WorkCover and Return to Work

The Victorian WorkCover Authority, operating under the title WorkSafe, is responsible for administering the Victorian WorkCover Scheme. WorkSafe currently has six authorised WorkCover Agents who perform most of the functions associated with managing WorkCover claims. The legislative basis for the WorkCover Scheme is the Accident Compensation Act 1985.

The WorkCover scheme is a ‘no fault’ work related injury compensation scheme. This means that a worker’s entitlement to compensation is not a question of who was responsible for the injury, but is determined by whether the injury was employment related, according to the provisions of the Accident Compensation Act.

The key objective of the scheme is to ensure that the social and economic costs of workplace injuries and illnesses are minimised by:

• improving the health and safety of people at work and the rehabilitation of injured employees
• ensuring that injured employees receive appropriate entitlements as compensation for workplace injuries
• ensuring that employers provide suitable employment for employees who have been injured at work
• ensuring employers contribute equitably to the costs of the scheme through the payment of WorkCover premiums

DEECD employees are entitled to make a WorkCover claim in the event of an injury being sustained in the course of their employment.