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Legislative Council - Fifty-Second Parliament, First Session (52-1)
2010-06-30 Daily Xml
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WORKCOVER CORPORATION

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE (14:43): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Leader of Government Business in the Legislative Council a question.

Leave granted.

The Hon. R.L. BROKENSHIRE: In June, the Hon. Carmel Zollo, Presiding Member of the Statutory Authorities Review Committee, received a letter from minister Holloway. Recommendation 2 of the report states:

WorkCover establish a more open and consultative management style with injured workers and interested stakeholders such as the Work Injured Resource Centre (WIRC).

In response to the recommendation, the minister advised the Presiding Member as follows:

This recommendation will be carried out as it is a current practice which will be continued.

WorkCover works with a range of injured worker advocate and support groups to improve return to work outcomes and people's experiences within the workers compensation scheme.

WorkCover holds quarterly stakeholder forum meetings and holds an injured worker stakeholder meeting three times per year to address systemic issues. The ...(WIRC) has been a member of this group for over 10 years.

To assist the minister, the minister concludes:

WorkCover also sends a monthly email update to stakeholders which advises them of current consultation.

WorkCover has a dedicated Stakeholder Relations Unit which manages interaction with all stakeholder groups, including injured worker representatives and... worker support groups such as the WIRC.

He concludes by stating:

WorkCover is meeting the recommendation for an open and consultative management style with stakeholders.

My concern, from evidence given to me, is that WorkCover is doing anything but having an open and consultative management style. I had hoped that there would have been some interest from the corporation to set in place a communication process that would give it access to information that it does not have now, as well as having meaningful ways to alleviate the raft of issues that I am asked to deal with on a daily basis—as I am sure my colleagues are also. My questions are:

1. Is the minister categorically comfortable that WorkCover has a genuine focus and commitment to work with organisations that represent injured workers, such as the WIRC?

2. Will the minister look at funding some of these advocate groups (which Labor traditionally used to do until the Rann government came in) so that they can represent injured workers fairly?

The PRESIDENT: The Minister for Industrial Relations will ignore the opinion in the question.

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) (14:45): I thank the honourable member for his questions. If I may I will make a general comment about WorkCover's position. As I pointed out last week, a new chief executive of WorkCover has recently been appointed. I am sure that, as well as familiarising himself with the role that WorkCover plays in South Australia, he will be bringing to that organisation the benefit of his significant experience over some years with the WorkCover body in New South Wales. I am sure that, judging from the early contact I have had with Rob Thompson (the new CEO), he will be looking (as a new chief executive should) at the way that WorkCover responds to all of its clients.

There are many issues if one is talking about the interface with injured workers including the relationship with EML (the claims management agent), and I am sure that relationship will be thoroughly reviewed by the board and management of WorkCover itself in relation to these issues.

I am a relatively new minister in this area, with a new chief executive appointed (and, I believe, a new chief executive for EML), but I am sure that it is an appropriate time to review all the practices to ensure that the relationship that WorkCover has with injured workers and the relevant bodies that advocate on their behalf is improved. If the honourable member has particular examples I am always pleased to hear of them and to make sure that they are investigated by WorkCover. I believe it is timely now.

I should also mention that, under the legislation, there will need to be a review of the changes that were made to the Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act in 2008. That review is due to be established by the end of this year so, again, there will be another opportunity to look at all the matters associated with those changes. Certainly, with the new management and, as I said, as a new minister myself, I am keen to ensure that all aspects of the way that WorkCover does business and how it relates to injured workers are examined and, if there are possible ways to improve those relationships, then they should be adopted.

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