On 1 February 2011:

  • Amendments to both the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 by the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2010 commenced and made 'further provision for determination of compensation and work injury damages, workplace rehabilitation, medical assessment, appeals and other matters'
  • The Workers Compensation Regulation 2010 commenced and replaced the Workers Compensation Regulation 2003.

Workers Compensation Act 1987

Briefly summarised, the amendments:

  • Remove from s40(2) the maximum statutory cap for weekly compensation paid to partially incapacitated workers who have not unreasonably rejected suitable employment
  • Give the Workers Compensation Commission jurisdiction to determine disputes under s60 in relation to proposed medical treatment
  • Remove restrictions on the maximum amount for which an employee is liable for workplace rehabilitation services
  • Provide that the entitlement pursuant to s73 to be reimbursed the cost of obtaining a permanent impairment medical report to support a claim for lump sum does not arise until the claim has been finalised
  • Align the maximum age for determining future economic loss in accordance with s151IA in a claim for work injury damages to eligibility for the aged pension under the Social Security Act 1991
  • Provide for the provision of a security bond as a means of satisfying a requirement for the deposit of an amount of money as security by self-insurers, specialised insurers and retro-paid loss employers
  • Exempt a specialised insurer from the requirement to be authorised under the Insurance Act 1973 to carry on insurance business if the insurer does not require that authorisation to lawfully carry on the business.

Other minor amendments are made.

Proposed changes to commutation provisions, which were contained in the original Bill, were removed following stakeholder consultation.

Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998

Again, briefly summarised the amendments:

  • Prevent a worker recovering work injury damages until the worker has been paid any lump sum compensation to which the worker is entitled (so that the worker will not lose the entitlement to the lump sum compensation by recovering damages)
  • Apply the indexation provisions to the maximum sum for which an interim payment direction for the payment of s60 expenses can be made (currently $7,500)
  • Restrict the circumstances in which fresh evidence can be adduced on an appeal against a medical assessment certificate or a decision by an Arbitrator
  • Restrict an appeal against a decision of an Arbitrator to a determination as to whether the decision was affected by any error of fact, law or discretion and to make clear that the appeal is not a review or new hearing
  • Provide that an appeal against a decision by an Arbitrator concerning the payment of weekly compensation does not stay the decision and make clear that weekly compensation awarded by the decision appealed against is to be paid pending the determination of the appeal
  • Limit the decisions which can be the subject of a reconsideration pursuant to s378.

Other minor amendments are made.

Workers Compensation Regulation 2010

This replaces the Workers Compensation Regulation 2003 with relatively minor amendments in relation to the following:

  • Diseases that are taken to be work related
  • The current weekly wage rates to be used for compensation calculation purposes
  • The rate at which the amount of benefits is indexed for inflation
  • Weekly payments of compensation by way of income support and procedures for their discontinuation
  • Return-to-work programs, which are policies for the rehabilitation of injured workers
  • Rates applicable for occupational rehabilitation services
  • Approval of occupational rehabilitation providers
  • Notification of workplace injuries
  • Claims procedures
  • The referral of medical disputes to referees or panels
  • Restrictions on obtaining medical reports
  • The disclosure of information and the keeping of records.

A paper summarising the amendments in more detail has been prepared by Moray & Agnew and is available upon request. Please email the author.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.