Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015

Overview

This bill restores the right of injured Queensland workers to sue their employer for damages at common law, even for minor injuries, by scrapping the 5% impairment threshold introduced in 2013. It also treats 12 listed cancers as work-related injuries for long-serving firefighters and stops employers from checking a job applicant's workers' compensation claims history.

Who it affects

Injured workers regain a right to sue that had been removed in 2013, and firefighters with certain cancers get easier access to compensation. Employers and self-insurers face higher potential payouts, while WorkCover Queensland's reserves will shrink but stay above its solvency target.

Key changes

• Removes the 5% permanent impairment threshold so injured workers can sue their employer for damages regardless of how minor the injury
• Treats 12 listed cancers as work-related for firefighters who served the required years (ranging from 5 years for brain cancer and leukaemia to 25 years for oesophageal cancer), with volunteer firefighters also needing to have attended at least 150 exposure incidents
• Stops prospective employers from obtaining a job applicant's workers' compensation claims history summary from the Regulator
• Creates additional lump sum compensation for workers injured between 15 October 2013 and 31 January 2015 whose impairment was 5% or less and who missed out on common law claims
• Sets a 40 business day deadline for insurers to decide key applications and gives workers clearer review rights if the insurer is late
• Allows dependants of a deceased worker to apply for a certificate of dependency to support a damages claim where no compensation application has been made