Workers' Compensation

NT WorkSafe works with employers and employees to ensure injured workers have access to medical, pharmaceutical, rehabilitation costs and income support until the injured worker is fit to return to work.

Under NT WorkSafe, all employers must hold a workers compensation insurance policy to cover all their employees. Insurance companies must be approved by NT WorkSafe to sell workers compensation insurance and they are responsible for managing claims from injured workers.

The Northern Territory Workers' Compensation Scheme provides a fair level of benefits to workers and ensures that employers contribute fairly towards meeting the costs related to workplace injury through a market driven insurance premium setting process, based upon the safety performance of Territory industry. Compensation benefits are linked to community standards and adjusted annually.

Rehabilitation

Most people injured at work return to work within a few days but those with more serious injuries may need help through rehabilitation. This could involve treatment for a physical injury, through psychological counselling to help a person adjust to an injury or to a stressful work situation.

The support provided to an injured employee may include a gradual return to work, workplace based rehabilitation or retraining for a different job.

NT WorkSafe works with employers and employees by promoting the benefits of rehabilitation, explaining the responsibilities of those involved and keeping the system running smoothly.

Rehabilitation works best where:

• employers actively participate: research shows that keeping in touch with the workplace assists people to recover faster; and
  
  
• doctors, rehabilitation providers, insurers, unions, employers and the injured person all work together.

Workers' compensation legislation amended

On 1 July 2008 amendments to the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act commenced. These relate to three areas:

1. Volunteers: the Act has been amended so that volunteers prescribed by the legislation are no longer eligible for compensation for life, but instead will now be eligible for compensation similar to that provided to other injured workers.
   
   
2. If an employer/insurer defers a decision on liability but fails to make a decision to accept or dispute liability within the prescribed timeframe, then the employer/insurer must accept the claim.
   
   
3. Mediation: parties are now required to provide all written medical reports and other specified written material, relating to the disputed matter, to NT WorkSafe so they can be considered during the mediation process.  The mediation process must now be completed within 21 days instead of 28 days.