Workers Compensation Regulation amendments 2016

We sought feedback on minor amendments that were proposed to the Workers Compensation Regulation 2010 when it was being remade.

  • The Issue

    Consultation period: 13/05/2016 9:00 am to 14/06/2016 5:00 pm

    The Workers Compensation Regulation 2010 (2010 Regulation) was scheduled for automatic repeal on 1 September 2016 under section 10 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989.

    SIRA, on behalf of the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, identified the opportunity to remake the 2010 Regulation with minor amendments to better align with the workers compensation Acts and related legislation, and deliver clearer regulation.

    We released a draft Workers Compensation Regulation proposing only one policy change – the repeal of an unused provision for shared return to work programs.

    It also proposed a range of machinery changes that included:

    • updating (Schedule 2 which prescribes medical tests and results necessary to determine whether brucellosis, Q fever, and leptospirosis are work related, to reflect the latest case definitions from the NSW Control Guidelines for Public Health Units
    • changes to align the Regulation with recent reforms to the workers compensation and legal profession legislation
    • updating references to other legislative instruments
    • removing unnecessary and redundant clauses
    • clarifying wording of certain clauses where a lack of clear and/or consistent interpretation has been identified

    The Regulatory Impact Statement includes a full list of all proposed changes.

  • Milestones

  • Outcomes

    Following extensive stakeholder consultation and review of the submissions, the Workers Compensation Regulation 2016 came into effect with a number of minor amendments, including:

    • removing the option for employers to establish shared return to work programs
    • a new clause providing that an application for an insurer or self-insurer licence is to be in the ‘approved’ form
    • a new clause prescribing the process for notifying a medical practitioner who is required to attend the Workers Compensation Commission for cross-examination on the contents of a medical report
    • updating prescribed medical tests and results relating to brucellosis, Q fever, and leptospirosis (in Schedule 2) to reflect the latest case definitions from the NSW Control Guidelines for Public Health Units
    • aligning it with recent reforms to the workers compensation and legal profession legislation
    • updating references to other legislative instruments
    • removing certain penalty notice offences (in Schedule 5)
    • removing unnecessary and redundant clauses
    • improving and clarifying  wording in certain clauses

    A fact sheet is also available that provides an overview of the amendments.

    View the submissions here

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