South Australian Consolidated Regulations South Australian Consolidated Regulations5—Standards and requirements—Rehabilitation and return to work
plans
Pursuant to section 28C of the Act, a plan for an injured worker must comply
with the following standards and requirements:
(a) it
must be in writing;
(b) it
must specify the following details:
(i)
the worker's full name;
(ii)
the worker's date of birth;
(iii)
the claim number;
(iv)
the employer's name;
(v)
the nature of the disability;
(vi)
the date that the disability was suffered;
(c) it
must have as its objectives—
(i)
the return of the worker at the earliest practicable time
to suitable employment at a level of remuneration which, as near as
practicable, is not less than the worker's pre-injury remuneration;
(ii)
other specific objectives (not inconsistent with the
objective referred to above) appropriate to the circumstances of the worker
specified for that purpose in the plan, but at least including one of the
following:
(A) the worker's return to the pre-injury
employment with the pre-injury employer;
(B) the worker's return to different
employment by the pre-injury employer;
(C) the worker's return to the pre-injury
employment but with a different employer;
(D) the worker's return to different
employment with a different employer;
(d) in
the case of a plan that contemplates the worker returning to different
employment—to the extent practicable—it must specify the suitable
employment to which the worker should return;
(e) it
must specify action that the worker and the pre-injury employer must undertake
in order to meet the objectives of the plan, including (but not limited
to)—
(i)
in relation to the worker—what training or, where
applicable, job search functions the worker should undertake;
(ii)
in relation to the pre-injury employer—what
workplace or employment modifications the pre-injury employer should provide
or undertake in order to achieve the worker's return to work;
(f) it
must specify, to the extent practicable, the services to which section 32 of
the Act applies that are to be provided to, and accepted by, the worker;
(g) it
must specify, to the extent practicable, the point of commencement and
completion of the plan (expressed either as particular dates, the commencement
and expiration of a particular period, or the occurrence of particular
activities or circumstances);
(h) it
must specify the method by which the Corporation will review the plan and,
where practicable, the times or occasions on which reviews will take place;
(i)
it must contain the following statements:
(A)—Important Notice to Employers
A failure by an employer to co-operate with respect to the implementation of a
rehabilitation and return to work plan or to provide suitable employment for
an injured worker may be considered by the Corporation as appropriate grounds
to impose on that employer a supplementary levy in accordance with section 67
of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 . An employer may
apply for a review of a provision of a rehabilitation and return to work plan
on the ground that the provision is unreasonable but such review proceedings
do not suspend obligations imposed by the rehabilitation and return to work
plan until a review or appeal authority makes a decision to modify the plan,
if at all.;
(B)—Important Notice to Injured Workers
A failure by an injured worker to comply with an obligation under a
rehabilitation and return to work plan may lead to the discontinuance of
weekly payments pursuant to section 36 of the Workers Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act 1986 .
A worker may apply for a review of a provision of a rehabilitation and return
to work plan on the ground that the provision is unreasonable but such review
proceedings do not suspend obligations imposed by the rehabilitation and
return to work plan until a review or appeal authority makes a decision to
modify the plan, if at all.
A refusal or failure by an injured worker to undertake work that the worker
has been offered and is capable of performing, or to take reasonable steps to
find or obtain suitable employment, may lead to the discontinuance of payments
pursuant to section 36 of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation
Act 1986 . This may also occur if a worker obtains suitable employment
and then unreasonably discontinues the employment.