Procedure for making a claim for compensation

1. Incident occurs at work that involves time lost and/or medical expenses.

2. Employee reports incident to Supervisor within 24 hours or as soon as practical.

3. If appropriate, worker (when possible), Supervisor & OH&S Representative investigate incident, take corrective action to rectify cause or make recommendations to rectify cause and complete the OH&S Incident Report Form. At all times the employer should observe the OH&S Representatives rights under Section 32 of the Occupational Health Safety & Welfare Act, 1986.

4. Worker completes the Notice of Work Related Injury and forwards the green and pink (Claim for Compensation) copies to their manager. Retains the blue copy for their own records.

   When possible, a worker should complete the claim forms immediately after the incident.

5. Supervisor completes section 9 of the form (Employers section) to acknowledge receipt of the form on behalf of the employer.

6. Supervisor provides the worker with an information sheet containing their rights and responsibilities and advises the worker to contact the Claims Administrator and/or their union representative if they have any enquires regarding their rights and responsibilities.

7. Supervisor completes Exempt Employer Report form (in some organisations the responsibility for completion of the Exempt Employer report form may rest with the Claims Administrator).

8. Supervisor sends Exempt Employer Report form (if appropriate), Notice of Work Related Injury form, Claim for Compensation form and Workers Compensation Medical Certificate (if available) to the Claims Administrator.

Tip: Claim Forms should be sent to the Claims Administrator immediately following completion, regardless of whether the Workers Compensation Medical Certificate is available.

Tip: You can get links to most relevant legislation from our legislation page.

• The employer must ensure that approved forms for making a claim under the Act are reasonably available to the employer's workers {Section 1, Fourth Schedule, Terms & Conditions of Registration, Workers Rehabilitation & Compensation (Claims & Registration) Regulations, 1999 (241 of 1999)}.

• A claim for compensation must be made on the WorkCover Worker Report Form. This form comprises the Notice of Work Related Injury, the Claim for Compensation and the Worker's Copy {Section 52 (1) (a)}.

• A claim for compensation must be made within 6 months commencing on the day on which the entitlement to make the claim arises {Section 52 (1) (b) & 52 (7)}.

• Failure to make a claim within the prescribed 6 months is not a bar to making a claim if the determination of the claim has not been substantially prejudiced or if the failure to make a claim was a result of ignorance of the claimant, a mistake, absence from the State or any other reasonable cause {Section 52 (3) (b) (i) (ii)}.

• A claim for compensation must be supported by a Workers Compensation Medical Certificate issued by a recognised medical expert (ie. a legally qualified medical practitioner) {Section 52 (1) (c) & Section 3 Definition of "Recognised Medical Expert"}.

• When a claim for compensation involves medical expenses or other expenses under Section 32 only, the employer may dispense with the requirement to produce a certificate {Section 52 (6a)}.

• The Medical Certificate should certify the nature of the disability, the probable cause of the disability, the extent and probable duration of the disability and the extent, if any, of the medical expert's personal knowledge of the workplace. {Section 52 (1) (c) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv)}.

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