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FACT SHEET
Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill 2016
This legislation is designed to reduce red tape associated with the administration and regulation
of the workers rehabilitation and compensation scheme.
The amendments emphasise a movement away from administrative processes and focus
instead on achieving positive outcomes for workers, employers and insurers. They will remove
deficiencies that have arisen over time and are essential for improving the operation of the
scheme and result in significant savings for Tasmanian businesses and insurers.
Several amendments will improve compensation arrangements for workers and their
dependents:
Existing age restrictions will be removed from the Act. This will ensure workers are not
disadvantaged by changes to the qualifying age for aged pension in Commonwealth
legislation.
Where there has been a work-related death, a dependant claiming compensation will
no longer need to provide a death certificate with their claim. Rather, the WorkCover
Tasmania Board (the Board) will develop a relevant claim form for use, thereby aligning
the process with established practice following a death.
Compensation in case of a work-related death will be extended to include partially
dependent spouse and fully and/or partially dependent children, replacing the current
need for the Worker’s Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal to assess the level of
dependency.
Changes will also be made to provisions relating to the presumption as to the cause of disease:
The Schedule of diseases deemed to be work related will be removed from the Act
and, instead, the Board will give notice of relevant diseases. This will ensure the list of
deemed diseases can be responsive as new research and findings in relation to work
related disease becomes available.
Review provisions will be amended so that presumption as it relates to the cause of
certain diseases experienced by fire fighters is reviewed every three years, rather than
annually.
Employers will:
no longer be required to display the details of their insurer and a copy of the Act in the
workplace; and
only need to appoint a return-to-work co-ordinator if they employ more than 100
workers, rather than 50 workers.
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Amendments relevant to medical practitioners include that:
The definition of ‘medical practitioner’ will be broadened to include legally qualified
medical practitioners in other countries.
Medical practitioners will no longer need to be accredited to issue medical certificates.
Further, in case of total incapacity, a medical certificate will be able to be issued, for up
to 28 days, rather than 14 days.
Accreditation will still be required for a medical practitioner to assess the degree of a
worker’s permanent impairment for the purpose of the Act. The application of
Guidelines for assessment of permanent impairment will be clarified, reflecting current
practice and removing potential for ambiguity or confusion when future versions of the
Guidelines are issued by the Board.
A range of provisions will also reduce red tape for insurers:
Insurer’s licences and self-insurer’s permits will no longer expire after three years.
Rather, licences and permits will remain in force until they are either surrendered by the
license or permit holder, or revoked by the Board.
Unnecessary restrictions on the liabilities which may be insured against will be removed,
allowing insurers to determine any matter relating to excess.
Insurers will no longer be required to provide indicative workers compensation industry
rates to the Board, thereby easing the regulatory burden on the sector.
In relation to governance, the Bill will:
Amend the membership and voting structure of the WorkCover Tasmania Board to
ensure the Board is equipped with the necessary skills and experience to provide advice
and make decisions on the broad range of matters within its scope.
Refine the functions of the Board and remove unnecessary or duplicated provisions.
The Bill will also amend provisions which are burdensome or unnecessarily complex and
achieve a range of minor wording fixes and amendments to improve the comprehension,
consistency and clarity of the Act.
The new laws will come into effect on 1 July 2017.
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