If you are injured at work, there are laws to protect your rights. This is why almost all Victorian employers have WorkCover insurance. In fact, any company which pays more than $7,500 in wages and salaries to workers is required to have WorkCover insurance.

However, we’ve seen many cases of employers discouraging workers from lodging a WorkCover claim form or even intimidating workers into not reporting an injury. This is because the number of WorkCover claims lodged affects employers’ insurance premiums.

It’s all about lodging a claim form

What you must do:

• Lodging a WorkCover claim form is crucial to protect your entitlement to medical expenses and weekly payments of compensation.

What your employer must do:

• When you give a WorkCover claim form to your employer, they must forward it to the employer’s insurance company within 10 days.
• If your employer refuses or fails to do this, you should send a copy of the claim form directly to the Victorian WorkCover Authority (VWA).

What if your boss says they aren’t covered by WorkCover?

Some employers don’t have, or claim not to have, WorkCover insurance.

You should still give your claim form to the employer. The employer is required to forward the form to the VWA within 5 days.

Again, if the employer refuses or fails to do this, you should send the claim form directly to the VWA. In most cases, the VWA will pay you compensation.

If you cannot locate your employer, or if your employer is dead or under external administration then you should lodge your claim form directly with the VWA.

If you are a worker injured at work, you are probably covered by WorkCover insurance. So, if your employer is making things difficult, contact us to arrange a free initial consultation.