Reforms to workers compensation laws will consider psychological injury more seriously. Here’s what HR professionals need to know

The Minns Government has passed reforms to the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Bill 2025, which will provide better protections for psychological injury in the workplace.

While a start date for the reforms is yet to be set by the government, personal injury claims management specialist EML said there are a variety of changes that employers should be aware of, including:

• new eligibility requirements for primary psychological injury claims
• the establishment of a new workers compensation bullying and harassment jurisdiction in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission
• weekly payments for psychological injury claims will be capped at 130 weeks (down from 260 weeks)
• a 42-day (six week) liability determination period for psychological injuries has also been introduced
• reasonable and necessary test as the basis for medical entitlements, as opposed to the current reasonably necessary
• a single assessment process to determine whole person impairment (WPI), as opposed to the current approach which may require a worker to be assessed on three occasions
• the application of a merit-based test, requiring legal representatives for both workers and insurers to certify reasonable prospects of success for litigation
• for primary psychological claims where the WPI is assessed at less than 21%, a reduction in the entitlement periods for both weekly and...

Read Full Story: https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMitAFBVV95cUxOOU15cjRmalhpYmdSSUJtbXNJ...