Glossary - Workers’ compensation and rehabilitation and return to work terms

An insurer will pay a worker a basic weekly payment when they don’t have enough information to calculate weekly compensation.

The basic weekly payment is calculated as a percentage of Queensland Ordinary Time Earnings (QOTE).

see Damages

Damages are payments made under a common law claim that are classified as 'heads of damage'. These are different types of damage that may be suffered by an injured worker. Examples are:

• general damages (compensation for pain and suffering)
• economic loss (compensation for loss of past earnings or future earning capacity).

• the service provider is paid for the service, e.g. skill and labour, materials
• the service provider is not paid a salary or wage by the person who engages them
• a person working under a contract for services is paid via tax invoice usually attracting GST
• the service provider provides their own tools, transport, and workers
• the person engaging the service provider does not control the service provider’s hours of work or work methods.

An employment relationship between an employer and their worker. A large part of the workforce works under a contract of service. Indicators may include a person who:

• is paid by a salary or wage
• works for only one employer
• has set hours of work
• is supervised
• may be disciplined or dismissed by the employer.

Note: a contract of service (e.g. employment contract) should not be confused with a contract for services (which is generally an arrangement with a contractor).

Damages are payments made under a common law claim that are classified as 'heads of damage'. These are different types of damage that may be suffered by an injured worker. Examples are:

• general damages (compensation for pain and suffering)
• economic loss (compensation for loss of past earnings or future earning capacity).

Due diligence emphasises the corporate governance responsibilities of officers. Officers of corporations and unincorporated bodies will need to show that they have taken reasonable steps to:

• acquire and update their knowledge of health and safety matters
• understand the operations being carried out by the person conducting the business or undertaking in which they are employed, and the hazards and risks associated with the operations
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and uses, appropriate resources and processes to eliminate or minimise health and safety risks arising from work carried out
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has appropriate processes in place to receive and respond promptly to information regarding incidents, hazards and risks
• ensure that the person conducting the business or undertaking has, and uses, processes for complying with duties or obligations under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and for verifying compliance with those duties.

Electrical Safety Office ( ESO)

An industrial instrument is an award or a workplace agreement that governs the conditions of a worker's employment.

Further information can be found on fairwork.gov.au:

• Find my award
• Agreements

The WorkCover industry rate is the amount of premium per $100 of wages for a specific WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC) code.

A PCBU is a 'person conducting a business or undertaking'. The business or undertaking can be conducted alone or with others, and can be not-for-profit or for gain.

A PCBU can be:

• a company
• an unincorporated association
• each partner in a partnership
• a sole trader (i.e a self-employed person)
• a public authority (including a government department or body, a government owned corporation or local government).

• an injury has healed as much as it ever will and is not expect to improve with further rehabilitation or treatment
• an injury causes a lasting loss of function in part of the body or results in an ongoing psychological or psychiatric incapacity.

Reasonably practicable means that which is, or was at a particular time, reasonably able to be done to ensure health and safety, taking into account and weighing up all relevant matters, including:

• the likelihood of a hazard or risk occurring (i.e. the probability of a person being exposed to harm)
• the degree of harm that might result if the hazard or risk occurred (i.e. the potential seriousness of injury or harm)
• what the person concerned knows, or ought to reasonably know, about the hazard or risk and ways of eliminating or minimising it
• the availability of suitable ways to eliminate or minimise the hazard or risk
• the cost of eliminating or minimising the hazard or risk.

Ordinarily, cost will not be the key factor in determining what it is reasonable for a duty holder to do unless it can be shown to be ‘grossly disproportionate’ to the risk. If the risk is particularly severe, a PCBU will need to demonstrate that costly safety measures are not reasonably practicable due to their expense and that other less costly measures could also effectively minimise the risk.

Registered training organisation deliver training courses accredited by the State or National Vocational Education and Training (VET) regulator.

• High risk work RTO
• Electrical safety RTO .

An employer who meets certain criteria to manage their own workers' compensation issues. Licences are issued (and renewed) through the Workers' Compensation Regulator.

• some event or occurrence during the employment
• the nature of the work performed
• the conditions under which the work is performed.

This does not mean that employment must be the sole cause of the injury. There may be other factors causing the injury. As long as employment is 'significant' in contributing to the injury, it will be an 'injury' under the legislation.

A person who works under a contract and is an employee for the purpose of assessment of PAYG withholding, and who is deemed to be a worker by the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (see Section 11 and schedule 2, part 1).