Queensland Workers' Compensation Overhaul on the books

Thursday 17 October 2013 @ 10.54 a.m. | Industrial Law | Legal Research | Trade & Commerce

The Queensland Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 has reached second reading stage (15 October 2013) in the Queensland Legislative Assembly and looks set to be passed through remaining stages quickly. 

Announcing the overhaul to Workers Compensation made by the Bill in Queensland a media release posted to the Queensland Government's website (15 October 2013) states:

"The Queensland Workers Compensation Scheme will be the fairest in the nation with the most coverage for workers and the lowest premiums for employers".

However, other sources report that the changes will also affect the rights of workers to sue for compensation under the common law which are also set to be restricted by being capped at a specified level of impairment. Further, employers will be given access to job applicants’ claim histories under the  overhaul.

What's Proposed

The Queensland Attorney-General's announcement asserts that the overhauled system will be the best in the nation. Under the changes, workers will only be able to claim compensation through common law if their "whole person impairment" (WPI) arising from an injury is medically assessed as impairing five percent of their whole person or higher. Claimants whose WPI falls below this level will still be eligible for compensation under a statutory formula.

The Attorney-General says in the media release that the proposed five percent WPI threshold is modest and compares favourably with thresholds of 15 to 30 percent applying in other states (see for example, NSW, VIC,  TAS).

The Attorney-General has also announced that the government will  introduce amendments aimed to crack down on fraudulent claims by allowing employers to access the claims history of job applicants, while the regulatory functions of Q-Comp (the independent statutory authority regulating Workers Compensation, established on 1 July 2003 under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (QLD)) will be merged into the Attorney-General’s department.

These are seen as the most controversial of the proposed changes as plans to give employers access to the claims history of job applicants are capable of leading to discrimination. The Attorney-General and the government however argue that it will "red flag" those who have rorted the system and they have indicated they will also increase penalties for those who make fraudulent compensation claims.

Reactions to the Changes

Industry spokesmen are reported as welcoming the proposed changes, taking the view that they would "not impact workers with genuine claims but would relieve pressure on premiums, which . . .  would fall by as much as 13 percent". In the construction industry this could reverse a trend where premiums have risen by an average of 23 percent over the last four years, and in some building related trades as much as 30 percent.

Trade unions, the opposition and lawyers are reported as saying parts of the shake-up are unjustified and unfair, especially when it is noted that the state's workers compensation scheme made half a billion dollars profit last financial year.

The changes have been attacked by unions who have reacted by saying that moves to limit common-law claims will sentence many workers to a life of poverty. One report quotes the Queensland Council of Unions president as saying:

“Based on previous actuarial information, we know that more than 50 percent of successful claims against negligent employers are for injuries with an impairment level of less than five per cent, . . . even a small degree of impairment can have a devastating impact upon future employment prospects".

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