November 2003

Impairment benefits
Multiplier to be applied to whole person impairment (WPI) assessments for permanent back, neck, pelvis, and limb injuries (AMA Chapter 3).

AMA    Current   Proposed   Proposed Benefit   Proposed Benefit
Score  Benefit   Score(CH3)    (CH3)                         (Non CH3)

0 - 4      0                 0.0                     0                              0

5            0                 10.0                   8,991                     0

6            0                 10.2                  10,059                    0

7            0                 10.4                  11,303                    0

8            0                 10.6                  12,723                    0

9            0                 10.8                  14,319                    0

10         11,576       11.0                  16,091              13,891

15         23,152       15.8                  26,538              24,889

20         34,729       20.5                  36,986              35,886

25         46,305       25.3                  47,433              46,883

30         57,881       30.0                 57,881              57,881        

Lump sum payments will be made for AMA Chapter 3 assessments between 5% and 29%.

Higher lump sum payments for AMA Chapter 3 assessments between 10% and 29%.

Higher lump sum benefits for all other assessments between 10% and 29%.

Note that these scores all relate to physical injuries. Workers do not receive any lump sum for permanent impairment from psychological injuries less than 30%.

Examiners will be prohibited from rounding assessments (i.e. from 9% to 10%) for an injury occurring after amendment is enacted.

Significant contributing factor test
The definition of injury will be amended so that traumatic injuries (in particular, injuries such as cuts or slips, trips and falls) occurring at work or in a protected period (i.e. lunch) will not require employment to be a Significant Contributing Factor for an injury to be compensable under the Accident Compensation Act.

However, all heart attacks/strokes suffered at work will be dealt with under the disease provisions of the Act where work is required to be a Significant Contributing Factor to the disease process.  This was assumed to be the case between 1992-02 until the Hegedis decision.

Overtime/shift allowances
Overtime and shift allowances are included in the calculation of pre-injury average weekly earnings for the first 26 weeks of payments.

Amendments will alter the calculation of this amount so that the total amounts paid as overtime (or as a shift allowance) for 12 months up until the date of injury is divided by the number of weeks the worker worked or was on paid leave during this period.

The amendment clarify that a reference to a shift allowance is a reference to an allowance that is paid or is payable for weekend work.

Return to work
Amendments seek to ensure that an employer's return-to-work obligations are not diminished in situations where there is a delay in a claim being accepted or determined.

A return-to-work plan must be prepared by employers in circumstances where a worker has an incapacity for pre-injury duties and has not returned to full pre-injury employment.

An administrative procedure that must currently be carried out before a prosecution for a failure to comply with the section can be brought will be removed.

An employer's obligation to provide suitable or pre-injury equivalent employment to workers will not arise if the provision of the relevant employment would impose unjustifiable hardship on the employer.

Cross border arrangements
As a result of inter-Governmental agreement, legislative progress on cross border arrangements has occurred throughout Australia. 

These amendments will focus on where a worker is based to determine the jurisdiction where compensation can be claimed.  That jurisdictions particular thresholds for compensation (i.e. common law) will then be imported as if they applied in the jurisdiction where the injury occurred.

These changes are complex and VTHC considers that the effects of these amendments have not been adequately considered or mapped.

Employer group rebate program
Enabling legislation to allow small employers to group together so that they can be treated as large employers for premium purposes.

VTHC and unions will be involved in consultative and approval processes before this scheme is trialled.

NOTE:  These changes are in the form of a Bill and will probably be through parliament in late October early November. The new lump sums will apply to injuries after the legislation has been passed through parliament and is proclaimed by the Governor General.

There are still more changes that are needed before the Government has met their promise to make a more fair workers' compensation system. For example, we need a Complaints Officer/Ombudsperson and this was promised.