Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2016 (VIC)

The Victorian Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2016 was assented in December of 2016. The Act which will primarily commence in July 2017 and will improve the benefits payable under existing Victorian Transport Accident Commission (TAC) and WorkSafe Victoria schemes.

Amendment of Retirement Age

The Commonwealth Government has recently introduced amendments to the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) that would progressively raise the age pension qualifying age from 65 to 67. However, as it currently stands in Victoria under the TAC and WorkSafe schemes, weekly benefits to clients of these schemes will cease upon them reaching retirement age, which is defined to mean 65. The Commonwealth changes will mean that older WorkSafe or TAC benefit recipients will find themselves at age 65 without any income support from either the WorkSafe, TAC or age pension schemes offered by the Federal Government. The amending Act will therefore appropriately amend the retirement age to fit the Commonwealth model.

TAC Accomodation Expenses

The second amendment to be introduced by the Act is to provide an additional capped amount of $5,000 per claim in order to cover travelling expenses for immediate family members of a TAC client to attend that client’s funeral service.

Amendments to the ACCS

The Accident Compensation Conciliation Service (ACCS) was originally established to provide a fair, economical, informal and quick process to resolve disputes that would arise in workplace injury compensation schemes. The Act will amend the body to make it consistent with current best practice for public entities outlined in the Victorian Public Sector Commission’s guidelines on Legal Form and Governance Arrangements for Public Entities.

The Act establishes the ACCS as a statutory authority, with a ministerially-appointed, skills-based board that will have the responsibility to provide dispute resolution services for the WorkSafe scheme.

Ineligibility for Compensation

The Act will also amend the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (VIC) so that anyone who has been convicted of a law of another state that is equivalent to one in Victoria that would result in disqualification from compensation would be rendered ineligible for compensation. 

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Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2016, Bill, Second Reading Speech, and Explanatory Memorandum as published on LawOne