Registering a settlement agreement – an unreasonable administrative action?

We all know the feeling of finally reaching an agreement to resolve a long-running and complex claim, drafting up the settlement documents, arranging for the documents to be executed by both parties, and then sending the agreement to WorkCover for the stamp of approval and thinking “glad that’s finally done”. 

But of late, that has not been done. More often than we would like, we find ourselves getting ‘invitations’ from WorkCover – not the fun “come along to our Christmas party” kind of invite either. They are invitations to rectify errors – errors of all shapes and sizes – from which we have compiled the below list. 

Settlement of a compensation claim

1. The approved forms have to be used.
     - The forms cannot be altered, nor can sections be deleted.

2. All pages and sections in the Settlement Agreement, any Permanent Impairment Notice (PI Notice) and in the Application on the WorkCover portal need to be completed.

3. When a permanent impairment lump sum is included in the Settlement Agreement.
     - A PI Notice has to be lodged;
     - The permanent impairment report and certificate in support of a PI Notice have to be lodged; and
     - If the Approved Permanent Impairment Assessor (APIA) calculated the PI incorrectly, the settlement agreement will not be accepted for registration.

4. The current PI item numbers are to be quoted in the Settlement Agreement and PI Notice; however, the prescribed amount/general maximum amount as at the date the injury was sustained is to be used to calculate the permanent impairment compensation. 

5. The Settlement Agreement has to be properly executed by the parties.

6. All information entered into the online form when uploading the Settlement Agreement for registration has to be consistent with what is in the Settlement Agreement, and with any PI Notice lodged with the Settlement Agreement.

7. The settlement must relate to a claim and WorkCover must have a record of that claim (by way of the insurer/self-insurer claims data submitted to WorkCover).

8. Costs and disbursements are not to be included in the settlement sum given on the Settlement Agreement form, and are not otherwise included in the settlement agreement or other information submitted to WorkCover for registration of a particular agreement. 

9. A breakdown of the settlement sum must be provided.

10. The agreement date (on page one of the Settlement Agreement) must be the same as the date the last party signed the agreement.

11. The Settlement Agreement must be uploaded for registration within a reasonable timeframe after signing by both parties.

Settlement agreements: What information is needed?

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