Key Facts 

The Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2023 is intended to modernise WA’s workers compensation laws, while preserving fundamental aspects of the scheme.

Key changes to the existing scheme include:

Injured Workers:

• Doubling of the Medical and Health expenses limit from 30% to 60% of the General limit (currently $75,817 increasing to $151,634).
• No requirement for Workers to declare any previous Workers Compensation claims on either employment applications or for pre-employment medical assessments.
• Weekly income payments will be based on prior 12 months of earnings or a lesser period, if employed less than 12 months.
• “Step down” from 100% to 85% for weekly compensation after week 26 or to the Award rate plus over Award/regular payments for Award workers.
• Participation is expected at Return to Work Case Conferences every 4 weeks, if requested.
• Workers with severe injuries can opt into the Catastrophic Injury Support Scheme managed by the Insurance Commission.

Employers:

• Change to 7 days (from current 5 working days) to pass on Employee claim form, Employer claim form, Certificate of Capacity and Worker Consent form to Broker/Insurer.
• Annual, Sick and Long Service Leave accrues for any employee on Income Compensation.
• Income Compensation to be paid to the employee within 14 days of being advised by their Insurer.
• Required to provide workers with a WA Return to Work Prescribed form
• Planned dismissal of a worker on Income Compensation is to be given 28 days’ notice in the approved form found here: Worker on Income Compensation Termination Notice form
• Documentation received from workers including Certificates of Capacity, Permanent Impairment assessments etc. to be passed onto their insurance adviser/ Insurer within 7 days.

Insurance Brokers and Authorised Representatives:

• WorkCover proposal forms must be used for new Policies from 1/7/24, available at: Approved WorkCover Proposal forms. Insurers must issue Policies with Standard wording from 1 July 2024.
• Clients can appeal premiums of Gazette + 75% or higher. WorkCover approval is no longer a requirement. However, clients are expected to pay any premiums, while any appeal is considered.
• Remuneration declarations are required to be provided to insurers within 30 days of expiry and premiums paid within 90 days.
• Requirement to obtain a signed Consent form from the injured worker to discuss personal information with the insurer and employer. 
• Contractor wages will not have to be declared by a Principal if the Contractor is performing a trade or business in their own name or a business name, if they can confirm that the Contractor has a Workers Compensation Policy covering their workers.
• Records of client information, premium, amendments, claims assistance etc to be kept for 7 years.

Insurers:

• 14 days from receipt of a completed claim to ‘Accept’ ‘Not Accept’ or ‘Defer’ the claim.
• Further 14 days after deferring a claim to ‘Accept’ or ‘Not Accept’ the claim.  If it remains as a ‘Defer’ decision, then the worker will be entitled to provisional payments from the date of incapacity, also 5% of the Medical and Health expenses limit.
• Can settle a Workers Compensation claim through WorkCover at any point. Common Law claims will need to be settled via the District Court.
• Able to challenge Stress claims where the main stress resulted from ‘reasonable employer administration action’.
• 120 days from receipt of a completed claim to make a formal decision to accept or deny a claim, otherwise the claim will be considered accepted. 

Summary

The changes to the WA Workers Compensation system, including forms and procedures are the most significant to have occurred in WA for many decades. There are lots of new features and requirements to be understood and implemented. The law and regulations can be found here:

• Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act as at 2024 
• WA Workers Compensation Regulations as at 2024

Advice

We recommend talking with your Authorised Representative, who is a specialist in workers compensation and can assist to ensure a seamless transition to the new system, as well as advice on claim management. 

General Advice Warning

This communication including any weblinks or attachments is for information purposes only. It is not a recommendation or opinion, your personal or individual objectives, financial situation or needs have not been taken into account. This communication is not intended to be a constitute personal advice. We strongly recommend that you consider the suitability of this information, in respect of your own personal objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on it. This document is also not a Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or a policy wording, nor is it a summary of a particular product’s features or terms of any insurance product. If you are interested in discussing this information or acquiring an insurance product, you should contact your insurance adviser to obtain and carefully consider any relevant PDS or policy wording before deciding whether to purchase any insurance product.