Last month (June) the worker’s compensation laws in New South Wales underwent a series of reforms.
The news of these changes made headlines, as many people and organisations were disgruntled with the revised legislation and were not afraid to speak out in anger or discontent.
However, so much of the coverage of these reforms focused on this emotional response, leaving much of the public uncertain over exactly how the laws have changed.
Many workers don’t even think about compensation until an accident happens to them, and most prefer to hope that they will never find themselves in a situation where they have to consider applying for it.
Yet it is important that everyone is educated about these reforms nonetheless, especially those who work in high-risk jobs such as construction, mining and emergency services.
To find out more about the new laws, people can find helpful information on the WorkCover NSW website.
At the moment, WorkCover is also trying to educate small business owners about changes to work health and safety laws that came into effect on the first of January this year.
To do this, they are holding a series of free webinars, with one scheduled to take place on July 25 from 10:00 through until 11:00 in the morning.
General manager of WorkCover’s work health and safety division John Watson said that these were a great opportunity for employers to build on their existing knowledge about work health and safety.
“Under the new laws small businesses must do everything they can do eliminate or minimise health and safety risks,” he explained in a press release on July 19.
“This webinar will outline how to manage risks, including what to be aware of and the potential consequences if something goes wrong.”
He also went on to explain that over the next few months there will be more webinars, mostly focused on prevention strategies.
From August these will come under WorkCover’s ‘Focus on Industry’ program.
“Over the coming months we will be holding webinars on how businesses and workers can prevent workplace injuries,” Mr Watson said.
“The August webinar will focus on manual handling with slips, trips and falls and sun safety covered during September and October.”
The WorkCover website is a good port of call for those interested in finding out more.
Individuals may also like to know that there are independent law firms that can help them make compensation claims.
There are lawyers in Sydney that can assist you file a claim if you are eligible, who operate on a no win no fee basis – meaning you do not have to pay them unless your case is successful.
