All about COVID-19 Worker’s Compensation Benefits in Australia

Nigams Legal
3 min readSep 30, 2022
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Unsplash

COVID-19 has turned the world upside down. No one has ever thought a pandemic like this would cause such catastrophic outcomes. Loss of life and job were the severe consequences of the virus. Many employees were fired during this phase. Some of the employers deducted the wages to a great extent. But, some countries like Australia have stringent worker’s compensation benefits during COVID-19.

We have discussed in this article what compensation workers will likely have in times of COVID.

If you live in Perth and want clarity about the benefits, contact a worker’s compensation lawyer in Perth.

Let’s discuss the scenarios in which you get compensation benefits in this pandemic in Australia.

1. Getting infected with the virus at the Workplace

The worker’s compensation benefits may differ across various states and territory jurisdictions. A worker, anywhere in whichever state, is liable to get compensation.

The worker is eligible for the employer’s compensation scheme, whether they are deemed workers or employees.

Employees are entitled to compensation whether they get infected by the virus during employment or out of work.

It is challenging to prove the contraction of COVID-19 at the workplace compared to a work-related injury. Whereas, in some sectors like healthcare, you can easily prove that the staff works in high-risk situations.

2. Injury While Remote Working

To curb the spread of the virus, employees are working from home, either following the government’s or employers’ directives.

1. Workers doing remote jobs come under the worker’s compensation scheme. Whether or not a worker receives compensation for an injury depends on whether the worker got injured in or out of employment.

2. Each claim will be based on evidence and medical and factual circumstances.

It’s important to take the help of the injury lawyers Perth if you have got injured at your workplace.

Compensation Benefits on Job Loss due to Workplace Shutdown

It is evident that a worker will not receive any compensation benefits if the workplace closes down due to COVID-19. If the worker has a current worker’s compensation claim and the company closes, the employer and the employee should look into the information furnished. They should seek help from the worker’s compensation attorney about their current circumstances.

Compensation for COVID Vaccination Injury

A worker will receive compensation if they receive an injury post-COVID vaccine. It doesn’t matter whether the injury occurred in or out of employment or not.

If a reaction is noticeable enough, it will be considered an injury. The responses include blood clots, severe fever, and allergic reactions like stroke or seizure.

A worker will not get any benefits if they show mild symptoms due to the vaccine, such as headache, dizziness, nausea, or redness at the injection place.

Certificate of Capacity

A Worker has to submit a Certificate of Capacity if they are liable to weekly payments. It may be difficult in the pandemic to visit a doctor, so the government provides special provisions under which they can get weekly payments.

1. The validity of a Certificate of Capacity is for 28 days. In the case of special scenarios, it can be extended.

2. A worker can acquire the certificate from telehealth consultations with a doctor if they can’t visit them in person. The claim provider must approve telehealth consultations.

Without an experienced worker’s compensation attorney, you can’t understand the complexities of the benefits. It’s essential to start your search operation and find a lawyer that has incredible knowledge of the ins and outs of the worker’s compensation claim. Check the reviews online to get a suitable attorney.

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Nigams Legal
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Nigams Legal is a law firm in Perth Australia, a team of experienced lawyers who provides class services for variety of legal matters.