Workers Compensation Review

The State Labor Government recently announced that it would undertake a comprehensive review of the Victorian workers’ compensation system.

As part of its comprehensive review, the Government has commissioned an eminent Queens’ Counsel to oversee the review process and, where appropriate, to recommend changes to the existing “WorkCover” scheme.

The Victorian branch of the SDA has consistently recognized, over a period of many years, the importance of assisting injured workers.

The appointment of special WorkCover Officers by the Branch has been demonstrative of our commitment to injured members and to the on-going operation of a fair and responsible workers compensation scheme. The union’s commitment has also been demonstrated by its full-time assistance to, and advocacy for, injured workers at the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service (ACCS), since the inception of the Conciliation Service in 1992.

Whilst the final outcome of the State Government’s review process is unlikely to be known until the end of this year, State Secretary Michael Donovan has formally written to the Minister for WorkCover, seeking, on behalf of SDA members, a number of reasonable and economically responsible improvements to the scheme.

Amongst a number of reforms supported by the union are improvements to the level of weekly compensation benefits, with a view to bringing weekly compensation rates into line with members’ real world, pre-injury “take-home” pay, and an extension to the time frame within which regular over-time and shift allowances can be incorporated within the calculation of an injured member’s “pre-injury average weekly earnings”.

The union has also urged that the time frame for the statutory protection of a member’s job be extended.