Important Changes Under the SRC Act

Important changes to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) have come into effect. These changes aim to maintain the financial viability of the scheme, and improve the administration and provision of benefits.

A brief explanation of the most significant changes and links to further information are provided below:

Overview 

On 29 March 2007, Federal Parliament passed the Safety, Rehabilitation Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2006 (SRCOLA), including a late Government amendment to the SRCOLA Bill introduced into the Senate. 

This became the Safety, Rehabilitation Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007 (SRCOLA Act) upon Royal assent on 12 April 2007, with most of the amending provisions coming into effect on the day following the day of Royal Assent, 13 April 2007.

The SRCOLA Act amends the SRC Act in the following ways:

• it strengthens the connection between work and eligibility for workers’ compensation, in particular in regard to disease claims;
  
  
• it removes workers’ compensation coverage for non-work related journeys and, where there is a lack of employer control over worker activity, from recess breaks;
  
  
• it reinstates the original policy intention behind the calculation of retirees’ incapacity benefits by accommodating changes to interest rates and superannuation schemes;
  
  
• for claimants who are no longer employed by the Commonwealth, it provides for their capacity to work outside Commonwealth employment to be taken into account when calculating incapacity benefits;
  
  
• it increases the maximum level of funeral benefits payable; and
  
  
• it corrects anomalies in the SRC Act to improve its administrative efficiency and ensure the original policy intentions behind particular provisions are maintained.

Jurisdictional Policy Advices 

Jurisdictional Policy Advices (JPAs) have been developed to provide further information on the amendments to the SRC Act in 2007 following passage of the SRCOLA Act.

Frequently Asked Questions 

Further detailed explanation of key questions about the amendments and their implications
 

Legislation

This link will direct you to a legislation page which includes the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988, the most recent amendment to the act, and associated regulations and declarations.

Further information

Please refer queries related to the SRCOLA Act amendments and their implications to your Agency’s corporate HR manager. HR Managers should consolidate queries that cannot be addressed ‘in-house’ and forward them to Comcare for a response.  

For further information, please contact Comcare on the General Enquiry Line 1300 366 979, visit our internet website at www.comcare.gov.au, or email  SRC.Policy@comcare.gov.au.