Changes to the Workers Compensation System
In June 2012 there were some significant legislative changes
made by the O’Farrell Government that has enormous implications for all
involved in the system. The
objectives, although primarily cost cutting by targeting injured workers
compensation entitlements , significantly affects other stakeholders such as
treatment providers and employers as well.
Workers are affected in the following
areas :
- Weekly
payments
- Lump sums for permanent impairment (and pain and suffering where
applicable)
- The way
the injury and employability may be
assessed
- Duration of
a claim
- Whether your
medical bills are paid or not
- Provision of
legal assistance to pursue a claim
- The right to
rehabilitation assistance
Treatment
providers are affected in how they:
- Must request formal treatment from insurers / agents or risk not being paid
Employers
are affected:
- In how and when they are to provide suitable duties
- The penalties that may be imposed if they don’t comply
- Due to experiencing savings via reduced premiums
Lawyers
are affected
- In what services they can now provide to injured
workers
- How they are funded
- New WorkCover registration requirements
- Our Doc “Changes
to Workers Compensation in NSW” details the areas of change relevant to each of
the major stakeholder - including treatment providers and NTD. It is helpful for NTD’s to beware of
the changes and what they may mean to the injured worker, their employer or the
treatment tem you will be working with
Summary
of what a doctor needs to know
The
main areas of relevance for NTD’s concerning the recent changes to the Workers
Compensation legislation include:
- Changes to the Workcover medical certificate
- The Introduction of Work Capacity Assessments and their
implications
- Changes to the entitlements for benefits and treatment of
injured workers
These are overviewed briefly in the other sections.
