially with physical exertion in combination with other CNS depressants
  • Muscle relaxation that may affect physical task performance

Safety-Sensitive Roles Requiring Assessment

The following roles require specific work capacity assessment when the worker is taking Diazepam:

  • Driving (commercial and private vehicles)
  • Operating heavy machinery or forklifts
  • Working at heights
  • Tasks requiring sustained attention or rapid decision-making
  • Physically demanding roles where respiratory compromise could be dangerous

Modified duties should be considered where the worker cannot safely perform their pre-injury role while taking this medication.

Return to Work Guidance

  1. Assess current medication effects: Is Diazepam causing sedation, impaired concentration, or physical limitations?
  2. Review the pre-injury role: Does the role involve driving, machinery, heights, or safety-sensitive tasks?
  3. Consider modified duties: Can the worker return to a modified role that avoids safety-sensitive tasks?
  4. Document restrictions: Ensure work capacity certificates reflect medication-related limitations
  5. Plan for medication changes: If Diazepam is being tapered or changed, work capacity may improve - reassess at each review
  6. Coordinate with the treating doctor: Discuss whether the medication can be adjusted to support return to work

Check this medication against your full medication list

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Related Resources

Important: This page is general health information, not personal medical advice. If you have questions about your medication — including starting it, stopping it, changing the dose, or combining it with something else — speak with your doctor or pharmacist. For an emergency or suspected overdose, call your local emergency number or poison information service immediately. Information is drawn from regulator and clinical guideline sources (TGA, FDA, MHRA, NICE, PBS, CDC); see our methodology for details.