You are covered under workers compensation if you are providing work or service to another person and you did not provide that person with an Australian Business Number (ABN) in writing.
If you are a director of a company, you are only covered if your personal details and your remuneration have been disclosed to the insurer. Similarly family members of businesses are only covered if their personal details and their remuneration are disclosed to the insurer.
A worker is entitled to compensation for any personal injury or disease or an aggravation of an injury or disease that occurs:
Claims for diseases or injuries that occur by way of gradual process must be materially contributed to by your employment.
If you believe you have suffered a work related injury or disease, tell your employer or supervisor as soon as you can. This can be done either verbally or in writing.
You have up to six (6) months to lodge a claim for workers compensation from the date of the injury or when you first became aware of the injury or disease.
You must complete the first two pages of the NT WorkSafe approved claim form and submit the form to your employer. If the claim is for lost time, two copies of the approved workers compensation medical certificate must be attached. If this certificate is not attached, the claim is not valid.
If the claim is for medical expenses only, the approved workers compensation medical certificate is not required.
You are entitled to receive your normal weekly earnings for the first twenty six (26) weeks of total or partial incapacity, less any amount you actually earn.
If after the first 26 weeks you are still incapacitated you will normally be paid at 75% of your loss of earning capacity. Minimum and maximum provisions may apply.
Weekly benefits automatically reduce after 26 weeks to 75% of your loss of earning capacity.
Other workers compensation entitlements you maybe eligible for include:
The above list is not complete as the needs of individual workers are different and your insurer will consider each request for service on its merits.
No, employer contributions to superannuation are not included in the calculation for workers compensation entitlements.
A claim can be deferred for up to 56 days to allow the insurer time to gather further information on the claim. When the claim is deferred, the employer must commence payments of weekly benefits within three working days of the decision to defer.
No other benefits are paid during the period of the deferral.
If the claim is rejected or benefits are cancelled or reduced, you will receive formal notification by the insurer with a "Notice of Decision and Rights of Appeal" form. You can appeal the decision by applying to NT WorkSafe for mediation.
If the matter is not resolved at mediation, you can also apply to the Work Health Court for a resolution to the dispute.
If you disagree with the insurer's decision, you can request mediation. Mediation may help solve disputes by sharing information, identifying the issues in dispute, discussing them and trying to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.
Mediation is a free service.
Before you can make an application to the Work Health Court, you must first apply for and complete the mediation process. Once the process is completed, a mediation certificate will be issued to you and you are required to lodge the certificate with your application to the Work Health Court.
You have 28 days from the date you receive the certificate of mediation to make an application to the Court. If the 28 days has passed, you may apply to the Court for an extension to make an application. The granting of such extension is at the discretion of the Court.
If the recurrence is a progression of the original injury with no new contributing incident or aggravation, then it will form part of your original claim.
If the recurrence or aggravation is caused by a new work related incident, you will need to submit a new claim.
Both you and your employer have an obligation to ensure that you do not undertake duties, which may cause a recurrence or aggravation of your compensable condition.
You can make a claim for psychological injuries if there is medical evidence to support that your employment was a substantial contributing factor. You are not entitled to compensation if the psychological injury was a result of a reasonable administrative action taken in connection with your employment. For example:
If you are left with a permanent impairment as a result of a work related injury or illness, there is provision under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act for you to receive compensation once a medical assessment has been conducted to determine the level of impact the impairment has on you.
If you believe that you have a permanent impairment and your condition is stable, you can ask your insurance company to have you assessed. The insurer will arrange for you to be examined by a medical practitioner, who will assess your impairment in accordance with prescribed guidelines.
Alternatively you could ask your own medical practitioner or specialist to do the assessment, but you will have to ensure that the assessment is done in accordance with the prescribed guidelines.
If either yourself or the insurer disagrees with the assessment result, an application can be made to NT WorkSafe for a permanent impairment reassessment.
The cost of carrying out a permanent impairment assessment or reassessment is paid by your employer (insurer).
Note: The prescribed guidelines are American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (Fourth Edition)
Vehicle accidents while travelling to and from work are generally not covered under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act. You can however make a claim under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act. You can make a workers compensation claim if you were injured on your way to or from work, if a vehicle was not involved.
If rehabilitation is recommended, you must cooperate with reasonable treatment, rehabilitation and return to work programs.
If your employer is unable to provide you with suitable duties, you must participate in a reasonable return to work program, with another employer.
You are also required to inform your employer if you commence employment elsewhere or circumstances change in a way which may affect your entitlements.
Some employers do have arrangements with certain medical practitioners to treat their employees; however you are entitled to be treated by the doctor of your choice.
If you have made a claim for workers compensation, you may be required by an insurer or your employer to undergo an examination by another medical practitioner for the purpose of obtaining a second opinion.
Yes, a single lump sum payment can be claimed by the dependants of a worker whose has died as a result of work related injuries. The claim may also include funeral expenses and other benefits outlined in the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act.
No. The Northern Territory Workers Compensation Scheme is a no fault scheme. The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act removes the ability of a worker, as defined by the Act, to take an action against their employer or fellow worker under common law.
If you are partially incapacitated and you are receiving weekly benefits as a top up of your loss of earnings, your weekly benefits can, in certain circumstances, be commuted (converted) to a once only lump sum payment. This is known as commutation.
You, your employer or insurer can apply to the Work Health Court to have your entitlements to weekly benefits commuted to a lump sum. Your employer or insurer may apply to commute your weekly benefits if your weekly payment amount is small and it costs them more in administration costs to make those weekly payments. If you have made the application, the court must first be satisfied that:
The maximum commutation is linked to either your Normal Weekly Earnings or Average Weekly Earnings, whichever amount is greater.
Worker Compensation Best Practice Guidelines have been developed in consultation with approved insurers and self insurers with the objective of setting service standards and achieving consistency.
The Best Practice Guidelines contain a Schedule of Performance Indicators which sets out the service standards that insurers and self insurers have agreed to.
These guidelines and service standards are not rules but rather a framework within which approved insurers and self insurers will work. They are intended as minimum standards which approved insurers and self insurers are encouraged to improve upon.