If you've suffered a work-related injury or illness and need time off to recover, your doctor will specify this on your work capacity certificate.
During the period you can't work, you may be eligible for weekly compensation if your workers' compensation claim is approved. This compensation is designed to replace your wages and will be disbursed similarly to your regular payroll.
WorkCover will determine your compensation amount in accordance with the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. The factors influencing your payments include:
- Duration specified in your work capacity certificate or other medical opinion for time off work
- Date of injury
- Date of your initial injury assessment by the doctor
- Length of time you've been receiving compensation
- Existence of an award or workplace agreement for your job
- Normal Weekly Earnings (NWE), which encompasses your regular weekly wage payments
- Queensland full-time adult ordinary time earnings (QOTE), adjusted annually and declared by the Australian Statistician
QOTE rates are published in the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation (QOTE) Notice, available on the Queensland Legislation website.
Your initial compensation for the first week is provided by your employer, serving as their insurance excess for your claim. Subsequently, WorkCover will deposit your weekly compensation directly into your bank account, aligning with your employer’s payroll schedule when possible. Tax deductions will mirror those from your standard wage, excluding superannuation deductions. Your employer may still be obligated to pay your superannuation during the workers' compensation period, contingent on your award or workplace agreement.
The duration of your weekly compensation ceases upon the earliest occurrence of:
- Your return to work without injury
- Acceptance of a lump-sum offer
- Receipt of weekly payments for five years
- Reaching the maximum payable weekly compensation amount.
For more details on what transpires if a claim is terminated, refer to relevant information. If you have payment-related inquiries, consult your WorkCover Customer Advisor, and for self-insured employers, communicate with the relevant claims department.
To compute your weekly compensation, we use information provided by your employer or yourself. This includes:
- An itemized payroll report covering the 12 months before the injury date, detailing payments such as wages, penalties, and allowances, OR
- Payslips spanning the 12 months before the injury date (or from the start date if less than 12 months), OR
- If unavailable, alternative written wages evidence like tax invoices or bank statements may be considered.