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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 1 Hansard (22 February) . . Page.. 267 ..

Mr De Domenico (continuing):

the case; (d) the Government will be reviewing the operation of the Workers' Compensation Act 1951 with a specific view to bringing arrangements, particularly premium levels, into line with NSW. The Government also intends to bring workers' compensation and occupational rehabilitation within the purview of the Occupational Health and Safety Council in early 1996, and I expect that this body will advise me on the operation of the Act including the rehabilitation, claims processing and termination provisions.

(3) Notices of termination under s26C are required to be notified to the Nominal Insurer. To date the Nominal Insurer has only received 7 notifications; this compares with an expected 6000 to 6500 claims per year. Section 26D of the Act allows workers who have received a termination notice to apply to the Magistrates Court to have their weekly payments continue or recommence.

(4) As rehabilitation programs are typically provided to the most seriously injured workers, it is still too early to determine whether the return to work programs are successful or not. ACT WorkCover has anecdotal evidence to suggest that they are successful, and the literature on rehabilitation programs suggests that they are worthwhile.

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