Browsing: Workers' comp legislation, regulations, standards and codes (SA)

In important concurrent judgments, a tribunal full bench has quashed, for lack of evidence, a finding that steroid injections proposed for an injured worker constitute compensable surgery, and upheld a ruling that another injured worker's nerve block injections aren't surgical treatments.

• Qantas rejects COVID-19 claims as 750 staff told to self-isolate;
  
• COVID-19 work injury Bills introduced in SA; and
  
• Did you miss our latest quarterly update and coronavirus coverage?

• Presumptive PTSD compensation introduced in second state;
  
• National transport safety amendments made, and proposed; and
  
• Four sets of electricity and rail safety regulations commence in Vic.

A former Federal Court judge has rejected submissions that a ruling in favour of a worker injured by opioid medication encourages a culture of litigiousness and sickness, but recommended that consideration be given to amending South Australia's Return to Work Act if the man's claim is upheld in upcoming proceedings.

Injured workers whose conditions aren't considered "serious", but who are unable to work, will have uncapped access to weekly benefits and medical expenses under a narrative test, if recommendations from a South Australian parliamentary inquiry are adopted.

• Safety disclosures required by new labour-hire Bill;
  
• WHS Bill ensures next of kin are quickly notified; and
  
• Safe Work Australia amendments pass Senate.

South Australia will introduce its own legislation to eliminate "rogue" labour-hire companies, after an investigation into workers' comp premiums found hundreds of millions of dollars in remuneration discrepancies.

• Australian-first WHS centre announced in NSW;
  
• "Empathetic" injury scheme promised in panel discussion; and
  
• Workers' compensation overhaul defeated in SA.

• Employers fined for SWMS and secure-storage breaches;
  
• Proposed FIFO safety code extending to all industries; and
  
• SAET to deal with WHS prosecutions soon.

Injured workers should be subjected to "qualitative tests" to ensure they aren't denied ongoing compensation if they're incapacitated but don't meet the serious injury threshold, an inquiry into South Australia's RTW scheme has heard.