Latest news with #NSWreform
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
NSW Labor workers comp reform to be referred to inquiry despite pleas for urgency
Labor's controversial plan to reform workers compensation in NSW has suffered another blow after being referred to an inquiry, despite a plea by the Treasurer that it be urgently passed. The NSW government is attempting to pass amended plans to reform workers compensation before July 1, having faced significant opposition from the unions and the Opposition. Liberal leader Mark Speakman said the Coalition was in favour of reform to the beleaguered system, but only with key amendments – if not, they will seek to send it to an inquiry. The Opposition, in a bizarre alliance with the Greens and the unions, is seeking to stay plans to lift the threshold for a permanent whole person impairment (WPI) to 31 per cent. Opponents of the planned changes say they would lock most claimants suffering a psychological injury out of support; the government says it offers greater access to lump sum payments. Appearing before the Legislative Council, shadow treasury spokesperson Damien Tudehop moved that the bill be referred to the Public Accountability and Works Committee for inquiry in August. Instead, an amended version of the motion put forward by independent MLC Mark Latham was approved by the Council, which set that the committee would determine its own reporting date. 'It is incumbent upon the Treasurer to at least demonstrate … the manner in which this scheme is currently operating and why the savings, which have been identified for the scheme, are acting or potentially acting to target people who are the most vulnerable in terms of psychological injury which they have suffered,' Mr Tudehop said. Mr Tudehope went on to add: 'There are other areas of the manner in which the scheme is being managed at the moment, which can produce savings. There are significant savings identified in the act, which in fact we will be wholeheartedly endorsing'. During his address, Mr Tudehope said he was 'not here to hold up the process', but that the Opposition had not had enough time to properly assess the plan. In response, Treasurer Daniel Moohley said delaying the bill by referring it to an inquiry would be an 'opportunity that we miss' to begin repairing the 'broken' system. 'The opportunity we will miss is to begin to provide for injured workers,' he said. 'Absent reform, a small business that has no claims rejected is facing the prospect of a 12 per cent increase next year, followed by a further 12 per cent, followed by a further 12 per cent. 'The bigger opportunity that we've been missing is to begin to build a proper culture of prevention when it comes to psychological injury. 'That is crucial to stopping people from getting injured in the first place and at the same time making sure that we have a workers compensation system that complements the task of returning people to their health and returning people to their work.' In four weeks time, Mr Moohkey warned the system would 'fall back even further' and make reform harder, including the private sector which he said was suffering $5m losses per day. He instead urged for the Opposition to 'make this decision today' and put their amendments up for debate, rather than referring the workers compensation bill to an inquiry. Greens MLC Abigail Boyd supported the Opposition's motion, stating that the bill, if passed, 'could cause so much distress to people who are already at their most vulnerable that they may choose to end their lives. 'A bill that is literally about life and death. 'That's why we should never seek to pass a bill like this in these circumstances, with the secrecy, the deception, the blatant mistruths that we've been told over the last three months, and with the government having failed to make out the case for what they have decided to do.' She urged Labor MLCs supporting the bill to consider whether it was 'this reform that has been never recommended in any of the multiple, multiple reports or inquiries into the workers compensation system, that has been sprung on you with very little warning. 'Are you personally satisfied that the only option, the only option is to implement these reforms? The most cruel and dangerous of all of the possibilities.' She went on to add: 'I don't think any Labour member can honestly say that they thought two years ago they would now be sitting here trying to defend a bill that will kill workers.' The proposed workers compensation reform has faced stiff opposition from the state's unions, as well as a parliamentary inquiry, and competing claims about urgency. The state government says the reforms need to be passed before July 1, while the Opposition says premiums for the nominal insurer are already locked for next year. Mr Moohkey previously indicated he would not authorise further payments to the Treasury Managed Fund, the government's self-insurer, following billions in cash injections. The plan also seeks to address the state of the nominal insurer, the health of which has resulted in rising premiums for businesses and charities operating in the state, Mr Moohkey said failure of the bill had already been factored into the state budget,
News.com.au
26-05-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Revised workers compensation Bill to be tabled in NSW after push back from unions
A revised plan to up-end the NSW state workers compensation scheme will be tabled in parliament on Tuesday following widespread opposition from the state's unions. Multiple unions representing teachers, nurses and a range of other fields rallied outside parliament on Monday morning in opposition to a draft proposal. Following that backlash and a hearing into the proposal, the Labor government will introduce an updated Bill on Tuesday to reform the scheme. Treasurer Daniel Mookhey told the inquiry he would not authorise any further cash injections to the Treasury Managed Fund, the state self-insurer. On Tuesday, Mr Mookhey said the Minns government wanted to create 'a modern system that will better protect workers from psychological injury and provide better help when they need it'. 'I want to ensure that future generations of workers across NSW have a workers compensation system they can rely on,' he said. 'As the workplace evolves, our capacity to support people in it must adapt accordingly.' Industrial Relations Minister Sophie Cotsis said the reforms would help strengthen a 'culture of prevention', as well as early intervention and recovery. 'These include major reforms to SafeWork NSW, including investing in more inspectors to focus on psychosocial harm prevention and industrial relations reforms that establish a 'stop bullying' jurisdiction,' she said. 'Additionally, we have amended the iCare Act to include a principal objective focused on promoting early and appropriate treatment and care for injury and illness. 'This aims to optimise recovery, support return to work and daily activities, and ensure a sustainable compensation system.' She thanked all who contributed submissions to the consultative process 'for their practical and considered responses'. Unions NSW and a number of other powerful unions in the state had spoken out against the reform and some of its provisions, namely a 31 per cent threshold for damages for permanent impairment due to psychological injury. They had also opposed plans to require anyone psychologically injured because of racial or sexual harassment, or bullying to receive a determination by a court or the Industrial Relations Commission Tribunal. Among the changes since the bill was first made public was a plan to scrap that requirement that workers obtain a finding from the IRC, as well as an expedited system for those types of claims – just eight weeks. The definition of vicarious trauma will also be clarified to include psychological injury arising from 'repeated exposure to the traumatic experiences of others'. Other proposed changes, many of which were raised during the hearing, include reducing legal costs, greater powers to IRC to hear workplace health and safety complaints, and adding 'excessive work demands' as a new compensable cause of psychological injury. Commutations to allow psychologically injured workers with a Whole Person Impairment (WPI) of 30 per cent or below to access a lump sum before their weekly payments cease, will also be introduced, as will a gradual increase to the WPI measure to determine weekly payments for life, rising to 25 per cent from October 2025 and greater than 30 per cent from 1 July 2026. The state government is also rolling out a $44m Workplace Mental Health package, including to SafeWork NSW for injury prevention – with 50 new inspectors specialising in psychological injury – and wraparound psychological support services for people navigating the claims process.
