Page 1723 - Week 06 - Tuesday, 7 June 2016
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the time during which the policy is in force. In practice, while a worker may be exposed to asbestos during the period covered by a workers compensation insurance policy, a resultant asbestos-related disease may not manifest until many years after the insurance policy in question has expired. As a result, an injured worker with an asbestos-related disease will often be treated as an uninsured claim and consequently be managed by the safety net insurer, the default insurance fund.
The default insurance fund is a fund of last resort, designed to capture workers compensation claims for which another party will not respond. The default insurance fund will respond to claims in situations where an insured worker cannot seek compensation from any other source: those times where the worker’s employer fails to hold a workers compensation policy or where the employer’s insurer has collapsed and cannot meet its liabilities.
Importantly, the rules under which the fund operates require those seeking compensation to exhaust all other possible avenues of claim before seeking compensation through it. It is only once all other avenues of compensation have been exhausted that the injured worker can seek statutory compensation from the default insurance fund. While these arrangements are appropriate for general injury claims, in the case of advanced asbestos-related disease they will usually lead to a lengthy and stressful process that may not be finalised until after a worker has passed away. It is imperative that we improve access to workers compensation benefits for these individuals and fast-track the claims process to insure prompt determination and payment of their statutory entitlements. The Workers Compensation Amendment Bill 2016 answers this imperative.
Firstly, the bill amends the workers compensation framework to allow for those individuals suffering from an imminently fatal asbestos-related disease to submit a claim for a statutory compensation directly to the default insurance fund. By making the default insurance fund the insurer of first resort for imminently fatal asbestos-related diseases, statutory workers compensation claims can be processed promptly and benefits paid in a timely manner. Workers will access timely statutory entitlements such as medical treatment, weekly compensation for any loss of earnings, rehabilitation expenses and home modifications. They will have their choice of treatment providers, reduced waiting times for treatment, and reduced reliance on the Medicare scheme.
In addition, under the amendments introduced by the bill, affected territory workers will, for the first time, be eligible for lump sum statutory compensation of approximately $140,000 in recognition of the permanent impact of their disease. This lump sum is clear of all other statutory entitlements, and the amount is equivalent to the most severe single injury or disease recognised by the workers compensation system. This amendment rightly and justly ensures equity in terms of the statutory compensation available to the most seriously injured and ill workers living in our community.
The families of those workers who ultimately pass away as a result of this terrible illness will continue to have access to compensation related to the death in the form of a lump sum payment and compensation for funeral expenses.
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