The Return to Work scheme is a government scheme that is set up to compensate people who suffer work-related injuries. This means that when you are injured at work or because of something related to your work, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries, provided that your employment was a significant contributing cause of the injury. In the case of a psychiatric injury, work has to be the significant cause of the damage.

In South Australia, the Return to Work scheme is funded by insurance premiums from businesses that employ people. Two Compensating Authorities are operating in South Australia – Gallagher Bassett and Employers Mutual Limited. In some cases, however, an employer might be self-insured.

If you are successful in receiving compensation, the Compensating Authority will calculate your average weekly earnings over the 52 weeks immediately preceding the date of injury. Then, for the first 52 weeks after the injury, you will receive 100% of this amount as income maintenance for each week in which you are totally incapacitated for work. In other weeks, where you might have partial capacity, you will receive this amount minus any income you have earned for that week in your employment.

However, after your first year of income maintenance, your payments will drop down to 80% of your average weekly earnings for the next 52 weeks, and after that, you will no longer be entitled to income maintenance. The only exception is if you can demonstrate that you are a seriously injured worker, which requires you to have a 35% whole person impairment arising from the injury. This is a very high threshold, and most people do not reach the threshold.

A workplace accident injury doesn’t have to be physical. It can also be stress-related or a pre-existing disease or condition that worsens. Physical conditions covered by Workers’ Compensation include:

+ Injuries suffered while travelling for work
+ An injury is sustained at work, as a result of work, or during work activities
+ Injuries sustained while receiving medical treatment for a separate work injury
+ Diseases caused by work or made worse by work
+ Pre-existing conditions made worse by work

All employers in South Australia must have Workers’ Compensation Insurance. Remember, their insurance company, not the employer, pays the claim.

To make a successful claim, you need to do the following:

+ Immediately report your workplace accident injury to your employer
+ Obtain medical evidence to prove your injury is work-related. This can typically be obtained from a qualified medical practitioner
+ Lodge a claim with your employer’s insurer

You will not lose your job because you have made a Workers’ Compensation claim. However, if you cannot do your job because of illness or injury, this is likely to affect your employment.

For permanent bodily injury resulting from a work injury, the Return to Work Scheme provides compensation in the form of two payments:

+ A non-economic loss payment – also called a ‘pain and suffering’ payment
+ An economic loss payment is available to workers to have an injury with a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) of between 5% and 34%.

Three things are required to make a permanent impairment claim with help from our Workers’ Compensation lawyers:

+ Your medical condition must be stable (also referred to as having reached maximal medical improvement)
+ You must have a WPI of greater than 5%, as assessed by an accredited medical assessor
+ The assessment should be carried out as per the Guidelines. Generally, the psychological injuries and psychological effects are not taken into account