Older Australians over the government retirement age of 67 and considering staying in or returning to the workforce may be entitled to benefits if they are injured at work. The RMB Compensation Division explains.
Workers’ compensation benefits in NSW include three main types of compensation:
- for wage loss;
- permanent impairment;
- and for treatment expenses.
Wage Loss benefits include compensation for wage loss due to an incapacity to work, based on pre-injury average weekly earnings calculated with reference to payslips for the 52-week period prior to the date of injury. The weekly wage payments will be capped at either 95% or 80% of that average earning figure, depending on the injured person’s capacity to work and the number of weeks they have received the payments for.
People injured at work nearing but prior to retirement age may be able to receive wage loss benefits for up to 12 months after retirement age.
If however they are injured and already past the government retirement age then their entitlement to income loss payments will automatically cease 12 months after the date of incapacity, regardless of their ability to return to work or not. After that point, if they cannot work they may need to seek benefits from sources such as Centrelink.
Compensation for permanent impairment is based on the percentage of whole person impairment, as assessed by an independent expert medical assessor.
In most cases, the percentage of impairment must be 11% or higher for physical injuries and 15% or higher for psychological injuries. Emergency service workers have different thresholds.
Provided the injured person’s impairment reaches or exceeds one of these thresholds, they can make a claim for a tax-free lump sum of compensation from the workers compensation insurer.
The percentage of impairment helps identify how long they may be eligible to have the insurer cover the cost of treatment.
For example, if impairment is 0-10% they have a right to claim reasonably necessary treatment benefits for two years after the date of injury, or last date the weekly benefit was paid (whichever is later). Eleven to 20% impairment brings an entitlement to five years of medical benefits and 21% or higher will be considered a worker with high needs and an entitlement to claim reasonably necessary medical benefits for life may exist.
Medical benefits encompasses compensation for reasonably necessary treatment which is related to the work injury, such as consultations with general practitioners, specialists, surgery fees and hospital admissions.
If you have a workers compensation questions or concern, your first step should be to contact our office to arrange a free consultation. You can contact us by by phone or our 'Ask a Question' tool on our website.