1920–2008
The first workers’ compensation statute introduced in the Northern Territory (NT) was the Workmens’ Compensation Act 1920. Before then, the Employer’s Liability Act 1884 applied.
A review of the legislation in 1984 resulted in the Work Health Act 1986, which contained provisions for both work health and safety and workers’ compensation. This Act provided for a scheme which is privately underwritten, featured pension based benefits and promotes rehabilitation and an early return to work. There is no access to common law for injured workers.
‘Cross border’ amendments to the Work Health Act 1986 commenced on 26 April 2007 so employers are only required to maintain a workers’ compensation policy in the NT when they employ workers with a ‘State of Connection’ to the NT. The new cross-border arrangements reduce red tape for employers and make it easier to do business by removing the need for the majority of employers to obtain multiple workers’ compensation policies for workers who are temporarily working interstate. All the other Australian states and territories have introduced cross-border provisions that allow workers to work across their borders for temporary periods, under an existing NT workers’ compensation policy.
In December 2007 the Legislative Assembly passed the Workplace Health and Safety Act and the Law Reform (Work Health) Amendment Act 2007. These Acts separated the work health and safety and rehabilitation and workers’ compensation provisions of the previous Work Health Act 1986 into the new Workplace Health and Safety Act and the Workers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. The rehabilitation and workers’ compensation provisions of the Work Health Act 1986 were transferred almost unchanged into the new Workers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.
On 1 July 2008 the Workers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Act came into effect.
Prior to taking effect a number of amendments were made in relation to prescribed volunteers, timelines for making liability decisions and provision of documents for dispute resolution by way of mediation.
2012
The Workers’ Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2011 was passed in Parliament on 28 March 2012 with amendments coming into effect 1 July 2012. These included amendment to the definition of worker, access to compensation by workers injured in Australia but who reside overseas for a maximum of 104 weeks from when the worker starts living outside Australia, immediate and fairer access to compensation for older workers providing a link to the qualifying age for the age pension under the Social Security Act. Further amendments included clarifying non-cash benefits that can be considered in calculating the worker’s NWE for the purposes of payment of weekly compensation, interest rate payable on late payments of weekly compensation to align with the interest rate applicable to Supreme Court judgment debts and specific power of the Supreme Court to remit matters back to the Work Health Court in appropriate circumstances.
2015
Significant amendments were made to the NT 'Workers' Rehabilitation and Compensation Act' following completion of the review of the scheme in 2014.
The scheme provides no fault coverage for eligible workers who are injured at work and supports injured workers financially whilst they are assisted to return to work.
The review made 58 recommendations in its final report to government with all the recommendations being accepted with minor variations. The purpose of the amendments is to reduce the cost for businesses and maintain the long-term viability of the scheme, while providing reasonable financial support for injured workers.
The amendments were set out in two parts.
The first amendment bill, Workers' Rehabilitation and Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, was tabled in February 2015, passed in March 2015 and came into effect 1 July 2015 and included key amendments:
- Legislation name change
- Presumptive legislation for firefighters and volunteers
- Aligning definition of worker with the PAYG definition
- Increased period of compensation for older workers
- Five year cap on benefits for less serious injuries (permanent impairment of less than 15%)
- Increase in death and funeral benefits
- Stroke and heart attack claims not paid unless established that a person’s employment is the real, proximate or effective cause
- Capping the calculation for normal weekly earnings after 26 weeks to 250% of the average weekly earnings
- Clarification on when compensation payments are reduced to 75% of normal weekly earnings
The second amendment bill, the Return to Work Legislation Amendment Bill 2015, was tabled in June 2015, passed in August 2015 and came into effect on 1 October 2015 and included key amendments:
- Payment of reasonable expenses for family counselling
- Reasonable payment for medical and rehabilitation costs during deferment
- Mental stress claims
- Formal notice to be provided to the worker of any pending step down or cancellation
- Payment for legal advice at mediation
- Negotiated settlements
- Settlement of disputed claims
- Exclusion of journey claims
- Enforcement of compulsory insurance provisions by ability to stop work
- Involvement of support persons at mediation
Improving return to work outcomes – unable to dismiss a worker for a period of 6 months following the date of injury
2016–2018
NT adopted the recommended list from the report “Deemed Diseases in Australia” as commissioned by Safe Work Australia, effective 1 July 2016 – see Return to Work Regulations, Schedule 2.
On 1 September 2017, NT implemented the national template guide for the evaluation of permanent impairment. The NT WorkSafe Guidelines for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment calls up AMA 5th Edition.
August 2018, NT WorkSafe varied part 1.15 of the Guidelines to acknowledge that a worker with a terminal illness from a progressive disease would not be able to fulfil the definition of maximum medical improvement and would be precluded from having a valid permanent impairment assessment. The variation provides that where an assessment for a progressive disease is conducted, the claimant will be considered to have reached maximum medical improvement based on the assessment of the person as they present on the day of the assessment, provided the disease is in the course of its natural progression and is unlikely to substantially improve in the next 12 months.
This variation to the NT WorkSafe Guidelines for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment applies for all assessments conducted on or after 10 August 2018.
2020
The Return to Work Legislation Amendment Act 2020, was tabled in February 2020, and came into effect 1 July 2020. The Bill reversed several changes made to the legislation in 2015 and improves the scheme’s operation. Along with administrative and technical changes, further changes included:
- Meaning of worker expanded
- Inclusion of journey claims
- Labour hire definitions - ‘Labour Hire Arrangement’ and ‘Provider of labour hire services’
- Normal weekly earnings – removal of cap
- Refusal to pay for medical treatment - employer/insurer can’t avoid liability for ‘proposed treatment’ unless they have supporting medical opinion
- Recovery from worker - overpayments cannot be recovered from the worker under certain conditions.
- Attendant care services – applicable to all Part 5
- Return to work plans - proposal for a return to work plan.
- Other rehabilitation - household services include overnight childcare where the normal care provider is the injured worker
- Settlements - Introduces preclusion of settlement of amounts payable to a person who has suffered a catastrophic injury and catastrophic injury criteria t
- Lump sum agreement for particular period.
- Mediation – legal representation or legal advice is combined total to be paid by insurer
- Nominal Insurer funding - moves the current methodology for contributions set out in the Act into Regulation
- Nominal Insurer claims management - Nominal Insurer has full rights to manage the claim.
- Statement of fitness for work replaced by ‘medical certificate of capacity’.
Amendments of Return to Work Regulations 1986
- First-responder – Introduction of a definition for first-responders.
- Presumptive legislation for firefighters expanded to include 4 additional diseases.
- Post-traumatic stress disorder Schedule 2 expanded to include first-responders
- Catastrophic injury – insert Schedule 2A providing comprehensive criteria for prescribed injuries
2024
The Return to Work Amendment Regulations 2024, were made 11 June 2024.
- First-responder definition expanded to include correctional officers.
- Presumptive legislation for firefighters expanded to include seven additional diseases taking the total to 23.