WorkCover Claims in Victoria – What You Need to Know.

30 April 2025

Injury and Rehabilitation, Workers Compensation

If you’re injured at work in Victoria, a WorkCover claim can provide payments to cover your lost wages, medical bills, and even lump sum payouts in some cases. However, just submitting a WorkCover claim doesn’t guarantee you’ll receive all your entitlements. For example, you need to make sure your injuries are assessed correctly, and you need to apply for lump sums separately.

In this guide, we summarise everything you need to know about WorkCover claims to make sure you receive your full entitlements. We’ve included a step-by-step guide to making your claim, tips from our Victorian WorkCover lawyers, and how to get help with your claim.

Man at work prior to making a WorkCover claim.

What is a WorkCover claim?

A WorkCover claim is a claim for compensation for a work-related injury or illness. The Victorian WorkCover scheme is a no-fault workers compensation scheme, which means you can claim even if you were at fault for your injury. WorkCover is administered by WorkSafe Victoria.

Am I entitled to make a WorkCover claim?

You’re entitled to make a WorkCover claim in Victoria if you’ve been injured or become ill in the course of doing your job, or as a result of doing your job. This includes:

If you’re injured in an accident while you’re working
If your job causes an injury that develops over time, like a repetitive strain or back injury
If your job makes a pre-existing injury worse
If your job causes an illness, like a dust disease
If your job causes a mental illness, like PTSD

How do I make a WorkCover claim?

Here are the first five steps to follow if you’ve recently been injured at work in Victoria:

Step 1: Seek medical treatment

Get medical treatment as soon as possible. If your injury has developed over time, like a repetitive strain injury, seek medical treatment as soon as you realise it’s become a problem.

Step 2: Report the injury

If you can, report your injury or illness to your manager in writing within 30 days of becoming aware of it. If it’s already been more than 30 days, you should still report your injury as soon as possible. It’s your employer’s responsibility to report it to WorkCover.

Step 3: Fill out a WorkCover claim form

You’ll have to fill out a WorkCover claim form, which will ask for your version of the details. You must be truthful and provide as much detail as possible, and then sign the form.

Step 4: Get a certificate of capacity from a doctor

You’ll need to get a WorkSafe certificate of capacity from a doctor and provide it to your employer. This certificate will contain details of your impairment, existing conditions, treatment recommendations, and your capacity for work.

Step 5: Keep records

Your employer should keep a record of your injury, but it’s important that you do too. Keep copies of your original injury report, your WorkCover claim form, your certificate of capacity, and all correspondence and emails. Having a timeline of what happened may be very valuable down the track. Make sure you include the time and date of interactions, like when you’ve spoken to your employer, medical appointments, and how the injury is impacting your life. You could email it to yourself to have a date-stamped copy.

Tip: Your certificate of capacity must take into account all of your injuries, including psychological injuries, otherwise, you could miss out on entitlements or lump sums. If you think you’ve missed out on entitlements, you can call 0292644474 for free advice from one of our Victorian WorkCover lawyers.

Get FREE claim advice today.

A specialist lawyer will review your circumstances and tell you how much you can claim.

02 9264 4474Open

How long after my injury can I claim WorkCover?

The Victoria legislation says you have 30 days from the date of injury or ‘discovery’ to make your claim. However, if it’s been more than 30 days, there are many situations where you can still claim, so you should still lodge your claim as soon as possible. You can call us on 0292644474 for free advice on lodging your claim.

Does my injury qualify for a WorkCover claim?

If your injury happened in the course of doing your job, and you’ve had to take time off work or incurred any treatment expenses, then it’s likely that it qualifies for a WorkCover claim. This includes:

Injuries from any workplace accident, regardless of fault
Injuries from accidents while working at home
Physical and mental illnesses caused by your work
Pre-existing conditions that have been made worse by your job
Injuries that develop over time (like repetitive strain injuries)

What benefits can I claim through WorkCover?

If you make a WorkCover claim in Victoria, the following table outlines the weekly payments, medical expenses, and lump sum payouts you may be eligible to claim:

WorkCover Payments Victoria:
Weekly payments	These are payments to compensate you for lost income while you’re off work.
Medical expenses	Payment of your medical, hospital, ambulance, rehabilitation (including home help) and travel expenses.
Permanent impairment payout	A lump sum compensation payout to cover permanent impairment as a result of work-related injury or illness.
Work Injury Damages payout	Also known as common law claim, this is a lump sum payout for damages if your injury was caused by your employer’s negligence.

Can I claim a lump sum WorkCover payout?

If your injuries are serious, you may be entitled to claim a permanent impairment or work injury damages lump sum payout.

If you’re entitled to these lump sums, you’ll need to apply for them separately, and you’ll need a lawyer who specialises in WorkCover claims to help you. You can call 0292644474 and get free advice from one of our Victorian lawyers. We win over 99% of our cases, and we work on a no win, no fee basis.

Tip: This is why it’s so important that your injuries are assessed correctly and fully documented on your certificate of capacity. If any injuries are missed, then you may fall below the ‘serious injury’ threshold and miss out on lump sum entitlements.

How much will I get for my WorkCover claim in Victoria?

If your WorkCover claim is approved, then you’ll begin receiving payments from WorkSafe, which will provide weekly payments while you recover. Weekly payments are capped at $2,800*. If you have no capacity to work, your weekly entitlements are as follows:

Time Frame	WorkCover Entitlement
Weeks 1-13	95% of pre-injury earnings
Weeks 12-130	80% pre-injury earnings
130+ weeks and unlikely to improve	80% of pre-injury earnings

If you’re entitled to a permanent impairment benefit or a common law lump sum, the amount you receive will depend on your level of impairment. The maximum impairment benefit payable is $741,000**.

*As of April 2025 – https://www1.worksafe.vic.gov.au/vwa/claimsmanual/Documents/Chapter_3/Indexation_24/indexation-table-23-current.pdf

**As of April 2025 – https://www1.worksafe.vic.gov.au/vwa/claimsmanual/Claims%20Manual/6-specialised-payments/6.2_Impairment_Benefits/PDFs/Indexation%202024/phys-impairment-current.pdf

How long will my WorkCover claim take?

When you’re applying for personal injury benefits, you’ll usually know within three months if you’re eligible to receive compensation.

This table provides a breakdown of those three months:

What happens next?	How long will it take?
Once you’ve suffered a workplace injury, you’ll need to inform your employer	Tell your employer within 30 days if you can, or as soon as possible if it’s been more than 30 days
Your employer will notify WorkSafe Victoria	Your employer has 10 days to take this step
WorkSafe tells you if they’ve approved your claim	WorkSafe will inform you of their decision within 28 days

How can I get help with my WorkCover claim in Victoria?

If you’re not sure what you can claim or you need help getting started, contact us today for free, personal legal advice. Law Partners has local offices in and around Melbourne with specialist workers compensation lawyers to help you with your claim.

If you’d like us to manage your claim, we’ll work for you on a no win, no fee basis, and we win over 99% of our claims.

Shane Butcher

Partner

An accredited specialist in personal injury law and spokesman for the Australian Lawyers Alliance, with the best part of 20 years’ experience in assisting injured Australians to receive everything they’re entitled to.