Key features of the Commonwealth workers' compensation scheme
This fact sheet explains the key features of Comcare scheme under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988.
‘No-fault’ scheme
The Commonwealth scheme operates under ‘no-fault’ legislation. This means that an injured employee does not have to prove negligence on the part of their employer for their claim to be successful. But it must be clear on the balance of probabilities that the injury or disease occurred in the course of employment. For a claim for a disease to be successful, the employee must show that the employment contributed to a material degree to the contraction or aggravation of that disease.
Limited access to lump sum payments through common law actions
Unlike other workers’ compensation schemes there is limited access to lump sum payments through common law except where:
- the employee has been assessed by Comcare or a self-insurer as having a permanent impairment of greater than 10% of the whole person and
- the employee has elected to sue for damages for non-economic loss as an alternative to statutory benefits or
- where actions for damages are instituted by dependants of a Commonwealth employee who has died as a result of a work-related injury or disease.
Generous statutory benefits
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the SRC Act) provides for a comprehensive benefit structure with incapacity payments paid for time off work or reduced earnings. Benefits can be paid until age 65 (or in certain cases for up to two years beyond this).
Benefits include:
- fortnightly/weekly payments based on the employee’s normal salary
- all reasonable medical expenses
- no limit to total incapacity or medical payments
Emphasis on rehabilitation and return to work
The SRC Act has a very strong focus on rehabilitation and return to work with an emphasis on returning employees to their pre-injury duties wherever possible. Commonwealth employers are responsible for the rehabilitation of employees with work related injuries and must take all reasonable steps to assist the employee to find suitable work where a return to normal duties is not possible. Case managers may negotiate work placements and trials where an employee cannot return to their normal duties. Where necessary the case manager may refer the injured employee to a rehabilitation provider. The rehabilitation provider is not employed to treat the condition of the injured employee but to achieve a return to work.
Fully funded by employers
Employers are financially accountable for the cost of work related injury and disease through the payment of an annual premium to Comcare. The premium rate reflects the number of workers’ compensation claims received and the average claim cost in that agency. The premium rate is also affected by overall claim trends. Additionally, some employers (such as Australia Post and Telstra) are self-insurers responsible for their own costs and management of their employees’ claims.
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