The 2012 amendments to the Workers Compensation Act legislation
have resulted in significant reduction in benefits together with
procedural and practical obstacles for many injured workers in New
South Wales (NSW). Navigating through the tangled web can be
problematic, however as time has passed some rays of light have
emerged.
Introduced into Parliament with limited consultation with
stakeholders, the amendments attacked both monetary benefits of
injured workers and the means by which injured workers were able to
access benefits in the event of a dispute. Justifying its approach,
the then O'Farrell Government pointed to an unsustainable
deficit in the WorkCover Fund from which most benefits are paid,
with a particular focus on long term recipients. Despite arguments
(subsequently vindicated) that the deficit was largely a reflection
of the cyclical changes in the value of the Fund and that the
volume of claims in NSW was in fact in decline, the Government
moved
