Move to rip up WorkCover laws in Vic

Fri Jul 18 2008, By Catherine Best.

The Victorian government will consider ripping up WorkCover laws and
rewriting the legislation under a proposal that could cost employers up to
$146 million a year.

A leaked review of the Accident Compensation Act, obtained by the state
opposition, recommends replacing the legislation with a new act.

WorkCover Minister Tim Holding commissioned the independent review by
Peter Hanks QC last December and his report is due to be delivered later this
year.

The leaked document recommends the WorkCover legislation "in its entirety
be recast". It recommends expanding the role of the Victorian WorkCover
Authority bureaucracy and other bodies, as well as funding another six reviews.

The proposal would cost between $85 million and $146 million a year - an
expense the opposition says employers will shoulder in higher premiums.

"Labor crowed about its WorkCover premium deductions when the budget
was handed down, boasting that it was cutting the cost of doing business in
Victoria," Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu said.

"Yet the proposals in this leaked review would not only wipe out these claimed
gains but they would add millions to costs for employers who would also have
to fund a WorkCover bureaucracy that is already ballooning."

The WorkCover authority has grown from 611 staff to 974 in eight years.
"The size of the task of moving to a new act is daunting," the report says.
"Breaking the transition from the current legislation to a new act into several
legislative stages has particular advantages and should result in a better product."

A spokesman for Mr Holding said the government had yet to receive a copy of
the report and could not comment on its recommendations.

"We have turned around a system that was financially unsustainable, improved
rights for injured workers and reduced premiums to the lowest level in Victoria's
history," spokesman Matt Nurse said.

"By the end of this financial year Victorian employers will have saved over $2
billion through our five successive cuts to WorkCover premiums."


Workcover Victims says: Its typical of the government to be solely
concerned about the employers premiums and not about the victims of
workplace injuries.

If the above quote is correct then a $2 million dollar windfall for the employers
should allow this Government to be able to include all workplace injury victims
in the common law changes that have been made.

Mr Holdings office has stated: that there is not enough money to include
workers injured before 19th October 1999 so surely more funds in the
VWA's and all vic employers pockets would allow for this discrimination to
cease.

Mr Holdings office has stated that he has no intentions of making any changes
to the present legislation as it would cause an increase to the employers
premiums.

Workcover Victims believes that simply due to this fact, injured
workers injured before october 19th, 1999 will have no opportunity to claim
common law rights for their injuries and Mr Holdings office does not believe
that this is discriminatory and isnt interested in hearing from the victims who
have been let down by a discriminatory legislation change made to only benefit
some, and not others.

So, we can only hope that they do scrap the current legislation and maybe all
injured workers will end up with equal rights and a reasonable and fair system