The Australian dated 13 September 2021 had an article entitled Covid Claims plague WorkCover scheme referring to the situation in New South Wales. It noted there was a rush of WorkCover claims. Between June 27 and September 3, 2021 total Covid 19 claims soared from 562 to 955. This is well up from the 301 Covid 19 related claims against the scheme by August 2020. The number of workers claiming compensation for contracting Covid 19 almost tripled to 367. The number who have made claim for exposure has grown to 254. The latest figures also include 146 claims for psychological injuries linked to Covid. The data does not capture the most recent week of increases in Covid 19 case numbers in New South Wales and nor does the figure capture the full magnitude of Covid 19 related claims with several very large businesses such as supermarkets and banks operating own self insurance schemes. In 2020 New South Wales passed laws that put the onus on an employer to prove a worker did not contract Covid 19 at work.
In my view Victoria will follow the trend in New South Wales.
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