7 October 2015
Update
The Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 was passed by the Parliament on 17 September 2015.
It is important to note that the Bill does not repeal the requirement to disclose pre-existing injuries to prospective employers in certain circumstances.
20 July 2015
In 2013, the Queensland Government introduced substantial amendments to the workers’ compensation legislation.
The most significant of these changes was the introduction of a minimum threshold.
The threshold means that workers who are injured from 15 October 2013 are precluded from pursuing a personal injuries claim under the workers’ compensation legislation unless they are assessed as having a degree of permanent impairment of more than 5% (or they have a terminal condition).
A new Bill has now been tabled that removes that threshold.
The proposed amendments also remove a prospective employer’s right to access a worker’s claims history.
If passed as expected later this year, workplace injuries from 31 January 2015 onwards will be covered by the new legislation.
Of course, this also means that there are many injured workers who will still fall within the current regime, and the Government is currently developing a proposal to address this issue.
You can view a copy of the Bill, the Explanatory Notes and Explanatory Speech on the Queensland Parliament website.