RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 56

RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 56

56—Lump sum payments—economic loss

        (1)         Subject to this Act, if a worker, other than a prescribed seriously injured worker, suffers a work injury resulting in permanent impairment as assessed under Part 2 Division 5, the worker is entitled (in addition to any entitlement apart from this section) to compensation for loss of future earning capacity by way of a lump sum.

        (2)         An entitlement does not arise under this section if the worker's degree of whole person impairment from physical injury is less than 5%.

        (3)         An entitlement does not arise under this section in relation to—

            (a)         a psychiatric injury or consequential mental harm; or

            (b)         noise induced hearing loss.

        (4)         Subject to this section, the lump sum will be an amount determined as follows:

where

"LS" is the lump sum

"PS" is the prescribed sum that applies in relation to the worker's whole person impairment, provided that the prescribed sum cannot exceed the prescribed sum applicable for 34% whole person impairment

"AF" is the age factor applying in relation to the injured worker

"HWF" is the hours worked factor applying in relation to the injured worker.

        (5)         If a worker suffers 2 or more impairments arising from the same injury or cause, those impairments will be assessed together and combined to determine the degree of impairment of the worker (using any principle set out in the Impairment Assessment Guidelines).

        (6)         If—

            (a)         a worker suffers a work injury that gives rise to an entitlement under this section; and

            (b)         the worker subsequently suffers—

                  (i)         an aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation, deterioration or recurrence of the injury referred to in paragraph (a); or

                  (ii)         a new work injury,

and the worker, as a result, has a second entitlement under this section,

there will be a reduction of the lump sum payable under this section in respect of the second entitlement by the amount of the payment for the earlier entitlement unless such a reduction is incorporated into the provisions of the Impairment Assessment Guidelines (and then this subsection will apply in relation to any third or subsequent entitlement in the same way in order to ensure that each lump sum previously paid is taken into account as new entitlements arise).

        (7)         For the purposes of this section, any degree of impairment will be assessed in accordance with Part 2 Division 5 (and the Impairment Assessment Guidelines).

        (8)         Only 1 claim may be made under this Division in respect of any impairments that have been combined as provided by section 22 and this section (and any impairment or impairments that are not combined under section 22 will not be combined under this section).

        (10)         Compensation is not payable under this section after the death of the worker concerned.

        (11)         In the operation of this section, in no case can the lump sum exceed the prescribed sum adjusted by the age factor.

        (12)         In this section—

"prescribed seriously injured worker" means a seriously injured worker who has not made an election under section 56A.