WorkSafe Victoria has committed to modernising its IT systems and holding its insurance agents to account, after the State Ombudsman found the agents had withheld payments from injured workers, stymied the return-to-work process and rorted the scheme.
An external review of WorkCover SA's rehabilitation and compensation scheme has found its "relatively generous" entitlements for injured workers present "an obstacle" to rehabilitation.
Injuries caused by biomechanical demands, such as repetitive hand movements or heavy lifting, cost Australian business $361 million a year in compensation payments - and 99 per cent of employees are at risk, according to new Safe Work Australia research.
South Australia introduces workplace child-safety laws; ACT enacts new incident reporting requirements; SWA releases premiums update and launches model Regs survey; and WorkCover NSW releases harmonisation Q&A sheets.
WorkCover NSW is calling for feedback on a set of proposals it says will deliver more cost-effective services to injured workers. Also in this article, WorkCover has announced changes to the State's workers' comp rules that take effect on 1 April.
Safe Work Australia's new compendium of workers' compensation statistics has identified a decline in serious injury claims, and has once again shown there are far more work-related deaths than indicated in its notified fatalities reports.