Tasmania (Tas)

1910

Tasmania first introduced workers’ compensation in 1910. The Workers’ Compensation Act 1927 repealed earlier Acts and introduced compulsory insurance against injury to workers. A 1986 Tasmanian Law Reform Commission report recommended sweeping changes to the system and led to the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. This Act introduced many new features to the Tasmanian workers’ compensation scheme, including:

  • the establishment of the Workers’ Compensation Board which included representatives of employers, employees, insurers and the medical profession
  • extension of coverage to police officers, ministers of religion and sportsmen (restricted)
  • revision of payment of the costs of treatment, counselling, retraining or necessary modifications to an injured worker’s home or workplace, and
  • licensing of insurers and self-insurers.

1995

During 1995 amendments were made to strengthen the rehabilitation and return to work aspects of the Act, including a requirement for:

  • an employer to hold an injured worker’s pre-injury position open for 12 months
  • an employer to provide suitable alternative duties to an injured worker for a period of 12 months
  • a return to work plan to be developed if a worker is incapacitated for more than 14 days, and
  • an employer with more than 20 employees to have a rehabilitation policy.

The amendments also removed a worker’s right to compensation on the journey to and from work (in most circumstances) and introduced the first step-down provisions in relation to weekly benefits.

2000

In response to rising costs and concerns from unions and other groups about the fairness of the scheme, a Joint Select Committee of Inquiry into the Tasmanian workers’ compensation system was initiated. Its 1998 report recommended significant changes to the workers’ compensation system and resulted in the establishment of the new WorkCover Tasmania Board. Many of the recommendations of this Report were incorporated into the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill 2000 including:

  • access to common law being restricted to those workers who had suffered a WPI of 30% or more
  • replacing the monetary cap on weekly payments with a 10 year limit
  • without prejudice commencement of weekly payments to injured workers on receipt of a workers’ compensation claim form and medical certificate
  • an increase in the level of benefits to the dependants of deceased workers, and
  • increases in the levels of step-downs in weekly payments.

2004

In 2003 the Government initiated a review to investigate concerns that the step-downs in weekly benefits were causing hardship for some workers. The Rutherford Report was completed in March 2004 and contained a number of recommendations for both the government and the WorkCover Tasmania Board. As a result of Rutherford’s report, the legislation was amended to retain the first step-down provision of 85% of Normal Weekly Earnings but increase its duration to 78 weeks and reduce the impact of the second step-down from 70% to 80% of NWE. To offset the additional cost to employers of this change, the maximum period of entitlement was reduced from 10 to 9 years. The time limit for deciding initial liability was also increased from 28 days to 12 weeks.

2007

In 2007 Parliament passed the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2007. The aim of this Act was to make the system fairer and provide greater certainty for all parties. The key changes included:

  • improved compensation for industrial deafness. In the past some workers were unable to establish a claim for industrial deafness because their employer had failed to conduct baseline audiometric testing — the amendments rectified this
  • a fairer method of calculating the rate of weekly compensation, especially for workers who have a short employment history and where the award does not include an ‘ordinary-time rate of pay’
  • workers’ compensation coverage for jockeys
  • amendments to address a Supreme Court decision that limited the ability of employers to recover compensation costs from a negligent third party
  • clarification of coverage of luxury hire car drivers and consolidation of provisions relating to taxi drivers
  • amendments to the work-relatedness test for injury from ‘arising out of and in the course of’ to ‘arising out of or in the course of’, so it is clear that injuries can be compensable even when symptoms only become apparent after the worker has left the relevant employment (however, to be compensable all injuries and diseases must be caused by work), and
  • measures to better deal with disputes between insurers or disputes between employers.

2009

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2009 was passed by Parliament in late 2009 and commenced on 1 July 2010. The amendments had 4 main purposes:

  • to implement the Government’s response to the Clayton Report
  • to establish the legal framework for the WorkCover Return to Work and Injury Management Model
  • to amend the timing and level of weekly payment step-downs, and
  • to reduce the common law threshold from 30% WPI to 20%.

The amendments:

  • introduced a statement of scheme goals
  • encourage early reporting by holding the employer liable for claims expenses until the claim is reported
  • provide for the payment of counselling services for families of deceased workers
  • provide for the payment of medical and other expenses for up to 12 months after a worker ceases to be entitled to weekly compensation (with the possibility of extension on application to the Tribunal)
  • increase the maximum lump sum payable to a dependant on the death of a worker to $266,376.05 (indexed annually)
  • increase weekly payments payable to a dependant child of a deceased worker from 10% basic salary to 15% basic salary
  • increase the maximum lump sum payable for permanent impairment to $266,376.05 (indexed annually)
  • provide for the extension of weekly payments from 9 years to 12 years for workers with a WPI between 15% and 19%, to 20 years for workers with a WPI of between 20% and 29% and until the age of retirement for workers with a WPI of 30% or more
  • amend the first step-down to 90% of NWE rather than 85% of NWE
  • delay the operation of the first step-down, so that it comes into effect at 26 weeks of incapacity rather than 13 weeks
  • provide that the step-downs are not to apply where a worker has returned to work for at least 50% of their pre-injury hours or duties
  • provide that the step-downs are to be discounted in circumstances where an employer refuses or is unable to provide suitable alternative duties
  • reduce the threshold for access to common law damages from 30% WPI to 20% WPI, and
  • repeal s138AB requiring a worker to make an election to pursue common law damages.

The amendments also included a range of measures that support the WorkCover Return to Work and Injury Management Model including:

  • requirements for return to work and injury management plans
  • obligations on employers to encourage early reporting of injuries and claims
  • providing an entitlement to the payment of limited medical costs before the claim is accepted, and
  • introduction of an injury management coordinator to oversee the injury management process.

2011

The Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011 commenced on 31 October 2011. The Act establishes a scheme for the payment of compensation to workers who develop or developed asbestos-related diseases (ARD) through exposure to asbestos during the course of their employment. A person may still come within the scope of the Act notwithstanding that he or she may have retired some time ago. Compensation may also be available to certain family members of a worker that has died from an ARD.

Compensation is not available where a worker has already received compensation for the same ARD at common law or under legislation in another jurisdiction or under the Tasmanian Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 or the Workers’ Compensation Act 1927.

To be entitled to compensation under the Act, the worker must have or have had a compensable disease. A person has a compensable disease if:

  • the person has an ARD, and
  • the contraction by the person of the disease is reasonably attributable to exposure to asbestos in the course of the person’s employment as a worker during a relevant employment period in which the person’s employment is connected with Tasmania.

Compensation under the Act

Where the worker has an imminently fatal compensable ARD (less than 2 years’ life expectancy from the date of correct diagnosis):

  • the worker is entitled to lump sum compensation of 360 compensation units (plus a further age-based payment up to a maximum of 360 compensation units (if under 80 years of age). As at 1 January 2022, one compensation unit was $975.12, and
  • the worker is also entitled to have their reasonable medical expenses paid for by the scheme. However, when total medical expenses reach 125 compensation units a review is to be held to enable the ongoing payment of medical expenses.

Where the worker has a non-imminently fatal compensable ARD (more than 2 years’ life expectancy from the date of correct diagnosis):

  • a worker with a non-imminently fatal ARD must undergo an impairment assessment. Compensation is only payable if the worker has a WPI of 10% or more
  • 3 lump sum payments are payable to the worker depending on the degree of impairment up to a total of 360 compensation units. However, if the worker is assessed at 51% or more WPI at their first assessment, they will receive all 3 lump sums at the same time — 360 compensation units
  • the worker is also entitled to the payment of reasonable medical expenses. There is no dollar cap on the payment of these expenses
  • where the worker is employed, or was employed for a certain period, weekly payments are payable for incapacity due ARD, and
  • where a worker has received compensation in relation to a non-imminently fatal ARD which is subsequently diagnosed as being imminently fatal or they develop a different imminently fatal ARD, they will be paid any remaining lump sum compensation up to 360 compensation units. They will also receive the age-based payment if eligible.

Members of the family:

  • where a worker has died from a compensable ARD, the members of the worker’s family are entitled to the same amount of lump sum compensation (excluding medical expenses or weekly payments) that the worker would have received had they not died. They may also be entitled to funeral expenses in relation to the deceased worker, and
  • members of the family include a spouse (including a person in a significant relationship with the worker within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003), and a child who is less than 22 years of age (natural child, adopted child and in some circumstances, a step-child).

Further information can be found at:

2012

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Validation) Act 2012 (the 2012 Validation Act) commenced on 30 August 2012. It amended the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the Act) to remove any doubts about the validity of versions 2 and 3 of the Guidelines for the Assessment of Permanent Impairment (the Guidelines). The amendments also clarified that version 2 of the Guidelines took effect on and from 1 April 2011 to Online Claims Workers Compensation Certificate Course Australia (australianonlinecourses.com.au) 2012 and version 3 of the Guidelines took effect on and from 1 October 2011. The Guidelines are used to assess the degree of WPI under both the Act and the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011. Both Acts provide lump sum compensation based on the percentage of impairment. Under the Act the level of impairment is also relevant in relation to weekly compensation and for access to common law damages.

2013

The was passed by Parliament on 26 September 2013 and commenced operation on 21 October 2013.

The legislation establishes a rebuttable presumption that particular forms of cancer developed by career and volunteer firefighters are work related for the purpose of the Act. The amendments will make the process of claiming workers’ compensation less cumbersome for firefighters and recognises that firefighters are at greater risk of developing certain types of cancers as a result of exposure to hazardous substances while performing firefighting activities. Under the presumption, if a career firefighter is diagnosed with one of the 12 cancers listed in the schedule and served as a firefighter for the relevant qualifying period, it will be presumed that the cancer is an occupational disease and is therefore compensable. For volunteer firefighters there is an additional requirement that the person must have attended at least 150 exposure events within any 5 year period for brain cancer and leukaemia, and within 10 years for the remaining 10 cancers. This requirement ensures that the presumption only applies to volunteers who have had a significant level of exposure to the hazards of fire.

The legislation limits the operation of the presumption to diseases that occurred during the period of employment or up to 10 years post-retirement or resignation as a firefighter. It will only apply to firefighters, both career and volunteer, appointed or employed under the Fire Service Act 1979.

The Parliament endorsed an amendment to the Bill to require a review of the legislation after 12 months of operation and every 12 months thereafter. This will provide an opportunity to assess the fairness and effectiveness of the legislation and to take into account any developments in medical research.

2017

In 2017 the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 was amended by the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2017 and the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Presumption of Cause of Disease) Act 2017.

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2017 focussed on opportunities to reduce unnecessary administrative burden on workers’ compensation scheme participants by moving away from unnecessary administrative processes to instead focus on achieving positive outcomes for all workers, employers and insurers. Two significant changes resulting from those amendments are:

  • Structure of the WorkCover Tasmania Board: The membership and voting structure of the WorkCover Tasmania Board has been redesigned to ensure all members are equipped with the necessary skills and experience to advise and make decisions. The new structure brings the Tasmanian Board into closer alignment with equivalent bodies in other Australian jurisdictions and positions the Board to further advance the aims of the workers’ compensation scheme.
  • Removal of age restrictions for older workers: The amendments future-proof the Act from related changes to Commonwealth legislation by removing references to the specific age of 65 years and, instead, link access to weekly benefits to a person’s eligibility to the Age Pension under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). This allows the legislation to keep pace with any future changes in retirement age. Existing protections under the Act for older workers are retained, whereby a person injured close to retirement age is entitled to receive weekly payments for up to 12 months from the date of their injury.

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Presumption of Cause of Disease) Act 2017 removed the requirement for volunteer fire-fighters to attend a specified number of exposure events before being eligible for a presumption that some cancers may be linked to occupational exposure.

2019

In 2019 the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 was amended by the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Presumption as to Cause of Disease) Act 2019 and the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2019.

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Presumption as to Cause of Disease) Act 2019 provided presumption as to the cause of PTSD for relevant workers. These workers were defined as a worker who is employed by:

  • the Crown or appointed under an Act of the State
  • a Government Business Enterprise, within the meaning of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995, or
  • a State-owned company, within the meaning of the Government Business Enterprises Act 1995.

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2019 amended section 69B of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 to exempt police officers from a decrease in the weekly benefit payment made to an injured worker, after set periods of time. This amendment specifically applies to police officers who are injured whilst on front line duty.

2023 

Presumptive Cancers for Fire-Fighters

The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill 2023 was passed by Parliament and amends the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 to extend the list of presumptive cancers for fire-fighters. Significantly, female reproductive cancers (such as cervical cancer) will now be included in the list of presumptive diseases (that is, it is automatically presumed that they have developed the cancer because of their firefighting work or volunteer service). The Bill will ensure gender equality and fair compensation for our female firefighters injured in the course of their work.

New WRP Framework

Tasmania introduced a new framework for accrediting workplace rehabilitation providers (WRPs) in July 2023. WorkCover Tasmania has adopted the Heads of Workers Compensation Authorities (HWCA) Principles of Practice for WRPs subject to any amendments stipulated in the Accreditation Requirements for Workplace Rehabilitation Providers in Tasmania. Minimum qualifications are incorporated into the Approval Criteria. 

Cessation of payments when a worker reaches pension age

Section 87 of the Act was amended to change when a workers weekly payments cease due to reaching pension age. The provision now outlines that payment ceases:

  • on the date on which the worker attains pension age where the injury occurred 2 years or more before that date; or
  • on the date 2 years after the injury occurred where the injury occurred less than 2 years before the date on which the worker attains the pension age.