Workers' rights
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Recommendations arising from Stakeholder Reference Group meetings 1, 2 and 3
28th Nov 2023 -
Proposed new WA workers comp laws will severely impact the rights of injured workers
30th Jun 2023Lawyers representing injured workers say that the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2023 (WA) currently before Parliament is flawed, ambiguous and will reduce the rights of injured workers in Western Australia.
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Most common breaches of WCRA
23rd Mar 2023‘Much has been written about the ‘dodgy’ workers who have been caught with their hands in the proverbial cookie jar, but rarely do we hear about the misdeeds of the unscrupulous employers who are prepared to go to any length to protect profitability at the expense of employee welfare ... here are just a few of the tricks commonly used by unscrupulous corporations and employers,’ writes Travis Schultz, Managing Partner, Travis Schultz & Partners
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Stealthy approach to stripping rights from injured workers is deplorable
2nd Jun 2022A proposal to make a fundamental change to the SA Return to Work Act, which will affect thousands of workers and their entitlements, is being snuck into Parliament today without consultation, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Qld Government plans to strip rights from dying workers
12th May 2022Changes proposed to Queensland’s workers’ compensation laws dramatically and unnecessarily affect the rights of dying people, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
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Can your boss use electronic surveillance to monitor you when you’re working from home?
14th Apr 2022The Workplace Surveillance Act 2005 (NSW) rules out undue intrusions and covert surveillance, but surveillance technologies are evolving faster than privacy laws – and booming. As many of us continue to work from home in the wake of the pandemic, Anneka Frayne ponders the issues.
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Work safety poster leads to $200,000 damages award
21st Oct 2021Emily Wittig from Stacks Collins Thompson examines a recent case where a female employee was awarded $200,000 in damages by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Court agreed that a work safety poster featuring the words ‘Feel Great – Lubricate!’ over a photo of the employee resulted in the employee feeling ‘exposed, humiliated and ashamed’ and led to her resignation.
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Former Uber Eats courier paid $400,000 in out-of-court settlement
16th Sep 2021Is a gig economy worker an employee or independent contractor? The line that separates the two employment classifications is becoming increasingly blurred. Emily Wittig from Stacks Collins Thompson discusses the case of Amita Gupta, an Uber Eats courier, who brought an unfair dismissal case before the Fair Work Commission which was eventually settled by Uber Eats. Had the case proceeded and succeeded, it could have set a legal precedent that couriers are employees rather than contractors.
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Horseplay in the workplace leads to damages
6th May 2021Emily Wittig from Stacks Collins Thompson discusses a case where a ‘bit of fun’ at work goes too far and leads to serious injury. She highlights the duty of care owed by employers to provide competent supervisors and a safe workplace, and the significant dangers of injury and death when this duty is breached.
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Continuing grim reality of work-related fatalities
14th Jan 2021A total of 3,751 workers were killed in work-related incidents between 2003 and 2018. The number of non-fatal work-related injuries in Australia is also extreme.
Justin Stack observes that changes in legislation have made it more difficult for injured workers to obtain adequate compensation and he discusses avenues through which NSW workers can challenge an insurer’s decision or dispute the amount of compensation they have been awarded.
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Should employers go to gaol for underpayment of wages?
17th Sep 2020Many instances of systemic underpayment of wages originate from the reckless indifference of employers towards correct pay practices.
While supporters of tougher laws believe that criminal penalties would act as a better deterrent to employers than the issuing of fines, Geoff Baldwin reminds us that there is insufficient evidence of the correlation between harsh penalties and reduced offending. He suggests that putting additional resources into compliance auditing may be more successful in reducing wage underpayment.
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New workplace manslaughter laws in Victoria
2nd Jul 2020Sam Vasaiwalla explains the new Workplace Safety Legislation Amendment (Workplace Manslaughter and Other Matters) Act 2019 (Vic), effective from 1 July 2020. This new law makes workplace manslaughter a criminal offence in Victoria, with penalties of up to $16.5 million and 20 years’ jail.
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ACCS consultation welcome to better assist injured Victorian workers
18th Oct 2019Consultation to improve processes for injured workers, including through the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service (ACCS), has been welcomed by the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) in Victoria.
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Are there dual entitlements to annual leave and weekly workers compensation payments?
3rd Oct 2019Ashleigh Kemp reminds practitioners about the need to carefully review the annual leave entitlements of clients on weekly workers' compensation payments following the Full Federal Court decision in Anglican Care v NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association [2015] FCAFC 81. She also provides some practical tips about calculating these, and considers other ways in which the dual entitlement can affect clients.
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The high cost of preventable farm accidents
4th Jul 2019Justin Stack details some recent cases involving preventable farm accidents and emphasises the importance of farm owners and workers understanding their workplace safety rights and obligations.
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Benzene: The colourless killer
22nd Nov 2018Luke Perilli details the dangers and effects of exposure to benzene, described by the World Health Organisation as ‘a major public health concern’.
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Work deaths in Australia top 92 for 2018
13th Sep 2018An exploration of the worker fatality and serious workplace injury rates for 2018 so far.
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The return of Silicosis
2nd Aug 2018Luke Perilli discusses Silicosis, the incurable lung disease increasing in prominence among Australian stonemasons, and the duty of employers to minimise the risk of their workers contracting the disease.
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Workers’ compensation system improves with access to free legal help
12th Jul 2018Justin Stack explores the proposed changes to the NSW workers' compensation scheme, changes that will improve access to legal representation for injured workers.
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Sexual harassment in the legal profession
5th Apr 2018Adrienne Morton explores the prevalence of sexual harassment in the legal profession, and the ways in which it could and should be addressed going forward.
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A plaintiff need not be perfect
22nd Mar 2018The workers’ compensation system is a minefield for plaintiffs. Having to state and re-state your injuries, being interrogated about your pain, and having to convince people about and justify your restrictions, leaves the ground fertile for credibility issues.
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Lawyers welcome new industrial manslaughter laws in Queensland
13th Oct 2017The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has welcomed tough new workplace safety laws passed by Queensland’s State Parliament last night.
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Lawyers welcome amendments to introduce tougher penalties and offences
23rd Aug 2017The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has today welcomed legislative changes introduced into the Queensland Parliament to strengthen the State’s work, health and safety laws, including tougher penalties and offences for workplace fatalities.
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Privatising workers comp puts SA workers’ rights up for sale
23rd Feb 2017Handing control of the South Australian workers compensation scheme to private insurers would prioritise insurer profits ahead of injured workers’ rights, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Lack of unanimity in Senate report highlights Comcare’s faults
19th Jun 2015Injured Australian workers could see their rights and workplace safety severely cut under government plans to slash the federal workers compensation scheme, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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ICA workers comp report looks after insurers, hurts injured workers
15th Jun 2015State and Territory Governments should reject outright a self-interested report that seeks to hand operational control of workers’ compensation schemes to private insurers and cut the right to compensation of injured workers in every jurisdiction, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Court decision shows Comcare’s failure to regulate workplace safety
21st May 2015A recent court decision on workplace safety against a major Comcare licensee is evidence that the federal scheme is failing its core responsibility of regulating workplace safety, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Comcare OK for workers but not good enough for politicians
13th May 2015The Federal Government has admitted the Comcare scheme is not up to scratch by quietly funding its own parliamentary injury compensation scheme in last night’s Budget, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Qld reforms to improve workplace safety welcome
23rd Apr 2015Industrial relations reforms announced today by the Palaszczuk Government will play an important role in helping to strengthen and improve safety scrutiny and oversight on Queensland work sites, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Senator Abetz’s attacks on injured workers do nothing to fix Comcare
15th Apr 2015Comments from Federal Public Service Minister Eric Abetz that seek to minimise the impacts of proposed changes to the nation’s Comcare scheme are not only dishonest, they also serve as a further hit on injured workers, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Workers compensation scheme key to protecting our ageing workforce
7th Apr 2015The expectation that Australians will work past the age of 65 needs to be framed in a long-term vision that finds a sustainable balance between workers compensation, the National Disability Insurance Scheme and Centrelink, or risk breaking the system, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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Proposed changes to Comcare a further attack on injured workers
25th Mar 2015Amendments introduced today by the Federal Government to the national workers’ compensation scheme are a further attack on the rights of the nation’s injured workers, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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ACT govt pulling out of Comcare is a step in the right direction
26th Feb 2015The ACT government is to be commended for pulling its support from the fundamentally flawed Comcare workplace insurance scheme, demonstrating strong leadership and supporting workers’ rights, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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The bitter taste of WorkCover SA
17th Jul 2014Renowned nationally for its battered financial status, inadequate benefits to workers and long delays, it’s time to consider a new scheme for injured workers in South Australia, writes Patrick Boylen, SA President of the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
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South Australian conference highlights workers comp
20th Jun 2014The ALA's South Australian conference will take place at the Intercontinental Hotel, Adelaide on Friday. Featuring Deputy Premier John Rau as keynote, Mr Rau will address the failings of South Australia's workers compensation scheme. The ALA continues to call for a fundamental overhaul of the scheme.
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Injured workers still burnt by compo changes in NSW
12th Jun 2014The stark reality is that the 2012 amendments to the NSW Workers' Compensation Scheme have slashed injured workers' entitlements and their ability to make an early, safe and durable return to work, writes Anthony Scarcella, NSW Director of the Australian Lawyers Alliance.
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Opening Comcare gates will trade off workers' rights
11th Jun 2014The Federal government is planning to trade off the rights of Australian workers via opening the gates to its Comcare scheme, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today
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ALA submits on NSW workers compensation changes
3rd Jun 2014This week, the Australian Lawyers Alliance NSW Committee provided our submission to the Centre for International Economics in its statutory review of the 2012 NSW workers compensation legislative amendments on behalf of the Office of Finance and Services.
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Drop in premiums shows Qld govt's WorkCover changes were unnecessary
20th May 2014Today’s announcement of a drop in WorkCover premiums for employers proves the Newman Government’s changes to the workers’ compensation scheme, rammed through Parliament last year, were unnecessary, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.
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A Q&A on QLD workers compensation changes
8th May 2014ALA QLD President Michelle James answers questions about Queensland's workers compensation scheme, which removed workers' rights following amendments passed into law this year.
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Ageing workforce at risk of injury
6th May 2014Any discussion about working life ought to include workplace injury and its consequences, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.
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What 'cutting red tape' will do to injured workers nationwide
19th Mar 2014The Federal government’s proposal to allow employers to shift workers into the Comcare system will take away vital support for injured workers and dilute health and safety protections nationwide, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.
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NSW Workers Compensation Scheme slashing injured workers rights - ALA
31st Oct 2013Injured workers rights are being slashed by Premier Barry O’Farrell, which is the only reason he and the Finance Minister were able to announce a NSW Compensation Scheme surplus, yesterday, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.
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New poll shows Qld Premier's seat at risk if WorkCover laws pass
17th Oct 2013A new poll shows the Premier’s own seat is at risk if the Queensland Government passes laws today to reduce injured employees’ rights for workplace injuries.
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ALA to discuss Qld premier at risk of losing his seat
17th Oct 2013Australian Lawyers Alliance spokesman Rod Hodgson will be speaking on new polling that shows the Premier is at risk of losing the seat of Ashgrove as a result of the State Government’s proposed changes to Queensland’s WorkCover scheme today (Thursday) morning at Parliament House.
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WorkCover changes hurt all Queenslanders
15th Oct 2013Today's changes to Queensland's WorkCover scheme announced by the Attorney-General will hurt employers, employees and taxpayers and have been announced without any basis in fact.
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Queensland still has nation's best WorkCover scheme
14th Oct 2013The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has welcomed the release of WorkCover Queensland’s latest Annual Report, which confirms the scheme remains the best in the country and is both financially stable and fair for employers, employees and taxpayers.
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Queensland workers compensation poll
13th Oct 2013Click here to view the workers compensation poll results following a survey of 1,258 Queensland residents on 10 October 2013.
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Queenslanders reject Government's changes to workers compensation
13th Oct 2013As State Cabinet prepares to consider drastic changes to Queensland's workers compensation scheme, a new poll has shown that Queenslanders overwhelmingly support the State's current system.
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Planned SA WorkCover overhaul benefits injured
28th Jun 2013“Industrial Relations Minister John Rau’s announcement today to pay out long-term SA WorkCover injury victims is likely to facilitate better health outcomes for such workers and is a long overdue development,” Australian Lawyers Alliance SA President, Patrick Boylen, said.
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NSW govt errors show more financial capability to help injured workers
8th Nov 2012A manufactured deficit of $1billion on NSW Government’s books, which arose because of 37 accounting errors of more than $20 million each, looks like having indirectly played a role in winding back the financial entitlements of injured workers, Australian Lawyers Alliance NSW Committee member, Cliff Baker, writes.
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NSW Workers Comp decision shows new laws are retrospective
24th Oct 2012Contrary to NSW Government assertions that recently introduced austere workers compensation laws would not be retrospective, a matter decided in the NSW Workers Compensation Commission yesterday, shows that, in fact, they will.
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A second rate legal review service adds insult to injury - ALA
26th Sep 2012Injured workers should remain unexcited by the NSW Government’s announcement today of a new 'free legal review service' for some work injury disputes.
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Inconsistency in NSW is draining disability rights - ALA
30th Aug 2012After much negotiation, NSW has announced it will provide an extra $35 million to support the rollout of a National Disability Insurance Scheme in the Hunter region to help 10,000 people with significant disability.
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ALA tells inquiry Newstart puts injured workers in hardship
27th Aug 2012Concerns about Newstart Allowance payment inadequacy and the transition from alternative payments such of WorkCover has prompted the Australian Lawyers Alliance to submit to and appear before an Inquiry on the subject today.
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NSW WorkCover changes - Expect mental health crisis says ALA
4th Jul 2012“Traumatised families struggling to cope with horrific deaths of loved ones are being forced into financial hardship following the O’Farrell Government’s cuts to WorkCover compensation last month,” the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.
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O'Farrell Government adds insult to injury with WorkCover changes
21st Jun 2012The Australian Lawyers Alliance has expressed its disbelief that the O’Farrell Government has pushed new severe workers compensation measures through the NSW Legislative Council yesterday, just five days after it tabled its report.
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WorkCover advertises its own mismanagement
28th May 2012WorkCover has released a list of what it describes as some of the worst cases of excessive claims that have ever been referred to it.
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Victorian WorkCover funds continue to be plundered - ALA
4th May 2012The Australian Lawyers Alliance is concerned that a three percent reduction in Victorian Workers Compensation premiums, while enticing superficially, hides a very black cloud that is floating over the rights of seriously injured workers.
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Lawyers meet minister to discuss proposed WorkCover changes
28th Mar 2012Representatives of the legal profession including, The Australian Lawyers Alliance, The NSW Bar Association and The NSW Law Society, met with Finance Minister, Greg Pearce, today, to discuss proposed changes to Workers Compensation and Motor Accident compensation schemes.
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Removal of Victorian WorkCover funds threatens injured workers - ALA
10th Feb 2012The Australian Lawyers Alliance is concerned that a Victorian government plan to redirect $471.5 million in WorkCover funds away from injured worker compensation and occupational health and safety will result in more injured workers in Victoria being left without adequate care and support.
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