Scheme purpose
South Australia has a no-fault workers rehabilitation and compensation scheme (the Scheme), aimed at rehabilitating and restoring an injured or ill worker to their work, family and community. The Scheme was created in 1986 following the passage of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 (the Act) by the South Australian Parliament.
When a workplace injury occurs, the Scheme operates to support the individual, their family and the business to deal with the impact of the injury and support the worker to recover and return to work.
Scheme coverage and equity
All workers who are legally considered to be in an employment relationship are entitled to make a claim if they are injured or made sick as a result of their work. This applies for workers regardless of whether they are employed full-time, part-time or on a casual basis.
WorkCover maintains representative committees to ensure that the Scheme meets the needs of workers and their employers. We also promote equity within our operations by identifying and removing potential barriers that may otherwise impact on access for specific groups within the South Australian community.
Scheme entitlements
Depending on the individual nature of the injury, if a claim is accepted, the entitlements payable to the worker include:
- weekly payments
- medical and associated costs related to the injury or illness
- lump sum compensation for non-economic loss (permanent disability).
If a determination regarding a claim cannot be made within seven days, the worker will receive provisional weekly payments up to a period of 13 weeks and/or payment of medical and other expenses under provisional liability. Payments under provisional liability do not constitute an admission of liability. Please note each claim still needs to be determined.
The Scheme provides injured workers with access to health care by covering medical and other costs related to the effective diagnosis, treatment and recovery from the injury or illness.
The specific services required will depend on the type of injury and what is considered as reasonable treatment by the doctor and case manager.
Rehabilitation and return to work preparation is also provided to assist workers and employers to manage a safe return to work and prevent further aggravation or recurrence of the injury.
Rehabilitation services are provided by vocational rehabilitation specialists who operate under contract to WorkCover SA.
For information on applying for accreditation see the providers section.
Scheme funding
The Scheme is funded by levies collected from South Australia's employers. Additional revenue for scheme management is also generated through the judicious investment of levy funds.
The average annual levy rate is reviewed each year by the WorkCover Board and management. An external actuary provides an independent estimate of long-term claim-related liabilities.
In general the levy rate for an individual business reflects overall Scheme performance, an estimate of the average risk of injury for their type of industry and the claims history of that business.
For more information on how the levy rate is set see the registered employers section.
Summary of the Scheme Actuarial Review as at 31 December 2007 [262.05 KB]
Previous issues of the Scheme Actuarial Review are available from our document listing.