WA Parliament passes bill to safeguard rights of injured workers

'This new legislation provides clarity for industry and workers progressing claims through the court system'

BY Dexter Tilo 26 Oct 2024

The Western Australian Parliament passed on Wednesday the bill addressing the negative implications delivered by the Neville v Choice One Pty Ltd [2024] WASCA 104.

The decision, issued by the WA Supreme Court of Appeal in September, would have prevented some employees from accessing common law damages in the courts due to a technicality regarding the order of registration for election and impairment documents.

Without an urgent legislative response, workers pursuing claims under the now-repealed Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 risked having their claims invalidated, potentially leading to proceedings being struck out, stayed, dismissed, or discontinued.

"This new legislation provides clarity for industry and workers progressing claims through the court system," said Industrial Relations Minister Simone McGurk in a statement.

What's under the safety legislation?

Under the newly passed Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Amendment (Common Law Election Validation) Bill 2024, common law elections made under the former 1981 Act would be retrospectively validated.

According to WorkCover WA, the newly passed legislation would also:

Enable new proceedings to commence, or current proceedings to recommence, if proceedings have been struck out, stayed, dismissed, or discontinued on the basis of an invalid election since 5 September 2024.
Provide for a 12-month extension to the limitation period if a worker's limitation period has expired, or will expire, before the amendment Act commences operation. This applies where proceedings have been struck out, stayed, dismissed, or discontinued on the basis of an invalid election since 5 September 2024.

The passing of the legislation comes a week after the WA government introduced the legislation.

"The Cook Government has responded quickly to industry concerns to ensure workers are not denied the opportunity to have their common law claim progressed following the decision made by the WA Court of Appeal," McGurk said.