As first published by Lawyers Weekly – 14 August
2017
The impact will be felt in full this December as payments cease
after the five-year grace period expires, with many unprepared for
the consequences.
As a personal injury lawyer, on the plaintiff side, I advocate
to protect the injured after an accident at work or on our roads. I
am genuinely concerned that with the earlier changes to the
workers' compensation scheme and upcoming changes to motor
vehicle accident compensation, we face a real risk of systemic
responsibility shifting with little gain for the community.
Many workers who have until now been declared unfit to work will
face a loss of weekly payments from 2017, resulting from existing
changes to the NSW workers' compensation system. This will
force them to seek assistance from other avenues. Significantly,
injured people are in danger of becoming political pinballs to
reduce running costs and balance the budget.
