WORKERS COMPENSATION

Workers who are injured at work may be entitled to compensation under the Return to Work Act 2014 (SA).

Most employers are registered with Return to Work SA. Return to Work SA contracts out the management of claims relating to registered employers to one of two claims agents, Employers Mutual Limited (EML) or Gallagher Bassett (GB).

Some larger employers are self-insured and manage their own claims. Injured workers have the same entitlements, whether they are employed by a registered employer or by a self-insured employer.

Return to Work SA, its claims agents and self-insured employers are called compensating authorities.

Workers who are injured at work may be entitled to payment of:

  • Medical and like expenses reasonably incurred as a result of the injury [s 3];
  • Weekly payments of income maintenance for periods lost from work as a result of the injury [s 39 – 41]; and/or
  • Lump sum compensation for any permanent physical impairment caused by the injury [s 56 , s 58].