Administrative scheme
A scheme put in place where no legislation applies.
Attendant care
Services of a person to provide regular and essential personal care to an injured worker.
Benefits
Money paid to injured workers as compensation for economic and non-economic loss arising from work-related injury.
Common law
Provisions that allow, or preclude, injured workers from taking legal action through the courts to sue their employers for the costs of injury arising from negligence leading to unsafe workplaces.
Commutation, redemption or settlement payment
Depending on the particular legislation of a jurisdiction, an ongoing liability for specified workers’ compensation entitlements can be commuted to a lump sum payment. Following payment of the lump sum, liability for those entitlements generally ceases.
Cross-border arrangements
Provisions that allow workers who are injured away from their main state or territory of employment are to be covered by workers’ compensation in their main state or territory of employment.
Current work capacity (also known as Partially incapacitated)
The worker can return to work and perform suitable duties, even if it is not the same job they were doing before the injury.
Date of injury
The date a worker became injured. In the case of diseases, this may be the first time symptoms manifest or the first time medical treatment was sought.
Death benefits
Compensation payable to the financial dependants (usually families) of workers who die in work-related circumstances.
Deemed worker
People who may not have the status of ‘worker’ and are deemed by legislation or regulation to be covered for workers’ compensation as though they were workers.
Diseases
Includes physical or mental disorders, defects or morbid conditions, whether of sudden or gradual development.
Dispute resolution
Processes for resolving disputes between parties in the claims process.
Employee
A person who works for an employer on a full-time or part-time basis under a contract of service and receives remuneration in wages or salary. See also worker.
Funeral costs
Reimbursement for the cost of a funeral to the family of a deceased worker or to a person who buries a deceased worker.
Home help
Services of a person to provide domestic assistance to an injured worker.
Income replacement (also known as weekly payments)
Payments that assist workers to substantially maintain their living standards if they are unable to work due to their work-related injury.
Injury
Can include a full range of physical injuries, illnesses, psychological conditions and diseases, as well as aggravations, exacerbations and recurrences of existing injuries.
Levy
The term used in New Zealand for premiums. See Premiums.
Medical and hospital costs
Reimbursement of medical and other treatment costs related to workplace injury which can include hospital stays, ambulance transport, pharmaceuticals, aids and appliances, and household help.
Net assets
For publicly underwritten schemes, the total current and non-current assets minus the outstanding claims recoveries at the end of each financial year. For privately underwritten schemes, the balance sheet claim provisions.
Net funding ratio
Ratio of assets to outstanding liabilities.
Net liabilities
For publicly underwritten schemes, it is the total current and non-current liabilities minus the outstanding claim recoveries at the end of each financial year. For privately underwritten schemes, it is the central estimate of outstanding claims for the scheme at the end of each financial year.
No current work capacity (also known as Totally incapacitated)
The injured worker is unable to perform any duties in the workplace.
Non-economic loss
Measure of the impact of an injury on a worker’s lifestyle, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and reduced expectation of life, normally associated with permanent impairment.
Permanent impairment payments
Lump sum compensation payment for injuries that have reached maximum medical improvement and result in permanent reduction in function as assessed by an approved medical specialist.
Premiums
A percentage of the amount an employer expects to pay to their workers in a given period is paid as premium to a workers’ compensation insurer.
Privately underwritten schemes
Workers’ compensation schemes where the underwriting function is performed by the private insurers, with varying degrees of government regulation.
Prudential requirements
Ensures that private insurers can operate on a fully funded basis to meet all expected compensation payments and the costs of managing claims.
Publicly underwritten scheme
Single public insurer (government agency) that performs most or all workers’ compensation functions. Central insurers underwrite their schemes.
Remuneration
The total amount of gross earnings of workers of an employer.
Return to work
The process of employers or other people or organisations assisting workers recover from a work-related injury and return to work or stay at work while they recover. This can include medical treatment, retraining, the use of aids and appliances or alterations to workplace and home to assist in recovery, and the gradual return to full-time or part-time duties.
Self-insurer
Employers who manage their workers’ compensation arrangements without having to pay annual premiums.
Serious claims
Includes all accepted workers’ compensation claims involving temporary incapacity of one or more weeks plus all accepted claims for fatality or permanent incapacity.
State of connection
The jurisdiction decided through applying the test on page 271, when an injured worker has been working in more than one state or territory.
Suitable duties
Duties suited for the worker’s capacities at a particular point of time in the return to work process.
Suitable work/employment
Employment suited for the worker’s capacities, age, location, education, skills and work experience.
Threshold test
A level of impairment an injured worker must reach.
Types of damages
Damages that may be suffered by an injured worker. Includes general damages (compensation for pain and suffering), economic loss (compensation for loss of past earnings or future earning capacity), legal costs, medical and hospital costs.
Underwriting
The process of writing and signing a policy of insurance.
Worker
A person who is covered by workers’ compensation insurance.
Workers’ compensation
Financial support to workers who are injured in the course of employment.
Workplace rehabilitation consultant
Suitably qualified health/behavioural science professional employed by a workplace rehabilitation provider to provide workplace rehabilitations services.
Workplace rehabilitation services
Types of services that may assist a worker return to work with the same employer or a new employer.
Workplace rehabilitation provider
An organisation that has been approved by a workers’ compensation authority to provide workplace rehabilitation services to assist workers return to work following a workplace injury. A reference to a workplace rehabilitation provider may include a reference to a workplace rehabilitation consultant.
Workers’ compensation authority/authorities
The body responsible for workers’ compensation legislation and policy covering designated employers and their employees within their area of legal authority.