Arabic version: تاسمانيا تراجع تعويضات العمال مع ارتفاع تكاليف المطالبات

According to ABC News, Tasmania’s WorkCover Board is reviewing the state’s workers’ compensation scheme as government payments for claims more than tripled over the past decade.

Tasmanian Risk Management Fund annual reports show the government’s workers’ compensation payments rose from $32.7 million in the 2015 financial year to $143.4 million in 2024. The scheme covers physical and psychosocial injuries, as well as diseases caused or substantially contributed to by employment.

WorkCover Board Tasmania said the review was intended to ensure the system remained fair and financially sustainable. It cited growing psychological injury claims, longer and more complex claims, and changing workforce structures. Consultation closes in September.

Labor leader Josh Willie raised concerns that changes could make long-term compensation, including support for psychological injuries and post-traumatic stress disorder, harder to access. Treasurer Eric Abetz said the government wanted the best possible worker protection while maintaining a sustainable system.

Mr Abetz said psychosocial injury claims had doubled over the past decade and cost eight times as much as physical injury claims. A KPMG report found mental-health matters made up 28 per cent of state service claims in the 2024–2025 financial year, with PTSD accounting for 15 per cent of those claims. Health Minister Bridget Archer did not rule out reducing, narrowing or removing presumptive PTSD cover for first responders.