THE NSW Government has proposed changes to workers compensation claims for psychological injury, with a parliamentary inquiry into the new laws starting today.
State Treasurer Daniel Mookhey warned that without reforms, the state's workers compensation system is unsustainable - the number of claims has doubled in six years, with employers facing rapidly increasing insurance premiums.
He has set out plans to make greater use of workplace health and safety laws to prevent psychological injuries, instead of relying solely on the state's workers compensation system as the main response.
While not yet finalised, the changes will make it significantly harder for workers to claim long-term compensation for psychological injuries, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Business NSW supports the reforms, but unions have launched an advertising blitz opposing them, and have flagged it could lead to industrial action.
"Whether it's a hospital worker or prison officers with PTSD, a child protection worker who has had to remove a child from an abusive home, or a shop assistant abused at a checkout, these workers deserve support when workplace trauma catches up with them," said Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey.
The union has released a five-point plan that will achieve financial sustainability "without abandoning frontline workers when they reach their breaking point".
The plan focuses on prevention, improving return-to-work rates, reducing waste, and creating sustainable funding models without cutting benefits to injured workers.
President of the Law Society of NSW Jennifer Ball acknowledged that the workers compensation system is under pressure and needs reform, but said some proposed changes risk stripping the rights of some of the community's most vulnerable people, while imposing extra costs on business.
"There's no doubt the sustainability of the current scheme needs addressing, but that should not be at the cost of those people who have sustained serious and debilitating psychological injuries on the job," Ball said.
Australians for Mental Health has warned that the changes may push injured employees straight into a public mental health system that is already at breaking point, overwhelming services and leaving many people without care. KB
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