Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service

Conciliation involves parties in dispute coming to an agreement.

The primary role of the Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service is to resolve workers’ compensation disputes by agreement with the assistance of an independent and impartial Conciliation Officer.

Each party is given the opportunity to present their position and support it with evidence and other information. This may occur quickly and informally over the phone, but is usually done in a conciliation conference conducted in private.

Most disputes are resolved at conciliation and parties are encouraged to resolve the dispute, independently of the Conciliation Service, at any stage of the process.

To start conciliation –
Applications for conciliation are made online. Unrepresented workers and uninsured employers can choose not to lodge their application online and can lodge an Application for Conciliation (Form 100) instead.

For more information on the Conciliation Service and how to lodge an application for conciliation, see the Guide to the Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service.

You have the right to representation
Parties to a dispute are entitled to have a legal practitioner or registered agent represent them during the conciliation process. Registered agents are approved by WorkCover WA – see the current list of registered agents.

If the dispute is not resolved at the completion of conciliation, an application for arbitration may be made.

See the full conciliation and arbitration Process Chart.

Role of conciliation officers
The Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service consists of a Director, conciliation officers and support staff who, in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 and Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Conciliation Rules 2011, focus solely on resolving disputes through conciliation.

Conciliation officers assist those in dispute reach an agreement acceptable to all parties. They do so by acting fairly, economically, informally, quickly and according to the substantial merits of the case.

Conciliation officers:

  • are independent, impartial and focus solely on resolving disputes via conciliation
  • are trained and experienced in dispute resolution techniques
  • are flexible and assist in defining the dispute, noting the most important concerns and agreed facts
  • have statutory authority to make limited directions for the payment, suspension or reduction of compensation entitlements, in appropriate situations
  • cannot advise how parties should put their case or negotiate, but can highlight the risks or limitations involved and offer best and worst case scenarios
  • may express opinions about the probable outcome of the application if it were to be determined by an arbitrator. These opinions are not binding but may serve as a useful guide in the resolution of issues.
Conciliation rules & forms
The rules and forms related to conciliation in the Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service are available on the Conciliation rules and forms page.
Document lodgement - Conciliation Service

Lodging an application for conciliation

Applications for conciliation are lodged online unless you are an exempt party such as an unrepresented worker or an uninsured employer. As an exempt party you can choose not to lodge your application online and lodge an Application for Conciliation (Form 100) instead.

In order to lodge an application online, you will need to be registered with WorkCover WA Online. Once you have registered and verified your WorkCover WA Online account, complete and submit the online application, attaching any documents that support your case.

In certain limited circumstances, such as a system outage, the Director may authorise an Application for Conciliation (Form 100) being submitted by all applicants or their representatives where applicable.

If required, a printable version of the Application for Conciliation (Form 100) is available to download from the Conciliation rules and forms page. You can lodge your application:

  • by email – conciliation@workcover.wa.gov.au
  • in person – WorkCover WA, 2 Bedbrook Place, Shenton Park, WA
  • by post – Workers’ Compensation Conciliation Service, WorkCover WA, 2 Bedbrook Place, Shenton Park, WA, 6008

If you need assistance completing an application for conciliation, contact Advice and Assistance on 1300 794 744.

Documents related to current conciliation applications should be uploaded using the online system unless you are an exempt party and you have chosen not to use the online system or where the Director has issued a specific exemption. In these cases the above alternative methods of lodgement can be used.

Documents are to be submitted at least 3 days prior to a scheduled conciliation conference or within any other time limit which the conciliation officer directs.

In accordance with Rule 7(2) of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Conciliation Rules 2011, documents lodged in connection with a dispute will be made available to the other parties to the dispute.

Conditions of lodgement by email (Rule 28A)

The approved email address for lodging documents with the Conciliation Service is conciliation@workcover.wa.gov.au

Documents not complying with the following conditions may be returned to the sender and considered to have not been lodged.

  1. An email by which documents are lodged under this rule must:
    1. state the sender’s name; and
    2. state a telephone number through which the sender can be contacted; and
    3. list and describe the documents being lodged by email.
  2. The subject line must include the conciliation case reference number unless the document lodged is a new Application for Conciliation (Form 100).
  3. Any documents lodged must relate to a current or proposed (in the case of an Application for Conciliation) matter before the Conciliation Service.
  4. Documents submitted by email must be in pdf, tiff, jpeg or png format and be less than 20MB.