The concept of separating out impairment into impairment that is secondary to physical injury and impairment that is not secondary to physical injury was introduced into Victorian legislation in November 1996. It is now almost 24 years later. It seemed timely for me to discuss the history of this development. It is now taken for granted but caused some years of turmoil. It is a concept that has been incorporated into most states and territories. It was developed for only one reason, to prevent a financial blowout and, as I have said previously “it is a medical fiction but a legal fact!”. Whilst doing research for this paper I came across “To Strike a Balance A History of Victoria’s Workers’ Compensation Scheme 1985-2010” by Marianna Styliannou that I have found very helpful. You can read it here. When I have completed this paper I will put it on the website.
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