Tasmania

1910–1995

Tasmania first introduced workers’ compensation in 1910. Which expanded in 1927 to include compulsory insurance for workers suffering a work-related injury. 

Following a report in 1986 by the Tasmanian Law Reform Commission, the workers compensation scheme was substantially reformed by the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, which continues as Tasmania’s principal workers compensation legislation. At the time of its enactment, it was notable for:

• the establishment of the Workers’ Compensation Board which included representatives of employers, employees, insurers and the medical profession
• extending of coverage to police officers, ministers of religion and sportsmen (restricted)
• revising 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.

In 1995 amendments were made to the Act, with an emphasis upon rehabilitation and return to work. The amendments:

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

2000s

Tasmania’s Workers Compensation Scheme underwent several reforms during the first decade of the 21st century, due in no small part to a series of reviews and concerns raised about the efficacy of the scheme. These included a 1998 parliamentary committee tasked with reviewing the scheme’s ability to deliver fair and equitable compensation affordably, the March 2004 Rutherford Report, and the September 2007 Review of the scheme by Alan Clayton.

Many of these reforms have focused upon ensuring equity and fairness for both workers and employers, with expanded compensation entitlements in broader circumstances (for example, industrial deafness and coverage of jockeys), more equitable methods for calculating weekly compensation entitlements, improvements to the dispute resolution framework between actors involved in the scheme (workers, employers and insurers), continual balancing to ensure the financial viability of the compensation scheme, reflected in the establishment in 2000 of the WorkCover Tasmania Board, and ultimately a fairer scheme that balances the legitimate interests of all parties.

The end of the decade saw significant amendments to the scheme with the passing of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2009, which had 4 main objectives:

• 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% Whole Person Impairment (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.

2010s

The 2010s saw further refinements and changes to the workers compensation scheme in Tasmania. Notable changes included:

• The enactment of tailored workers compensation legislation – the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011 - providing for workers who develop or developed scheme for workers who develop or developed asbestos-related diseases (ARD) through exposure to asbestos during the course of their employment. The Act also provides for compensation to certain family members of the worker who has died from an ARD. Compensation entitlements under the Act differ depending on whether the worker has an imminently fatal or non-imminently fatal compensable ARD, which is determined by reference to the worker’s life-expectancy being greater than (imminently fatal) or less than 2 years (non-imminently fatal).
• The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Fire-fighters) Act 2013, which introduced presumptions that certain cancers developed by career and volunteer fire-fighters are work-related and therefore compensable, recognising the increased risk of developing cancer faced by firefighters because of exposure to hazardous substances while performing firefighting duties. In 2017 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.
• Removal of age restrictions for older workers following the enactment of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2017. Under the Amendment, access to weekly benefits is tied to a person’s eligibility for the age pension under the Social Security Act 1991 (Cth). 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.
• Introduction of a presumption by the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (Presumption as to Cause of Disease) Act 2019 that, where certain workers (primarily state employees, or workers at a government business enterprise or state-owned company) suffer post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD), their employment is considered to have substantially contributed to experiencing PTSD
• Pursuant to the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2019, Policy officers injured while on duty were made exempt from step-down provisions in respect of weekly compensation payments.

2020–2023

Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Regulations 2021

In October 2021 the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Regulations were remade, as is generally required every 10 years for subordinate legislation. It addresses various matters under the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011, including: 

• compensation units
• certain practices and procedures of the Tribunal, and 
• how certain moneys are to be dealt with by the Public Trustee.

Transfer of jurisdiction from workers compensation and asbestos tribunal to TASCAT

In November 2021 the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (TASCAT) commenced operations as a specialist tribunal, bringing together 9 different tribunals under one central administrative body. This included the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal and the Asbestos Compensation Tribunal. To facilitate the transfer of jurisdiction from these tribunals to TASCAT, various amendments were made to Tasmania’s suite of workers compensation legislation. 

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.

Cessation of payments when a worker reaches pension age

On 1 March 2023 changes to the Act brought about by the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Act 2022 took effect, extending the period for which a worker may continue to receive weekly payments after reaching pension age. The relevant provision, section 87 now provides for cessation:

• 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.

New WRP Framework

In July 2023 Tasmania introduced a new framework for accrediting workplace rehabilitation providers (WRPs). 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.