Queensland introduces new bill to improve workers' comp scheme

"I am particularly proud of the expanded list of presumptive cancers which will give certainty to Queensland's firefighters that they will get the care and support they need," Grace said in a statement.

Compensation payments, gig workers

The bill also grants injured workers faster access to weekly compensation payments through default payments upon claim acceptance.

The legislation also addresses the challenges faced by gig workers, aiming to provide them with access to the workers' compensation scheme once their status is regulated under new Fair Work Commission powers.

Grace said gig workers currently operate outside regulation, leaving them without access to the scheme when they experience workplace injury.

"This bill provides flexibility for our government to regulate the status of gig workers under workers' compensation laws, once the matter has been determined under new Fair Work Commission powers to regulate workers and businesses in the gig economy," she said.

Meanwhile, other changes to be introduced in the bill include:

• A requirement that a return-to-work plan be developed immediately following claim acceptance
• Requiring insurers take all reasonable steps to minimise the chance of a worker developing a secondary psychological injury
• Empowering workers to actively participate in the rehabilitation process by allowing them to choose their workplace rehabilitation provider and treating doctors
• Requiring employers to provide a regular statement of rights to their workers
• Requiring insurers to provide workers and employers a statement of their rights and obligations under the scheme
• Amending the Industrial Relations Act 2016 to ensure national consistency when it comes to accessing parental leave
• Changes to ensure a more streamlined appeals process in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission

The bill's introduction came after an independent review carried out by former QIRC Commissioner Glenys Fisher and Emeritus Professor of Employment Relations at Griffith University Professor David Peetz.