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Safe Work Australia – a useful guide to nationwide trends

October 12, 2017

I try to look at the website of Safe Work Australia because it is full of information about nationwide issues and issues in particular states. There is a comparison of the various workers compensation schemes in the different states and a plethora  of statistical information. It is well worth a look.

For example they are attempting to develop a nationwide system of impairment assessment (including the PIRS)

Permanent impairment

When someone sustains an injury it may result in a permanent impairment.

A prerequisite to determining the level of permanent impairment is the understanding that it shouldn’t be decided until the claimant has improved as much as is possible; that is when their impairment has become stable or isn’t likely to improve despite medical treatment.

  • In addition to the assessment principles laid out in the AMA Guides, scheme legislation also provides substantial guidance on how to determine whether or not impairment is permanent.

In 2013, we made recommendations to the Ministerial Council on nationally consistent arrangements to assess permanent impairment, which were agreed to by the majority of jurisdictions in early-2014.

As a result we are now developing a national permanent impairment guide and a system for updating it, as well as developing a training package for medical practitioners who want to become permanent impairment assessors.

 

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