The new Act is the culmination of an extensive consultation process with key stakeholder groups and the Western Australian public.
Focus has now shifted to implementing the new Act.
The transition from the 1981 Act to the new Act needs to occur at the beginning of a financial year, due to the operation of various provisions in the new Act.
The target commencement date for the new Act is 1 July 2024.
New regulations, administrative instruments and other supporting infrastructure need to be developed, published, communicated and embedded into WorkCover WA and stakeholder systems.
The first step in the implementation process is to engage and consult stakeholders on key proposals for:
- Regulations supporting the new Act
- WorkCover WA administrative instruments supporting the new Act
The implementation consultation papers and information on the consultation process and how to make a submission are in the links below.
Please contact WorkCover WA’ s Policy and Legislation team via email consultation@workcover.wa.gov.au for any further information.
Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 - Implementation
The following are links to a consultation guide, indicative structure of the proposed regulations and 27 consultation papers covering all key proposals for regulations and WorkCover WA administrative instruments supporting the new Act.
Consultation Guide to implementation proposals for regulations and administrative instruments
Regulations – Indicative structure
- Implementation Consultation – Deemed Workers & Excluded Workers
- Implementation Consultation – Presumptive Diseases
- Implementation Consultation – Workers Compensation Claim Form
- Implementation Consultation – Certificates of Capacity
- Implementation Consultation – Liability Decisions & Provisional Payments
- Implementation Consultation – Injury Management & Return to Work
- Implementation Consultation – Assessment of Permanent Impairment
- Implementation Consultation – Approval Framework for Permanent Impairment Assessors
- Implementation Consultation – Medical and Health Expenses Compensation
- Implementation Consultation – Dust Disease
- Implementation Consultation – Settlements
- Implementation Consultation – Workplace Rehabilitation Services
- Implementation Consultation – Approval Framework for Workplace Rehabilitation Providers
- Implementation Consultation – Licensing Framework for Insurers
- Implementation Consultation – Licensing Framework for Self-Insurers
- Implementation Consultation – Workers Compensation Insurance Policies
- Implementation Consultation – Stopping or Reducing Compensation
- Implementation Consultation – Catastrophic Workplace Injuries
- Implementation Consultation – Common Law
- Implementation Consultation – Noise Induced Hearing Loss
- Implementation Consultation – Dispute Resolution*
- Implementation Consultation – Costs Committee Determination*
- Implementation Consultation – Registered Independent Agents Transitional Arrangements*
- Implementation Consultation – Fees Order for Medical Services
- Implementation Consultation – Fees Order for Allied Health Services
- Implementation Consultation – Fees Order Workplace Rehabilitation Services
- Implementation Consultation – Fees Order for Permanent Impairment Assessment Services
* Implementation consultation papers 21 – 23 are not yet available but will be released for public comment at a later date. The consultation and public comment period for papers 21 – 23 will be adjusted accordingly.
WorkCover WA invites written submissions on the implementation consultation papers.
Your submission may be provided by email to:
Manager Policy and Legislative Services
Email: consultation@workcover.wa.gov.au
All submissions will be published on the WorkCover WA website, unless you specify that your submission is confidential.
The public comment period for implementation consultation papers 1-19 is 13 October 2023 to 1 December 2023.
The public comment period for implementation consultation papers 20 & 24 – 27 is 15 November 2023 to 12 January 2024.
The consultation and public comment period for papers 21-23 will be adjusted accordingly.
The proposals are in draft form to facilitate public comment and do not represent the final position of WorkCover WA, the Minister or Government.
Not all proposals for regulations and administrative instruments are covered in the consultation papers. For example, the implementation consultation papers do not address minor provisions to be covered by the regulations or minor administration changes.
Where papers refer to proposed new forms that are intended to be adopted the focus at this stage is on the content of the proposed forms: the forms will be subject to design improvements for consistency and use following the consultation process.
After the public consultation period ends, WorkCover WA will review the submissions and prepare a consultation report for the Minister before finalising the principal regulations, and finalising administrative instruments approved by WorkCover WA.
The journey towards implementation of the new Act on 1 July 2024 will be supported by an ongoing and comprehensive implementation campaign for stakeholders led by WorkCover WA. This will include:
- Information and extensive support materials to raise awareness including:
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- Guides and fact sheets
- FAQ’s
- WorkCover WA website changes
- A stakeholder education program to identify key features and practices for effective implementation of the new Act
- A period for refining and embedding system change for operational readiness
- Final preparations for effective implementation by training and testing, professional learning
Click on the links below for explanatory information on the new Act and the journey to implementation.
The Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 was assented to by the Governor on 24 October 2023 and can be found here.
An indicative structure for the proposed principal regulations can be found here.
The indicative structure identifies all provisions in the new Act for which there is a regulation making power and where regulations are intended to be made.
The implementation consultation papers identify all key proposals for inclusion in the regulations.
As there is limited time it is not possible to consult on the working drafts or the final wording of the regulations, however WorkCover WA may undertake targeted and technical comment on select drafting issues if required and if time permits.
Access our Information Sheets below:
1. 2021 State Election Commitments
2. Definition of a Worker
3. Working Directors
4. Overseas Workers
5. Prescribed (Presumptive) Diseases
6. Reasonable Administrative Action Exclusion for Psychological Injury
7. Lifetime Care for Catastrophic Workplace Injuries
8. Claiming Compensation
9. Responding to a Worker’s Claim for Compensation
10. Consent Authority
11. Provisional Payments
12. Indexation of Workers Compensation Entitlements
13. Income Compensation Calculation and Step Down
14. Status of Leave While Entitled to Income Compensation
15. Medical and Health Expenses Compensation
16. Miscellaneous Expenses Compensation
17. Permanent Impairment Compensation
18. Noise Induced Hearing Loss
19. Compensation for Dust Disease
20. Death Entitlements
21. Settlements
22. Reducing, Suspending, or Discontinuing Income Compensation
23. Reducing or Discontinuing Income Compensation – Return to Work
24. Reducing or Discontinuing Income Compensation – Medical Evidence
25. Reducing or Discontinuing Income Compensation – Worker not Residing in WA
26. Reducing or Discontinuing Income Compensation – Worker in Custody
27. Question as to liability or apportionment between employers
28. Worker’s Treating Medical Practitioner & Medical Examinations
29. Certificates of Capacity
30. Return to Work Programs
31. Return to Work Case Conferences
32. Injury Management Obligations – Worker
33. Injury Management Obligations – Employer
34. Labour Hire Employers & Host Organisations
35. Workplace Rehabilitation
36. Independent Medical Review of Workers
37. Assessment of Permanent Impairment & Approved Assessors
38. Common Law
39. Dispute Resolution
40. Independent Registered Agents
41. Insurance Requirements for Employers
42. Licensing of Insurers
43. Licensing of Self-Insurers
44. Workers Compensation (Employer Indemnity) Policies
45. Refusal of Indemnity
46. Insurance Premium Rates and Review
47. Default Insurance Fund
48. Default Insurance Fund – Acts of Terrorism
49. ICWA Industrial Diseases Policy for Mining Employers
50. Workers Compensation Insurance Brokers
51. WorkCover WA & Administration
52. Approved Forms and Service and Facilitation of Electronic Processes
53. Disclosure of Information
54. Compliance and Enforcement
55. Prohibition on Circumventing Act: No Contracting Out
56. Use of Regulations
57. Savings and Transitional Provisions
58. Review of Act
The following link compares section numbers between the 2023 and 1981 Acts.
The 2014 Review of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981: Final Report contains the background and recommendations for drafting a new Act on which the WCIMA23 is based.
Archived - 2021 Draft Bill Information
The Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2021 – (Consultation Draft) was released for public consultation on 11 August 2021 and the period for public submissions has now closed.
The draft Bill modernises WA’s workers compensation laws and is based on recommendations from WorkCover WA’s 2014 Review of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981: Final Report.
Read the media statement from the Minister for Industrial Relations announcing the public consultation process. The draft Bill was prepared for public comment before it was introduced into State Parliament, continuing WorkCover WA’s open and consultative approach on the legislative review.
Submissions made on the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2021 (Consultation Draft) are accessible under the Submissions tab below.
Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2021 Guide to the Bill and supporting informationThe following resources provide explanatory information to help you understand the Bill.
The Guide to the Bill provides an overview of the structure of the Bill to help you identify key areas of interest, and provides a guide to the main provisions of the Bill.
- The Information Sheets – consolidated PDF provide summary information on a number of topical issues
- The Comparison with Current Act by Key Provisions compares the Bill with the current Act on key provisions
- The Comparison with Current Act by Section Number identifies the consultation Bill clause numbers for the corresponding sections of the current Act, or whether a section of the current Act is being repealed
- The 2014 Review of the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981: Final Report contains the background and recommendations for drafting a new Act on which the Bill is based.
Information sessions
WorkCover WA delivered 7 public information sessions on the Bill, which provided an opportunity for anyone interested, to understand the journey to modernise workers compensation laws and ask questions before finalising a submission.
A copy of the presentation is available for download.
Bill Consultation Information Session – Presentation (PDF – 3.91MB)
Each submission made on the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Bill 2021 (Consultation Draft) was accompanied by an authority from the submitter for WorkCover WA to either:
- Publish their submission on the WorkCover WA website
- Publish their submission on the WorkCover WA website but with the submitter’s name redacted
- Keep the submission confidential.
A total of 86 submissions were received.
- 41 submitters authorised WorkCover WA to publish their submissions as received.
- 13 submitters authorised WorkCover WA to publish their submissions with submitter name redacted.
- 32 submitters requested confidentiality and did not authorise WorkCover WA to publish their submission on the WorkCover WA website
The following is a list of Acts marked up to show the amendments if the changes within the Consultation Draft Bill are incorporated:
