![\"Victorian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/ca39a869fdcea212648b051af5a891710b742609.jpeg\")
<\/p>\nThese changes included a new definition of mental injury to one that \u201ccauses significant behavioural, cognitive or psychological dysfunction\u201d or one diagnosed by a medical practitioner.<\/p>\n
But the most significant change was the decision to exclude compensation for people whose primary mental injury has been \u201cmainly caused by stress or burnout as a result of events that are considered usual or typical and are reasonably expected to occur in the course of their duties\u201d.<\/p>\n
People affected by these can instead seek 13 weeks of provisional payments for support and treatment, which every Victorian worker who submits a mental health claim is eligible for.<\/p>\n
Mental health claims once made up 2 per cent of all injuries in the scheme but have risen to 16 per cent and were expected to eventually reach as much as a third of all claims before the laws were passed.<\/p>\n
Another major rule change limited benefits for workers in the \u201clong tail\u201d of claims stretching past 130 weeks, requiring these people to prove permanent impairment of more than 20 per cent.<\/p>\n
WorkSafe\u2019s figures also show a significant increase in the number of Victorians who ceased weekly benefits after this change was introduced.<\/p>\n
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Between March 31, 2024, and April 30 this year, there were 3949 people receiving weekly payments who reached the 130-week mark at which their claim was subject to a review conducted under the new rules.<\/p>\n
Of these, 71 per cent, or 2814 claims, were terminated. In the 2022-23 financial year, when the old system was used, the cut-off rate was 46 per cent.<\/p>\n
This data excludes those who no longer received weekly benefits for other reasons, such as returning to work full-time or retirement.<\/p>\n
Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari said the changes had done exactly what was intended when they were implemented by then-WorkSafe minister Danny Pearson: \u201cTo cut injured workers from the support they needed to get back to work\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari.Credit: Simon Schluter<\/p>\n
\u201cMany of these injured workers will lose their house and will not qualify for any unemployment benefits,\u201d Hilakari said. \u201cTheir misery is due to his embarrassing lack of leadership and empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the changes were legislated, the government provided $50 million to a new agency, Return to Work Victoria, tasked with improving the rate of injured Victorians returning to employment.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealth outcomes for workers get worse the longer they remain on WorkCover and can lead to prolonged injury and unemployment \u2013 the longer a person is away from work, the less likely they are to ever return,\u201d an Allan government spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why our changes to the scheme established Return to Work, to help injured Victorians recover and get back to work safely.\u201d<\/p>\n
An independent review will be held into the WorkCover changes in 2027 to assess if they are working as intended.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for WorkSafe said the agency had provided $3.77 billion in support to more than 109,000 workers last financial year.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile there are early indications the reforms are working as intended to address pressure on the scheme from a decade of rising claim numbers, more time is needed to assess the long-term impacts,\u201d they said.<\/p>\n
WorkSafe expects the total impact of the changes to take years to fully materialise and has cautioned to consider this when interpreting their data. Legal precedents and changes in behaviour are expected to become clearer over time.<\/p>\n
In May, WorkSafe Minister Ben Carroll announced the average premium rate would remain at 1.8 per cent this financial year. The average charge has not changed since 2023-24. However, individual rates can change for specific businesses and industries.<\/p>\n
Opposition finance spokeswoman Bridget Vallence said the government needed to provide certainty that premiums would not be increased further.<\/p>\n
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\u201cAs a result of the Allan Labor government\u2019s massive increases to WorkCover premiums, Victorian businesses are now paying over $5 billion in premiums, making it the most expensive scheme in the country,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cVictorian businesses already paid a monumental price for Labor\u2019s mismanagement of the WorkCover scheme, with the recent premium hikes being another tax on jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n