Glossary
| Term | Definition |
| A | |
| Accident Insurance Policy | An Accident Insurance Policy is a workers' compensation insurance policy for employers engaging workers. The policy covers the employer's liability for workers' compensation and damages arising out of an work-related injury sustained by their worker. |
| Aggravation | An aggravation is when a pre-existing condition is made worse by employment. A worker may have an entitlement to compensation for an aggravation if their employment was a significant contributing factor causing the pre-existing condition to worsen. |
| Appeal | Employers and injured workers aggrieved by a Q-COMP review decision can appeal to the Industrial Magistrate within 28 days of receiving Q-COMP's decision. WorkCover can also appeal premium-related review decisions. |
| Asbestos related diseases | Asbestos related diseases are caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres over a period of time. Asbestos related diseases typically have long latency periods, that is ten to forty years from exposure to onset of the disease. |
| Average premium rate | The average premium rate is a rate per $100 of wages, expressed as a percentage, calculated by averaging net premium assessed for the year as a proportion of total wages declared by all employers for that year. |
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| Business activity | Business activity is the primary or predominant activity performed by a business. In determining an employer's business activity, WorkCover will consider a business' primary or predominant activity and the persons that a business engages among other relevant matters. |
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| Capital adequacy | In order to maintain capital adequacy, WorkCover must meet the minimum capital requirements for insurers prescribed under Prudential Standard GPS 110 under the Insurance Act 1973; calculate its capital adequacy in a way prescribed under Prudential Standard GPS 110 under the Insurance Act 1973. |
| Certificate injury (WorkCover Queensland Act 1996) | Under the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996, a certificate injury is a psychiatric or psychological injury or another injury that results in a work-related impairment (WRI) of a worker of 20% or more. The worker's WRI for a psychiatric or psychological injury and for another injury must not be combined in calculating the WRI for the worker's certificate injury. |
| Certificate injury (Workers' Compensation Act 1990) | Under s6A of the Workers' Compensation Act 1990, a certificate injury means a psychiatric or psychological or another injury which entitles the worker to lump sum compensation of at least 20% of the statutory maximum compensation. It does not include the situation where the entitlement of at least 20% of the statutory maximum compensation is based on combining the lump sum entitlements for a psychiatric or physical injury and another injury. |
| Certificate of Currency | A Certificate of Currency identifies whether or not an employer's Accident Insurance Policy is up-to-date for the current period of insurance. Ordinary and government policyholders can generate their own Certificate of Currency through WorkCover Queensland's online services. Employers that have policies for other insurance types, please contact WorkCover Queensland on 1300 362 128, to generate a letter. |
| Claim and statement of claim | The claim and statement of claim is the documentation that outlines the case to be heard in court and the financial compensation the injured worker is seeking. The documentation is filed at a court and is generally done if the common law claim is not settled in the compulsory conference. The injured worker, or their solicitor, who is proceeding to court must provide this documentation to the injured worker's employer as well as WorkCover. |
| Claims experience | An employer's claims experience is comprised of the statutory claims amounts paid under an employer's Accident Insurance Policy for the preceding three years and the damages claims amounts paid under the policy for the two years preceding that. |
| Common law claim | A common law claim is the claim made by an injured worker who commences common law action through the courts against their employer for negligence (they are 'suing' their employer). The courts award common law damages payments for economic loss, pain and suffering, legal costs, and medical and hospital costs. WorkCover may pay all damages awarded to the injured worker, including legal and investigative costs as part of its Accident Insurance Policy. |
| Common law damages | see Damages Damages are payments made under a common law claim that are classified as 'heads of damage'. These are different types of damage that may be suffered by an injured worker. Examples are:
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| Conditional Damages Certificate | Under s182D of the Workers' Compensation Act 1990, a worker who has not received a lump sum offer may seek damages only if they have received a Damages Certificate. The worker must apply to WorkCover for a Damages Certificate using the Application for Damages Certificate form. However, if there is an urgent need to commence proceedings, WorkCover may issue a Conditional Damages Certificate. The worker may also apply to WorkCover for a conditional certificate using the Application for Damages Certificate form. |
| Contract of service | A contract of service is an employment relationship, which exists whenever there is a master/servant relationship between an employer and their worker. A large part of the workforce works under a contract of service. Indicators may include a person who:
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| Damages | Damages are payments made under a common law claim that are classified as 'heads of damage'. These are different types of damage that may be suffered by an injured worker. Examples are:
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| Damages Certificate | Under s182D of the Workers' Compensation Act 1990, a worker who has not received a lump sum offer may seek damages only if they have received a Damages Certificate. The worker must apply to WorkCover for a certificate using the Application for Damages Certificate form. |
| Damages claims | Also called 'common law claim'. A common law claim is the claim made by an injured worker who commences common law action through the courts against their employer for negligence (they are 'suing' their employer). The courts award common law damages payments for economic loss, pain and suffering, legal costs, and medical and hospital costs. WorkCover may pay all damages awarded to the injured worker, including legal and investigative costs if the worker has successfully sued for negligence. |
| Declaration of Wages form | Where wage information from employers is required to conduct a premium assessment, a Declaration of Wages form will be sent. Employers can return their wage information by completing the form, calling WorkCover Queensland, or entering their wages online. In all instances, wage information must be provided to WorkCover Queensland by 31 August. |
| Default assessment | A default assessment may be issued when an employer fails to provide WorkCover with the necessary information to allow an Accident Insurance Policy to be instigated or assessed. WorkCover will make the default assessment based on the amounts we may consider to be adequate cover. An employer may object to a default assessment by writing to WorkCover within 15 business days of receiving the premium notice. |
| Defence | Defence is part of the court process resulting from a common law claim. WorkCover will file a defence with a court on behalf of the employer. If the matter proceeds to trial, WorkCover or its solicitors will advise the employer. |
| Dependant | A dependant of a deceased worker is a member of the deceased worker's family who was completely or partly dependent on the worker's earnings at the time of the worker's death or, but for the worker's death, would have been so dependent. |
| Discharge | Discharge is a term generally used in common law. After the common law claim is settled, the injured worker will be asked to sign a discharge which will release the employer, any other interested party and WorkCover from any ongoing liability regarding the claim. |
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| Elective hospitalisation | Elective hospitalisation is hospitalisation involving a treatment or procedure that the injured worker and their treating doctor decide is appropriate for the effective treatment of the worker's injury. |
| Eligible persons | An eligible person is an individual who, other than a worker, receives remuneration or other benefits for performing work, or providing services as a contractor, self employed individual, a director, a trustee or a member of a partnership. |
| employer excess | An employer must pay an injured worker the amount the worker is entitled to for compensation up to the first $500. Employers may elect to pay additional premium to 'buy out' their liability to pay for the excess. |
| Employer statement | A statement provided to an employer that details the amount of premium payable and the date the premium must be paid by. |
| Employing entity | An employing entity such as a sole trader, partnership or corporation that has indicated that it employs staff, or intends to and to pay wages and salaries. |
| estimated wages | Estimated wages is the total amount of wages that an employer expects to pay to their 'workers' during the period of insurance. |
| Excess buyout | Excess buyout is an option available to employers to remove their liability to pay the excess period on a claim. The excess buyout option costs 5% of the premium amount or $10.00 which ever is greater. The excess buyout option can only be taken out on inception or at renewal (before 31 August). |
| Experience based rating | Experience based rating (EBR) uses an employer's individual wage and claims experience and the wage and claims experience of their industry to calculate the amount of premium due for their Accident Insurance Policy. |
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| F factor | F factors are used to 'gross up' the known claim costs to arrive at the ultimate cost for each corresponding injury year. They are calculated at a scheme level each year and are the same for all policies. Schedule 3, section 8 of the WorkCover Industrial Gazette (No1) of 2004 provides the current F factors. |
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| Goods and services tax | GST is payable on your premium but, like most Queensland employers, you are likely to be eligible to claim an input tax credit from the Australian Taxation Office. To enable WorkCover to meet its GST requirements, WorkCover requires you to provide on the Declaration of Wages form, your ABN number and your percentage entitlement to input tax credits (see input tax credit for further information about this). Payments of weekly compensation do not attract GST. |
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| Health provider | Health provider refers to any medical or allied health provider (for example a doctor, medical specialist, physiotherapist, chiropractor or occupational therapist) who is registered with the relevant professional board (e.g. Physiotherapist Board of Queensland). |
| Host employer | A 'host employer' is an employer who agrees to host an injured worker at their workplace when the worker is unable to participate in workplace rehabilitation with their original employer. These programs normally run from three to six weeks. A host employer is not obliged to employ a person after their program has ended. |
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| Industrial deafness | Industrial deafness is the loss of hearing caused by excessive noise in the workplace. A worker may have an entitlement to compensation for industrial deafness if their employment was a significant contributing factor causing the loss of hearing. |
| Industrial instrument | An industrial instrument is an award or a workplace agreement that governs the conditions of a worker's employment. |
| Industry classification | See WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC) An industry classification system based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. Businesses are assigned an appropriate industry category on the basis of their whole-of-business activity. |
| Industry rate | The WorkCover industry rate is the amount of premium per $100 of wages for a specific WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC) code. |
| Injury | An injury, as defined by the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 is,'A personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment if the employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury' Some examples of injuries include:
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| Input tax credit | Input tax credit (ITC) is the amount of GST that a GST registered business can claim back under the GST system (also referred to as the 'GST credit'). If there is a claim on insurance, the business will have to pay GST on the claim amount paid out, unless they advise WorkCover of their ITC percentage. |
| Interstate claims | A worker may have an entitlement to compensation if they are injured whilst working in another state or country if the worker's employment is connected to Queensland. |
| Irrevocable election | If a worker is assessed as having a work-related impairment of less than 20%, they have a choice to make, which is called an 'irrevocable decision'. It is a choice between accepting the statutory lump sum compensation offered by WorkCover Queensland, or making a common law claim against their employer. |
| Item number | Any service provided by a health provider has a unique item number that corresponds to the fee payable for that service. Item numbers can be found under the 'Table of Costs' that are regulated by Q-COMP. |
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| Journey claims | A worker may have an entitlement to compensation if they are injured on the way to or from work. The injury must have occurred outside the worker's property boundary. Some exclusions apply including if the worker is convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or dangerous driving. |
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| Legal Services Commission | The Legal Services Commission is an independent statutory body that deals with complaints about the conduct of solicitors, barristers and law practice employees. |
| Lump sum compensation | If a worker is permanently impaired as a result of their work-related injury, they are entitled to lump sum compensation. If a worker receives lump sum compensation, they will no longer be entitled to statutory compensation. |
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| Medical Assessment Tribunals | The Medical Assessment Tribunals (MATs) provide an independent medical assessment of injury or impairment for workers' compensation claims. The Tribunal makes a decision about work-related injury based on the clinical examination, medical information available and submissions made by the worker or their representative. The MATs are run by Q-COMP, the workers' compensation regulatory service of Queensland. |
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| Non-certificate injury | Under s43 of the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996, a non-certificate injury is any of the following:
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| Non-elective hospitalisation | Non-elective hospitalisation is hospitalisation for the treatment of life-threatening injuries or injuries that may result in the loss of or serious damage to a limb or organ. |
| Normal weekly earnings | Normal weekly earnings are the weekly earnings of an injured worker from continuous or intermittent employment the injured worker had during the 12 months immediately prior to the injury. |
| Notice of assessment | The document issued by WorkCover or a self-insurer when a worker has been assessed with a permanent impairment resulting from a work-related injury. |
| Notice of Claim for Damages | Before starting a proceeding in court for damages, an injured worker must give notice of the proceeding to the workers' compensation insurer by completing the Notice of Claim for Damages form. This applies to all injured workers or dependants of fatally injured workers who were injured on or after 1 February 1997. |
| NWE | Normal weekly earnings (NWE) are the weekly earnings of an injured worker from continuous or intermittent employment the injured worker had during the 12 months immediately prior to the injury. |
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| Overseas claims | A worker may have an entitlement to compensation if they injured whilst working in another state or country if the worker's principal place of employment is in Queensland and the worker has a connection to Queensland. |
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| Permanent impairment | Impairment is any loss or abnormality of psychological, physiological, or anatomical structure or function. It will be permanent if it is stable and stationary and is unlikely to change in spite of further medical or surgical treatment. If the impairment will not change by more than three months in the next twelve months it is likely to be considered permanent. |
| Policy number | This is the number used to uniquely identify WorkCover Queensland policyholders. It will appear on the top right hand side of your Declaration of Wages form and your Premium Renewal Notice. |
| Policyholder | Is an individual or entity that holds an insurance policy with WorkCover. |
| Premium notice | Is a notice that is sent to WorkCover policyholders detailing an amount payable on their policy following inception, renewal or re-assessment. |
| Premium rate | The rate per $100 of wages for an individual employer. |
| Principal place of employment | The state in which the employer's main business is located. |
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| Q-COMP | Q-COMP is the Workers' Compensation Regulatory Authority. Q-COMP's objective is to ensure equitable, impartial and balanced regulatory services for Queensland's injured workers, employers and insurers. These regulatory services include Claim and Premium Review, Self-Insurance, Workplace Rehabilitation, Medical Assessment Tribunals and Scheme Development. |
| QOTE | Queensland full time adult's ordinary time earnings (QOTE) is a seasonally adjusted amount of Queensland full-time adult's ordinary time earnings, as declared by the Australian Statistician. |
| Quantum | Quantum is a term generally used in common law. It is the word used to describe the total worth of the common law claim or the amount of financial compensation the worker is claiming. |
| Queensland ordinary time earnings (QOTE) | QOTE is a seasonally adjusted amount of the Queensland full-time adult's ordinary time earnings as declared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. |
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| Recess claims | A worker may have an entitlement to compensation if they are injured while temporarily away from their place of employment during an ordinary recess period like a lunch break. |
| Registered person | A registered person is a health provider (for example a doctor, physiotherapist, chiropractor, occupational therapist), who is registered with the relevant professional board (e.g. Physiotherapist Board of Queensland). |
| Rehabilitation | Under workers' compensation legislation, the purpose of rehabilitation is to ensure the worker's safest and earliest possible return-to-work or to maximise the worker's independent functioning. Rehabilitation for return-to-work (sometimes called occupational, vocational or workplace rehabilitation) can include treatment from a range of health providers, assessments of work capacity and suitable duties programs. Under legislation, workers and employers must take every reasonable step to participate in rehabilitation and return-to-work programs. |
| Rehabilitation coordinator | A rehabilitation coordinator is a person employed by an employer to work with injured workers, doctors, allied health providers and WorkCover to develop appropriate rehabilitation strategies. They are required to be registered with Q-COMP (the workers' compensation regulatory authority). Workplaces with 30 or more workers are required under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 to have a rehabilitation coordinator. For information on Rehabilitation coordinators, contact Q-COMP on 1300 361 235. |
| Rehabilitation provider | A rehabilitation provider is a specialist who is involved in developing and assisting a person recover from their workplace injury. Specialists such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, and osteopaths, are considered to be rehabilitation providers. |
| Results test | Is one of the tests used by WorkCover to determine if a person is considered a 'worker' under Schedule 2, Part 1 'Persons who are workers'. |
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| Self-insurer | An employer who meets certain criteria to manage their own workers' compensation issues. Contact Q-COMP for more information. |
| Significant contributing factor | The term 'significant contributing factor' is related to a person's employment and whether it has contributed to the person's injury in a significant way. This can be because of:
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| Sizing factor | The sizing factor determines how much of the policyholder's experience impacts on their premium rate. |
| Stable and stationary | A condition is stable and stationary when the condition is not likely to improve with further medical or surgical treatment. This suggests that the condition has reached maximum medical improvement and that suitable rehabilitation has been carried out. |
| Stamp duty | Stamp duty is payable to the Queensland Government on many financial transactions, including workers' compensation insurance premiums. Stamp duty has been included in premiums since 1916. Before the introduction of the GST, WorkCover included stamp duty in the final premium amount shown on your Premium Notice. Due to the GST, WorkCover now be clearly listing the stamp duty payable as a separate item on your Premium Notice. |
| Statutory (no-fault) claims | A statutory or no-fault claim is when a worker is compensated for a work-related injury with payments and benefits prescribed in the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. These payments and benefits are referred to as statutory compensation and may include weekly payments as income replacement, lump sums to compensate for permanent impairment, and hospital and medical expenses. Statutory claims are administered on a 'no fault' basis. That is, it doesn't matter if it is the worker's or the employer's fault that the injury occurred-compensation is still paid. |
| Statutory compensation | Statutory compensation may include weekly payments as income replacement, lump sums to compensate for permanent impairment, and hospital and medical expenses. These payments and benefits are prescribed in the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. |
| Succession | Succession may be applied when a new employer acquires an existing business, and the new employer has previously been associated with that business. Generally, applying succession will mean the premium rate of the cancelled policy will be transferred to the new employer's policy as the initial premium rate. |
| Suitable duties program (SDP) | A suitable duties program (SDP) is designed to help workers return to work gradually through a supervised process. The program matches a worker's abilities with appropriate work tasks and hours. The goal of program is to help workers return to their normal duties. |
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| Tax equivalents regime | WorkCover operates under the National Tax Equivalents Regime (NTER). This means WorkCover pays the equivalent amount of income tax that it would if it was a registered company. |
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| Wage Audit | A wage audit is a review of an employer's financial and payroll records to determine if the employer has declared the correct wages to WorkCover. |
| Wages | Wages are the total amount an employer pays to a worker as defined by Schedule 6 of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. |
| Work-related impairment | A work-related impairment (WRI), from injury, is the amount of lump sum compensation expressed as a percentage of statutory maximum compensation payable in accordance with WorkCover legislation. |
| Work-related injury | An injury where employment was a significant contributing factor. |
| WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC) | An industry classification system based on the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification. Businesses can be assigned an appropriate industry category on the basis of their whole-of-business activity. |
| Worker | A 'worker' for the purposes of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 is an individual employed under a Contract of Service (sect 11) or specifically included under Schedule 2 Part 1, unless specifically excluded under Schedule 2 Part 2. |
