1951–2001
With the advent of self-government for the ACT on 11 May 1989, the Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance 1951 became the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1951 and from 22 January 1992 it became the Workers Compensation Act 1951. Amendments were made by the Workers Compensation (Amendment) Act 1991 to the Workers’ Compensation Act 1951, following reviews of the system in 1984, 1987 and 1990.
2002–2005
The Workers Compensation Act 1951 was significantly amended in 2002 to create a workers’ compensation scheme based upon the principles of early rehabilitation and return to safe and durable work for injured workers. The Workers Compensation Amendment Act 2001 introduced several new elements to ensure that employers, insurers, treatment providers, and the injured worker were equally obliged to participate in personal injury plans, claims were dealt with expediently and statutory benefits were aligned with the Scheme’s return to work goals.
In 2004, the nationally agreed arrangements for cross-border workers compensation coverage setting out the state of connection rules were legislated, for employers to determine if an employee is an ACT worker requiring ACT workers' compensation policy coverage.
2006–2011
Amendments to the Workers Compensation Act 1951 from 2006 through to 2011 were made to:
- amend the definition of a ‘worker’ to allow certain categories of carers to be deemed as ‘workers’ and to limit the opportunity for premium avoiding and sham contracting
- create the Default Insurance Fund to amalgamate and supersede the previous Nominal Insurer and Supplementation Fund and provide a safety net for workers’ compensation benefits to injured workers where an employer did not hold a workers’ compensation policy, or an insurer collapses or is unable to meet the costs of workers’ compensation claims against a policy; and
- implemented the National Framework for the Approval of Workplace Rehabilitation Providers
- introducing new offences for non-compliance that scale the penalties to be commensurate with an employer’s operational size.
2014
In 2014, the Workers Compensation (Cross-border Workers) Amendment Act 2014 was passed to align ACT workers’ compensation laws with nationally agreed updated cross-border procedures.
In 2014, subordinate legislative instruments made in the ACT:
- introduced guidelines for insurers on the procedures to be followed when cancelling a workers’ compensation policy; and
- introduced a new reporting standard for insurer claim and policy data submissions under the ACT’s private sector workers’ compensation scheme. The new reporting standard, the National Insurer Data Specifications, was developed cooperatively by the privately underwritten workers’ compensation jurisdictions and the Insurance Council of Australia.
2016
Amendments made in 2016 included:
- introducing a requirement on all self-insurers and employers with an annual premium of $200,000 or greater to appoint a suitably qualified or experienced return to work coordinator;
- extension of the ACT Lifetime Care and Support Scheme (LTCS) to cover catastrophic workplace injuries sustained by private sector workers.
2017
The Workers Compensation Amendment Act (No 2) (the Act) introduced amendments to ensure workers who suffer from an imminently fatal asbestos-related disease receive equitable and timely access to statutory compensation.
The Road Transport (Taxi Industry Innovation) Legislation Amendment Regulation 2016 (No 1) introduced changes to the Workers Compensation Regulation 2002 from 1 November 2016 such that:
- a transport booking service would be responsible for paying for workers’ compensation for any drivers it asks to work for it exclusively
- a contract of bailment with a driver would create a responsibility for the operator to purchase a workers’ compensation policy for the driver; and
- owner drivers who do not engage other drivers to drive their vehicle would continue to be treated as sole traders and not require workers’ compensation insurance.
In October 2017, the Workers Compensation Amendment Act 2017 (the Act) introduced amendments to increase death entitlements and weekly compensation, modernise the employment-related diseases list, introduced a penalty provision aimed at employers who fail to pay an injured worker following receipt of a claim and aligned age based incapacity payment entitlements with the Commonwealth’s amended age pension eligibility schedule.
2019
In September 2019, the Workers Compensation Act 1951 was amended to ensure that the Default Insurance Fund can provide workers’ compensation benefits to workers in situations where both a contractor and principal contractor are uninsured. Amendments were also made to ensure that family day care educators have access to workers’ compensation.
2021
In January 2021, the Workers Compensation Act 1951 was amended to introduce a modernised insurer and self-insurer licensing framework, with additional supporting protocols released the following year.