On 17 September 2015 the Queensland Parliament passed amendments to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.
The most significant change was the removal of the degree of permanent impairment assessment threshold of 5%. Prior amendments introduced in October 2013 had introduced a threshold such that a person injured at work could not bring a damages claim unless they had been assessed as suffering a degree of permanent impairment of more than 5%.
The current amendments have removed that threshold with respect to injuries sustained on or after 31 January 2015.
The practical effect of the changes is that any person injured at work on or after 31 January 2015 has an automatic right to bring a damages claim irrespective of the degree of permanent impairment that their injury is assessed at.
Other amendments include the insertion of new additional lump sum payments to workers who were injured between 15 October 2013 and 30 January 2015. The additional lump sum payments are only available to injured workers that were affected by the 5% threshold and had already accepted a lump sum compensation offer. In those circumstances injured workers will now be entitled to claim a further lump sum payment.
Any injured worker or employer wanting to know more about the changes should contact Gene Paterson, Darren Sekac or Stuart Naylor at Macrossan & Amiet.
