State Cabinet has approved sweeping changes to the handling of disputed workers' compensation claims in Western Australia.
The changes would mean a faster, cheaper and fairer system of resolving disputes, Productivity and Labour Relations Minister Yvonne Henderson said today.
Legislation will now be drafted and presented to Parliament in this session.
"The Government has acknowledged the need to change the workers' compensation system to speed up the process for the benefit of all the parties involved," Mrs Henderson said.
The changes follow a report to Mrs Henderson by Robert Guthrie, a lecturer in the Business Law School at Curtin University and chairman of the Commercial Tribunal.
"Mr Guthrie provided an excellent framework of suggestions in his comprehensive inquiry, which would put an end to many of the delays to compensation claims being settled," Mrs Henderson said.
"He received a wide range of public submissions and used the resources of a reference group which consisted of representatives from unions, employers, insurers, doctors, lawyers, injured workers, and the Workers' Compensation Board.
"The Guthrie report was open for public debate following its release in January."
The changes will include:
· giving the Workers' Compensation Board the ability to refer injured workers to a medical panel when there is a dispute concerning the extent of the injury;
· increasing the resources of the Workers' Compensation Board to speed up the resolution of disputes and to give it more independence from the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Commission, the agency which administers the system;
· a requirement that the insurer or self-insured employer specify why the employer is unable to make a decision on whether a claim will be disputed, and to tell the employee why;
· ensuring that the insurance company releases to the worker concerned all medical reports, wage records or rehabilitation reports it has on file;
· requiring the board to employ a monitor to expedite the processing of claims and make sure insurers notify workers as required;
· increasing the powers and role of the Board registrars;
· provision that employers incur a fine if they do not forward to the injured worker compensation payments received from the insurer as soon as practicable after they receive them.
