New WorkCover laws will leave injured workers at risk of suicide
A former sergeant who suffers from PTSD from his time in the force fears the new WorkCover laws will leave injured Victorians at risk of suicide.
The controversial changes to the workers’ compensation scheme including new whole person impairment requirements were introduced in March last year.
The overhaul meant that injured workers must reach a WPI of more than 21 per cent to continue to receive weekly payments after 130 weeks.
But 18-months on, claimants and lawyers say the “broken” scheme is putting a strain on already vulnerable Victorians.
A former Victoria Police officer, who asked not to be named, told the Herald Sun he felt “abandoned” by the system when he recently retired after being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The man, who served for more than 35 years, said he suffered from extremely high anxiety, sleeping difficulties, depression and exhaustion.
The retired sergeant’s WorkCover Injury Claim was approved in 2023 where he underwent his 130 week assessment in February this year.
Shockingly, his WPI was calculated at 20 per cent – just 1 per cent under the threshold.
The man then began the lengthy process of appealing the decision.
“I felt gutted and abandoned by the WorkCover system and Victoria Police seeing that I was a police officer for more than 35 years and served the Victorian community to the best of my ability,” he said.
The man said he was concerned the overhaul would push people to take their own lives.
The retired sergeant’s WPI was eventually reassessed at 25 per cent, allowing his weekly payments to continue after 130 weeks.
Allanah Goodwin from Arnold Thomas and Becker lawyers said the system was “failing the very people it was designed to protect”.
“Sadly the story of this police officer is not unique. It is a warning. The WorkCover system is broken,” she said.
“It is unfair to hear of so many cases of individuals who have spent their whole life working, to then suffer an injury at work and become reliant on the weekly payments from WorkCover to survive, to then be at risk of having these payments cut off.
“It’s a situation which puts these individuals in serious financial hardship and under acute stress.”
Read more at The Herald Sun.
Contact us
If you have been injured at work in Victoria you will be entitled to compensation under the Victorian WorkCover system. This is a ‘no-fault’ scheme. You can still make a claim even if the accident was your fault. We can help you get the compensation you deserve – visit our Workers Compensation page for more information or call us on 03 9034 8433.
If your payments have been unfairly cut off, we can help you. For more information, visit our webpage New Workers Comp Laws: Why you need a lawyer.