WHAT IS WORKCOVER?
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* An insurance scheme covering employers for costs when workers are injured or become ill because of their job
* Covered costs include lost income, medical and rehabilitation bills, legal fees and lump sums for serious injury
* Compulsory for businesses and companies which employ any workers in Victoria, with a few exceptions
* Penalties of up to $43,618 for individuals or $218,088 for businesses if they don't register
WHAT'S GOING TO CHANGE?
* Eligibility and testing requirements
* Workers suffering stress and burnout will no longer be able to access weekly benefits
* Provisional payments instead offered for mental injuries
* Impairment test for workers to receive payments beyond 130 weeks
* Weekly payments cut after that unless person deemed to be unable to work indefinitely and meets a "whole person impairment" of more than 20 per cent
WHY ARE THE REFORMS NEEDED?
* The government says the scheme is unsustainable as workers are staying on the scheme longer and mental health claims are soaring
* It argues WorkCover was set up in 1986 to primarily deal with physical injuries but mental health represented 16 per cent of all claims in 2022/23
* WorkCover claims liability has tripled in Victoria since 2010
* $1.3 billion of Victorian taxpayer money has been used to prop up the scheme without an increase in premiums since 2020/21
HOW LONG HAVE THE CHANGES BEEN IN THE WORKS?
* Almost 12 months since the government first announced the reforms along with a hike to premiums
* Business and union groups immediately trashed the proposal
* The opposition and Greens teamed up to force a parliamentary inquiry into the bill in November
* The inquiry in February recommended the reforms be put on ice until an expert panel reported back on the operation and viability of the scheme
* The opposition and government on Tuesday agreed to amend the bill to pass it through the upper house
WHAT ARE THE EXTRA CHANGES?
* A freeze on average premiums for businesses at 1.8 per cent for 2024/25
* An independent review of the reforms to report to parliament by the end of 2024
* Expansion of WorkSafe's board from five members to six
* An advisory committee to set up Return to Work Victoria, a body designed to help people get back into the workforce
Australian Associated Press
