WORKERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1986 - SECT 43
This legislation has been repealed.
WORKERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1986 - SECT 43
43—Lump sum compensation
(1) Subject to this
Act, if a worker suffers a compensable injury resulting in permanent
impairment as assessed in accordance with section 43A
, the worker is entitled (in addition to any entitlement apart from this
section) to compensation for non-economic loss by way of a lump sum.
(2) Subject to this
section, the lump sum will be an amount that represents a portion of the
prescribed sum calculated in accordance with the regulations.
(3) Regulations made
for the purposes of subsection (2)
must provide for compensation that at least satisfies the requirements of
Schedule 3
taking into account the assessment of whole of person impairment under this
Division.
(4) An entitlement
does not arise under this section if the worker's degree of permanent
impairment is less than 5%.
(5) An entitlement
does not arise under this section in relation to a psychiatric impairment.
(6) If a worker
suffers 2 or more compensable injuries arising from the same
trauma—
(a) the
injuries may together be treated as 1 injury to the extent set out in the
WorkCover Guidelines (and assessed together using any combination or other
principle set out in the WorkCover Guidelines); and
(b) the
worker is not entitled to receive compensation by way of lump sum under subsection (2)
in respect of those injuries in excess of the prescribed sum.
(a) a
compensable injury consists of the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation,
deterioration or recurrence of a prior compensable injury; and
(b)
compensation by way of lump sum has been previously paid under this section,
or a corresponding previous enactment,
there will be a reduction of the lump sum payable under this section in
respect of the injury by the amount of the previous payment unless such a
reduction is incorporated into the provisions of the WorkCover Guidelines.
(8) For the purposes
of this section, the "prescribed sum" is—
(a)
unless a regulation has been made under paragraph (b)
—$400 000 (indexed); or
(b) a
greater amount prescribed by regulation for the purposes of this definition.
(9) In connection with
the operation of subsection (8)
—
(a) the
amount to be applied with respect to a particular injury is the amount
applying under that subsection at the time of the occurrence of that injury;
and
(b) an
amount prescribed by regulation under paragraph (b)
of that subsection must be indexed so as to provide annual adjustments
according to changes in the Consumer Price Index.
(10) For the purposes
of this section, any degree of impairment will be assessed in accordance with section 43A
(and the WorkCover Guidelines).
(11) Compensation is
not payable under this section after the death of the worker concerned.
(12) In this
section—
"WorkCover Guidelines" means the guidelines published under section 43A
.