From 1 July 2021, new legislation will enable Victorian workers and volunteers who suffer from a work-related mental injury to access early treatment and support while they await the outcome of their claim. Payment for this support is called provisional payments.

This information explains how provisional payments will operate once they come into effect.

Victoria’s eligible workers and volunteers can access provisional payments for reasonable treatment and services for work-related mental injuries, while their compensation claim(s) are being determined. When claims are rejected, workers and volunteers can continue to receive provisional payments for up to 13 weeks. 

Provisional payments aim to:

remove financial barriers that might prevent the worker or volunteer from getting the mental injury support they need

reduce the time an injured worker with a mental injury cannot perform their work duties

improve return to work outcomes

Who can access provisional payments?

Any Victorian worker who makes a workers’ compensation claim that includes a mental injury will be entitled to provisional payments, unless: 

there is clear evidence the claimant is not a Victorian worker (all claims are assumed to be valid unless there is evidence to the contrary)

the claim is not a duplicate of an existing claim

Eligible Victorian volunteers are also entitled to provisional payments, subject to the criteria above.

The new provisional payments law includes requirements for employers and agents to act faster if a worker or volunteer submits a mental injury claim.

As part of these legislative changes, there have been updates to the Worker’s Injury Claim Form to include a Part A and Part B to assist with the new early notification requirements. There have been updates to the Employer Injury Claim Report and the If you are injured at work posters. The claim form, employer report and posters will be available on WorkSafe’s website from 1 July 2021.

Employers must provide early notification of mental injury claims to their agent. Employers must complete and forward the Worker's Injury Claim Form Part A to their agent within three business days of receiving the claim. Agents will determine if the worker is entitled to provisional payments within two business days of receiving the Worker’s Injury Claim Form Part A from the employer.

Employers must complete and forward the Worker’s Injury Claim Form Part B to their agent within 10 calendar days. Employers can choose to forward both Part A and Part B together, but must do so within three business days.

Employers should also complete and forward the Employer Injury Claim Report to their agent within 10 calendar days of receiving the claim.

If the worker is entitled to provisional payments, the reasonable cost of treatment for their claimed mental injury can be paid. If the worker’s claim is accepted, WorkSafe will continue to cover these costs under Victorian workers’ compensation legislation.

If the worker's claim is rejected, WorkSafe will continue to cover these reasonable costs for up to 13 weeks.

No employer medical excess is payable where the agent has confirmed the worker is entitled to provisional payments. This applies to claims that include a physical injury in addition to the mental injury, and regardless of whether the claim is accepted or rejected.

The new laws come into effect on 1 July 2021, employers and self-insurers may want to consider the following to help them get ready:

Ensure there is a process in place to meet new early notification obligations when a claim is received with a mental injury (the process for physical injury claims has not changed).

Check if any changes are required to internal systems, processes or reports.

Ensure key staff who are involved in claims management are aware of the coming changes.

Review any internal policy and procedure documents there might be that refer to workers' compensation claims.

Have a plan in place to remove any current hard-copy versions of the Worker's Injury Claim Form and replace with the updated form. WorkSafe encourages employers and self-insurers to use this updated form.

Ensure any other references to the Worker’s Injury Claim Form, Employer Injury Claim Report and the 'If you are injured at work' posters in the workplace are updated by 1 July 2021 (the updated claim form, employer report and poster will be issued to all employers and self-insurers prior to 1 July 2021).

Plan for any communication or training needs for key staff.

Criteria

How does a worker or volunteer access provisional payments?

All workers making a claim for compensation must:

complete a Worker's Injury Claim Form Part A, except for question seven, the employer will complete this question

submit the completed Worker’s Injury Claim Form Part A to their employer

From 1 July 2021, provisional payments will be available when the worker is entitled to payments and where the claim is received by:

an employer (WorkSafe agent, if lodged directly); or

a self-insured employer

What do employers need to do for mental injury claims?

It's important to advise the worker to seek medical treatment and complete an entry for the Register of injuries at the workplace.

Once the employer receives a claim which includes a mental injury, the employer must:

Forward the Worker’s Injury Claim Form with Part A (early notification) to the agent within three business days of the worker providing it to the employer.

Employers should confirm with the worker in writing that they’ve been notified of this claim (employers can do this by giving workers a copy of the Worker’s Injury Claim Form after they sign it).

Employers should also keep a copy of all documents for their records.

Once the agent receives Part A of the claim form, they will determine if the worker is entitled to provisional payments.

How will employers know if workers or volunteers are entitled to provisional payments?

The agent will contact employers and workers or volunteers once Part A of the claim form has been received and entitlement to provisional payments has been determined.

The next step for the agent is to determine whether to accept or reject the claim within 28 days from the date the agent received the claim. The agent will notify the employer and the worker or volunteer of the outcome.

Primary mental injury claims currently take on average 27 days to determine. This is compared to the seven day average to determine physical injury claims.

The extra time needed to determine mental injury claims can result in a longer period where the worker does not have access to reasonable medical and like services.

provides workers the support they need quicker. The faster people get access to services, the more positive the health outcome

ensures injured workers can access medical and like services as soon as they need them

supports injured workers' recovery and return to work.

Mental injuries are likely to deteriorate faster than physical injuries, so it makes sense to help workers get earlier access to the support they need.

Payments will only be made on expenses that are considered reasonable and related to the claimed injury.

Section 224 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (WIRC Act) provides that if a worker is entitled to compensation, the reasonable costs of medical and like expenses can be claimed by the worker. Examples of compensation provided under this provision include the cost of medication, consultations with General practitioners (GPs), psychologists and psychiatrists and the cost of travelling to treatment and services.

The purpose of section 224 of the WIRC Act is to ensure that an injured worker receives fair and equitable compensation for costs they incur as a result of an injury and assist the worker to achieve a safe and sustainable return to work. The definition of reasonable takes into consideration the workers individual circumstances, approved treatment practices and the recommendations of the worker’s treating health practitioner.

WorkSafe has business rules and a schedule of fees that apply to the making of payments in relation to costs to support an injured worker to return to work. WorkSafe adopts the Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) items, explanations, definitions, rules and conditions for services provided by medical practitioners.

Provisional payments will cover* the worker's or volunteer's reasonable medical and like services for treatment of their mental injury, even if their mental injury claim is rejected. Payments will be provided for up to 13 weeks.

Where the worker’s mental injury claim is rejected, we know they are less likely to return to work if they are not seeking necessary treatment and support. It is important to improve return to work outcomes, irrespective of the claim outcome.

*Note: payment of the reasonable costs of treatment does not mean payment of the full costs. There may be a 'gap' between what the provider charges and what is payable under WorkSafe's schedule of fees. Expenses like travel may need pre-approval.

A mental injury diagnosis is not required to receive provisional payments. This is the responsibility of the agent or self-insurer during the 28-day claim determination process.

The Worker's Injury Claim Form will be updated to include a section for the worker to tick whether they have a mental injury or not. This removes any determination about the injury type for the employer.

Will provisional payments be available where a claim for mental injury has been rejected?

Yes. Regardless of whether the worker’s or volunteer’s claim is accepted or rejected, they will still have access to up to 13 weeks of provisional payments, where entitled.

The decision on the claim may be reversed if the worker disputes the claim rejection. Providing access to provisional payments during this time ensures the worker can get help to support their recovery.

The early notification requirement relates to when the claim includes a mental injury. Employers must complete, sign and forward the Worker’s Injury Claim Form Part A (early notification) to their agent within three business days of receiving it from the worker. From 1 January 2022, penalties will apply when employers do not meet early notification requirements.

Currently employers are required to forward a claim for compensation to WorkCover within 10 calendar days of receiving the claim from the worker. Where the employer does not lodge the claim in time, they are liable for payments due between the time the claim was lodged and when it should have been lodged. Employers will also be subject to offence provisions under the Act.

When the three business day notification requirement is introduced in legislation, the same penalty units will be applied for non-compliance as is currently the case under section 73(1) of the WIRC Act. These penalties include 60 penalty units for a natural person or 300 penalty units for a body corporate. There will be no change to the employer liability requirement, as the 10 day period to forward a complete claim still stands.

What are the requirements for self-insurers?

Self-insurers will have five business days from the receipt of a claim to determine entitlement to provisional payments. This timing is consistent with workers who are employed by organisations that are not self-insurers (see above).

The 28-day determination timeframe will not start until the self-insurer has received all relevant information.

Important: provisional payments will be added into the requirements for the regulatory audit and self-insurer self-audit program (SISAP). Auditing will begin on 1 January 2022. Auditing for self-insurers is aligned with the provisional payments legislative penalties for employers. Penalties will not apply to self-insurers.

Note: self-insurers should also read the preparation information on this page. This provides suggestions for key activities to be ready for provisional payments to start on 1 July 2021.