WORKCOVER CORPORATION

The Hon. T.A. JENNINGS (17:06): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Industrial Relations a question about WorkCover.

Leave granted.

The Hon. T.A. JENNINGS: Significant changes to WorkCover laws came into effect just over a year ago, as members of this chamber are well aware. The new system cuts payments to workers by 10 per cent after 13 weeks and by 20 per cent after 26 weeks. This means that at this stage some injured workers are now receiving less than the minimum wage.

Workers who have a dispute about the management of their claim will have their payments cut off while they are in dispute, and some of these disputes may go on for many weeks while they are waiting for a determination. Perhaps worst of all, those workers who remain injured for long periods of time face being thrown off the scheme altogether after 130 weeks. Despite all these cutbacks to workers' entitlements, the unfunded liability is $911 million as of December 2009. My questions are:

1. How many injured workers have been subjected to work capacity reviews by Employers Mutual Ltd since the new provisions came into operation in April 2009?

2. How many have had their weekly payments reduced or terminated?

3. How many injured workers have challenged determinations of Employers Mutual Ltd on the issue in the Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal?

4. What percentage or number of these challenges have been successful?

The Hon. P. HOLLOWAY (Minister for Mineral Resources Development, Minister for Urban Development and Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister Assisting the Premier in Public Sector Management) (17:08): I thank the honourable member for her question and congratulate her on asking her first question. A significant amount of detailed statistics are involved there. I will take that question on notice and bring her back a response as soon as possible.