The Commonwealth workers compensation scheme, as a whole, does
provide significant and valuable entitlements to workers in
Commonwealth agencies or a company who is a self insured licensee
under the Act such as Australia Post, Telstra, DHL and the
Australian Track and Rail Corporation. As at 2017, close to 390,000
workers are covered under the scheme. 1
The Commonwealth scheme provides for injured workers to receive
incapacity payments, for periods in which they are either totally
or partially incapacitated for work, up until the age of 65. It
also provides for injured workers to receive lifetime coverage for
their reasonable medical expenses.
On the face of it, these entitlements are much more valuable
than the entitlements injured workers under the state workers
compensation scheme have access to. In NSW most workers are only
entitled to up to 5 years of incapacity payments and limited
coverage for treatment expenses thereafter except for those
seriously injured.
