Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Bill 2013 (VIC)

Victoria has introduced a mammoth new Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Bill 2013 in order to re-enact with amendments certain provisions of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 and the Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance) Act 1993, to provide for the registration of employers and the payment of WorkCover premiums, to amend the Accident Compensation Act 1985, to repeal the Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance) Act 1993 and to make other consequential amendments.

This Bill re-enacts with amendments provisions of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 and replaces that Act and the Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance) Act 1993 with a new comprehensive Act that is easier to use and follow.

The Bill will govern workers compensation insurance, payment of employer premiums, rehabilitation for injured workers, and compensation in relation to workplace injuries and deaths.

The Bill includes a number of drafting improvements that are intended to simplify the legislation and make it easier to understand and navigate.

Some of these improvements are—

• a more logical structure, with provisions that govern entitlement to compensation, the making of a claim and return to work located at the front of the Bill and provisions that are ancillary to the WorkCover scheme located towards the end of the Bill;
• modernisation of the style and language of some outdated provisions in the legislation, and restructure of various provisions to make them easier to read and understand;
• new visual aids, with flow chart diagrams to assist workers and employers to understand various claims processes and obligations;
• new statements of key rights and obligations of workers and employers at the start of the Bill to assist navigation of the legislation; and
• omission of various obsolete provisions.

The Bill has been prepared on the basis that it does not involve changes to injured workers' benefits nor to the way employers' premiums are calculated. The substance of various key provisions in the Accident Compensation Act 1985 and the Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance) Act 1993 have therefore been reproduced in the Bill. The wording of some of the more complex and heavily litigated provisions of the Accident Compensation Act 1985 have also been reproduced in the Bill.

The mammoth 775 page Bill also includes a number of minor amendments aimed at removing ambiguities, clarifying the intention of various provisions, and correcting a number of drafting anomalies. The Bill also includes a small number of minor policy changes that improve administrative processes and reduce regulatory burden.

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