Lodging a claim for Workers Compensation

Please note, the information provided here is intended as a guide only for claims under the Tasmanian Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Scheme and is not to be used as legal advice. For further and more detailed information, specific legal advice or assistance about your matter, please contact us.

Notice
The first thing you must do if you are an injured worker is to give notice of your injury or possible injury. If you are in doubt about whether you have in fact been injured, or whether you will need medical treatment, it is best to err on the side of caution and give notice of your injury or possible injury to your employer. Giving notice as soon as practicable is very important.

To give notice, you must advise your employer of:

• what your injury is;
• the cause of your injury; and
• when it happened.

It is best to record this notice in writing.

Lodging the claim with your employer
If you need to seek medical treatment for your injury, or need time off work, you must visit your treating medical practitioner (GP). If the GP considers that you have suffered from a work related injury, he or she will issue you with a workers compensation medical certificate. You must lodge this certificate with your employer.

You also need to lodge a workers compensation claim form. You can obtain this from your employer. Once you have completed it, return it and lodge it with your employer.

Both the workers compensation medical certificate and claim form must be lodged with your employer in order for you to have completed your claim.

Time Limits
A claim for compensation must be lodged within 6 months of the occurrence of the injury (or death).