Workers Compensation Payout Guide Victoria.

12 June 2024

Injury and Rehabilitation, Workers Compensation

If you’re making a workers compensation (WorkCover) claim in Victoria, there’s some key information you should be aware of to make sure you receive your full entitlements. You may be aware that you can claim weekly benefits while you’re off work, but there are additional lump sums you may also be entitled to claim. These lump sum workers compensation payouts are not paid to you automatically – you need to prove that you qualify for them and apply for them separately.

In this guide to workers compensation payouts in Victoria, we explain everything you need to know about lump sum claims, how to find out if you’re eligible, and how to make a successful claim.

This information is compiled from the combined knowledge of our Victorian workers compensation team, and their extensive experience making successful lump sum claims.

Man looking at WorkCover documents and using a calculator

What’s a workers compensation payout?

When you make a WorkCover claim in Victoria, if your claim is approved, you’ll begin receiving payments from WorkSafe, who will provide weekly payments while you recover. Weekly payments are capped at $2,660. If you have no capacity to work, your weekly entitlements are as follows:

Time Frame	Entitlement through WorkCover
Weeks 1-13	95% pre-injury earnings
Weeks 13-130	80% pre-injury earnings
130+ weeks and unlikely to improve	80% pre-injury earnings indefinitely (up to 67 years of age)

Weekly payments

When you’re injured at work, you’ll need to inform your employer and get a doctor’s certificate, known as a certificate of capacity, and then WorkSafe will start paying a percentage of your pre-injury earnings. For a more detailed explanation of this process, see our WorkCover claims guide for a step-by-step breakdown of what you need to do.

Treatment expenses

Being injured and juggling recovery with treatment costs can be completely overwhelming, but a WorkCover claim can mean that WorkSafe pays for your doctor’s appointments, medications, treatment expenses and necessary medical devices you need because of your injury, like glasses or hearing aids.

This is separate from your weekly payments, and once you’ve lodged your WorkCover claim, each expense will need to be approved by WorkSafe before you have the appointment. If you’ve seen doctors before making a claim then WorkSafe may reimburse you for those costs, so keep a record of everything you’ve paid for.

However, if your injuries are serious, you may also be entitled to claim these additional lump sum workers compensation payouts:

Lump Sum	Description
Permanent impairment payout	This is payable if you’ve suffered an injury that may never improve.
Common law damages payout	This claim is available when you’ve suffered a serious injury that was caused by someone else’s negligence.

Can I claim a workers compensation payout in Victoria?

There are two ways you can qualify for a lump sum workers compensation payout in Victoria:

1- Permanent impairment payout: your injuries are deemed to be a permanent impairment.

You’ll need to wait until around 12 months after the initial injury so that your injuries have stabilised, then a doctor can assess your injuries. To be eligible, you’ll need to meet certain thresholds. For musculoskeletal injuries you’ll need to have experienced at least 5% whole person impairment (WPI), for physical injuries you’ll need to have suffered at least 10% WPI, and for psychological injuries, the threshold is at least 30% WPI.

2- Common law damages payout: your injury is serious, and was caused, or directly contributed to, by someone else’s negligence.

You’ll need a serious injury certificate to prove the significance of what’s happened to you. This involves your lawyer lodging a Serious Injury Application on your behalf to request that WorkSafe grants you a certificate. WorkSafe will have up to 120 days to decide whether to grant your serious injury certificate. If WorkSafe rejects your application, you may issue proceedings in the County Court to seek the serious injury certificate from a Judge. It’s important to note that if you’re assessed as having a WPI rating of 30% or more at the impairment benefits stage, you will have a deemed serious injury which means that your Serious Injury Application must be accepted by WorkSafe.

When you apply for a lump sum workers compensation payout in Victoria, it’s important that you have the right supporting evidence that demonstrates the full impact of your injuries. If you’re not sure what to do, you can call 13 15 15 and get free advice from one of our Victorian workers compensation lawyers.

Permanent impairment payout amounts – how much will I get?

If you apply for an impairment benefit, your payout will depend on your WPI assessment. This table summarises the lump sum ranges you can claim for physical injuries:

Whole Person Impairment (WPI) %	Permanent impairment payout amount*
0-4%	$0
5-9%	$14,980 – $25,188
10-19%	$27,740 – $58,847
20-29%	$62,295 – $93,332
30-39%	$96,780 – $151,200
40-49%	$157,250 – $211,700
50-59%	$217,750 – $272,200
60-69%	$278,250 – $332,700
70-79%	$338,750 – $676,130
80-100%	$713,780

*For musculoskeletal injuries assessed in 2023/24 – table updated June 2024.

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How do I claim a permanent impairment payout?

Here’s an overview of the process:

First you’ll need to allow time for your injuries to stabilse (around 12 months)
Complete and submit the application form
Have your injuries assessed by a specially trained doctor
You’ll receive a written notice of the decision within 120 days
If you don’t agree with the assessment or impairment benefit amount, you can dispute it

Before you start the process, you can call us on 13 15 15 and get free advice from one of our Melbourne workers compensation lawyers.

How do I claim a common law payout in Victoria?

Before you can start court proceedings to claim damages, you’ll need to lodge your Serious Injury Application.

This application will include:

An affidavit setting out your story and the significant consequences that the injury has had to your lifestyle;
A draft Statement of Claim outlining the allegations of negligence against your employer;
A medical authority form;
Your taxation records;
Medical reports and clinical notes.
You’ll need to attend a conference with WorkSafe (or the self-insurer) to discuss your Common Law claim.
If your matter doesn’t resolve at the conference, WorkSafe or the self-insurer must make an offer to you in writing. This is the ‘statutory offer’.
If you don’t accept the offer, you then must make a written counter-offer. This is the ‘statutory counter offer’.

If your Common Law claim isn’t resolved through the statutory offer process, you can then start Court proceedings for damages. But most Common Law applications are resolved without having to proceed to Court.

Although this process may sound daunting, our specialist workers compensation lawyers can take care of the whole process for you and make sure your claim has the best possible chance of success – in fact, we win over 99% of our cases. We’ll work for you on a no win, no fee basis, and we’ll recover as much of our costs as we can from WorkSafe or the self-insurer. There’s a time limit of six years from the date of injury to pursue a common law claim for damages.

What if my lump sum claim is denied?

If your lump sum claim is denied, that’s not the end of the road – we can help.

If your permanent impairment payout is denied, there are options for you to challenge the decision. For example, if your medical assessment has failed to take into account the full impact of your injuries, we can challenge the assessment, present evidence to back up our challenge, and in many cases we get the denial overturned.

If your common law damages claim results in an offer of no money or an insufficient settlement, we can commence court proceedings on your behalf and pursue a better common law claim payout.

Our Victorian team of WorkCover no win,no fee lawyers has extensive experience with lump sum claims and a strong track record of winning payouts for our clients. Whether you’re looking to engage a lawyer or just get some free legal advice, you’re welcome to call us on 13 15 15 or chat with us online.