Has your Injury Occured at Work?

The Workcover Return to Work Coordinator for the Swinburne University of Technology is:

Katherine Brakoulias
Ph: 9214 8157
Email: kbrakoulias@swin.edu.au

If a medical practitioner indicates on the WorkCover Certificate of Capacity a return to work on modified or alternative duties, then you will need to contact the Return to Work Coordinator before commencing work.

The Workcover Return to Work Coordinator will:

• Assist workers return to either pre-injury or suitable duties.
• Liaises with injured workers, doctors, supervisors and managers to assist the worker to return to work.
• Arrange for an approved Occupational Rehabilitation Provider to be appointed.
• In consultation with treating medical professionals will be prepared Return To Work Plan in accordance with work restrictions specified by the medical practitioner.
• If you are totally incapacitated for work for 20 days or more, a return to work plan including an offer of suitable employment will be developed by the Workcover Coordinator

Workers Compensation Insurance Agent:

X-Changing
GPO Box 751
Melbourne VIC 3001
Level 10, 390 La Trobe Street
Ph: 1800 801 070

What is Workcover?

Workcover is the name given to the workers compensation scheme in Victoria . It is administered by the Victorian Workcover Authority. If a worker sustains an injury in the course of their employment, they may be entitled to compensation.

How to lodge a Claim

You must notify the University of any injury or illness, which has been significantly contributed to by work within 30 days of you becoming aware of it. If you don't, you may not be entitled to compensation. The easiest way to notify the University is to complete an Incident Hazard Report Form.

To lodge a WorkCover claim you will need to complete a Workcover Worker's Claim Form. Forms are available from any Post Office, Swinburne's Return To Work Coordinator ((Kate Brakoulias) (ext 8157), or Swinburne's Worker's Compensation Agent - X-Changing.

If your doctor considers you unfit for work as a result of a workplace incident, then you will need to obtain a Certificate of Capacity from your treating medical practitioner. You will need to submit both the Workcover Worker's Claim form, and the Certificate of Capacity to the Return To Work Coordinator as soon as possible after the injury.

You should inform your manager of any injury and any subsequent work restrictions as well as Swinburne's Return To Work Coordinator. The Return to Work Coordinator will also contact your manager. The instructions of the medical practitioner listed on the Certificate of Capacity must be followed strictly. Failure to comply with any medical restrictions may affect your medical condition and as well as your entitlement to compensation.

If your claim is only for medical and like expenses, a medical certificate is not required to accompany the Workcover Worker's Claim Form. If the claim is accepted the University will pay the first 10 days of your weekly benefits and the first $517 of your reasonable medical and like costs.

If your claim is accepted

WorkCover:

• Covers reasonable medical and like services and rehabilitation;
  
• provides weekly payments of compensation if there is incapacity for work after the injury/illness. Weekly payments are a percentage* of the pre-injury average weekly earnings of the claimant. For claims lodged after 01 September 2000 , regular overtime and shift allowances are included in the amount of compensation rate for the first 26 weeks of weekly payments;
  
• assists the staff member to return to work as quickly and safely as possible after their injury/illness.

If your claim is not accepted

The University's insurer will provide detailed letter outlining the reasons why your claim has been denied. This will also include information on avenues for appeal.

Solving disputes about your claim

If you believe your claim for compensation has not been handled correctly, talk to the Return to Work Coordinator or X-Changing>. You can also ring the WorkCover Advisory Service on (03) 9641 1444 or 1800 136 089 (toll-free) for free advice. If you are still not satisfied you can ask for conciliation. Conciliation can help to resolve your dispute without the need to go to court. Ring the Conciliation Service on (03) 9628 1111 for more information.

If your WorkCover claim was made before 12 November 1997 , you may be paid under a different benefits structure. For more information, contact the Return to Work Advisor or X-Changing.

In the event of employees suffering a work-related injury every endeavour will be made to return the injured worker to the workplace through a rehabilitation process. This process will give injured workers the opportunity to stay in the workforce by returning to the job for which they were originally employed or, through retraining, to start a new job.

If your treating medical practitioner indicates on the Certificate of Capacity that you have capacity a return to work on modified or alternative duties, then you will need to contact the Return To Work Coordinator before commencing work.

If you are totally incapacitated for work for 10 days or more, a return to work plan including an offer of suitable employment will be established by the Return to Work Coordinator. In some cases this will mean that a Rehabilitation Provider will be engaged prior to the lodgement of a Workers Compensation claim.

The Role of the Rehabilitation Providers is to:

• Provide rehabilitation to the injured/ill workers where a required
• Liaise with the Return to Work Co-ordinator, the injured employee, the injured worker's manager, the treating medical practitioner and the Insurer and to assist in the development of a written rehabilitation plan.
• Injured staff have a choice of at least 3 Rehabilitation Providers where such a service is required. The choice must be made within 14 days otherwise the decision will be made by the Return to Work Co-ordinator.

Swinburne's Preferred Rehabilitation Provider:

Ayres Management Services Pty Ltd
Level 4, 50 Queen St
Melbourne 3000

The Process

The supervisor/manager must notify the Return to Work Co-ordinator immediately if the injury is likely to result in time loss, rehabilitation intervention or work restrictions.

On receiving notification of any injury or illness, the Rehabilitation/Return to Work Co-ordinator will make contact with the injured/ill employee where practicable and their supervisor/manager immediately. If rehabilitation is required, the Rehabilitation/Return to Work Co-ordinator will facilitate a rehabilitation/return to work program in conjunction with key parties.

The nature and type of rehabilitation will be made on the basis of:

• The nature of the injury/illness;
• work restrictions;
• nature of pre-injury work, and
• availability of suitable duties

If there are no suitable duties available within the job description, other duties will be assessed for suitability.

Agreed rehabilitation/return to work details will be specified in writing. Suitable duties will be reviewed on a regular basis until the employee returns to his/her pre-injury duties or is permanently placed in suitable employment. Reviews will be documented. Copies of all documentation will be given to the injured/ill employee, their supervisor/manager and the treating medical practitioner.

If the employee is assessed as being unfit for any duties, the Return to Work Co-ordinator and/or the university's nominated Rehabilitation Provider will maintain regular contact with the employee, the treating doctor and the supervisor/ manager until capacity for suitable duties is identified.

Any disagreement over rehabilitation/return to work plan will be negotiated by the Return to Work Co-ordinator, in consultation with the injured staff member, his/her supervisor/manager and if necessary the Head of Department.

Refusal to Participate in a Return to Work Program

If you refuse to take part in rehabilitation or training, or if you are not seeking suitable employment, your benefits may stop.

VET Students on Work Placement

OTTE has a WorkCover insurance policy with CGU Workers Compensation (Victoria) Ltd that provides insurance coverage for host employers providing work placements should a student sustain an injury whilst on the placement. OTTE meets premium costs.

Procedures for lodging a Work Cover claim

Claim for Workers Compensation for VET Students on work placement are not dealt with by the University’s Return to Work Coordinator, but instead, OTTE have set down a procedures to ensure that claims are dealt with in a timely manner. For more detail regarding lodging a claim can be found in Vocational Placement Information Package brochure.

1. The student completes and signs a Worker's Injury Claim form, with the assistance of the host employer and/or RTO (Registered Training Organisation), if necessary.
2. The RTO should sign the Employer section of the Worker's Injury Claim form and also complete and sign an Employer Injury Claim Report form, in consultation with the host employer if necessary. The RTO signs and dates the form and forwards both the Worker's Claim for Compensation form and Employer Claim Report, together with any accompanying medical certificates or accounts, to the training organisation.
3. The RTO should clearly mark on both forms 'TAFE practical placement claim'. The Employer scheme registration number of 1624618 and the Employer's reference number of 9573347 should be entered on both forms.

The training organisation must forward these forms to CGU within 10 days of receiving the forms from the host employer. Accurate records should be permanently filed in case legal or insurance proceedings arise.

The Worker’s Claim for Compensation and the Employer Claim Report forms are available from any post office.