With ongoing pressure across all Australian jurisdictions, Victoria’s WorkCover scheme has recently been updated under the Scheme Modernisation Act, effective from 31 March 2024. The key changes include new eligibility criteria for mental injury claims, an additional requirement for receiving weekly payments beyond 130 weeks as well as other changes.
On 31 March 2024, several important updates were implemented to modernise Victoria’s WorkCover scheme. These revisions, introduced under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment (WorkCover Scheme Modernisation) Act 2024 (Scheme Modernisation Act), aim to create a more contemporary and sustainable framework to ensure ongoing support for Victorian workers.
WorkSafe will continue to provide enhanced, personalized support to workers, focusing on prevention, recovery, and return to work.
Key Changes
- Changes to mental injury eligibility
- New Definition: Mental injuries must cause significant dysfunction and be diagnosed according to the DSM
- Employment Causation: For a claim to be eligible, the primary cause must be employment-related
- Exclusions: Stress or burnout from usual job duties are not compensable unless they involve bullying, harassment, or traumatic events
- Changes to the second entitlement review
- Workers must now have a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) of 21% or more and meet existing capacity tests to continue receiving weekly payments after 130 weeks
- Other changes
- Enhanced information sharing within WorkSafe
- Certain rejected claims must be resolved by courts
- An independent review of the changes will occur in 2027
- A Return to Work Advisory Committee has been established to advise on return to work initiatives
Implementation
WorkSafe will inform affected workers via letters and provide additional support to help them recover and return to work safely.
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Further information
Source: WorkSafe Victoria
Title: Scheme modernisation
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