The swift action taken recently by the WA State Government to pass legislation to ensure that injured workers did not lose their right to compensation has been commended by WA lawyers.
"We congratulate the government for acting expediently to ensure that the common law rights of workers in Western Australia were restored," said Ms Eleanor Scarff, WA State President, Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA). "Governments do not always move quickly, and so we commend the Cook Government for acting decisively to fix this problem which could have significantly disadvantaged people who have been injured at work."
The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) is a not-for-profit membership organisation of lawyers who act for individuals who have suffered injuries, including those who have been injured at work.
The new legislation addressed a technical issue regarding the order in which claim documents are required to be registered. The Workers' Compensation and Injury Management (Common Law Election Validation) Act 2024 (WA) has retrospectively validated and restored the status of historical common law elections irrespective of the order in which the impairment assessment and common law election were registered.
"The issue was only identified as a result of a decision delivered by the WA Supreme Court of Appeal in September," said Ms Scarff. "This decision had significant implications for workers with current common law proceedings in the courts – it could have extinguished many of these claims. This obviously caused considerable concern for injured workers and their legal representatives.
"We are pleased that the government recognised the importance of the problem and acted urgently to fix it within weeks.
"We thank the Government for focusing on the individuals who have been injured while working to support themselves and their families. Our priority must always be to ensure that anyone who is injured at work receives the support they need to look after themselves and their families."
