The New South Wales opposition and the union movement have become unlikely allies in opposing the central plank of the Minns government’s “nasty laws” to curtail workers’ compensation claims for psychological injuries.
The opposition leader, Mark Speakman, said on Tuesday he would be pushing for the status quo of 15% impairment as the level of injury that would trigger compensation. He wants amendments or a parliamentary inquiry.
The government wants to lift the threshold to 30%, a move which has been widely condemned by unions and legal and medical experts, who say it would make it virtually impossible to receive compensation for psychological injury.
“The opposition will support the bill, but with sensible amendments, we want a scheme that is sustainable, that is fair to workers, fair to business, but does not unduly punish the most severely injured workers, which is what the Minns Labor government is doing,” Speakman said.
The crossbench also has serious concerns about the legislation in its current form, making its path through parliament uncertain.
Speakman said while he supported the push for lower premiums for NSW businesses, he argued changes had to be made on the basis of sound modelling and information.
He denied there was urgency because he said the 2025-26 premiums had already been set.
The government introduced its controversial changes to the state’s workers’ compensation scheme in a bill this week, arguing that unless claims for psychological injuries were reined in premiums for business would rise by 36% and the scheme would falter.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic there had been a sharp rise in claims for psychological injuries attributable to repeated exposure to trauma, bullying, harassment and excessive work loads.
The opposition’s stance was welcomed by the Unions NSW secretary, Mark Morey, who said “the proposal that Labor’s putting up is just going to wipe out any mental health support for workers”.
Morey told Guardian Australia that “a worker at the 15% threshold can’t go to work, finds it difficult to go outside, has to be reminded about their personal hygiene, and that they’ve got to care for their kids”.
“We’ve seen very few people over 30% [impairment]. There are some cases, but very few that we’ve been told, and the vast bulk of cases have been between 15 and 20%,” he said.
The result of Labor’s bill would be a lack of support for workers who would be pushed on to welfare payments and the mental health system, he said.
The shadow treasurer, Damien Tudehope, said an earlier inquiry had been told that only 27 cases had recorded impairment of 30%.
The opposition health spokesperson, Kellie Sloane, said the changes would disproportionately affect nurses and health workers.
“What Labor is saying to nurses is you’re on your own if you are injured in their workplace,” she said. “These are bad laws, they are mean and they are nasty.”
Morey said he had pushed the government to start with a major effort on prevention such as managing exposure to trauma, bullying, harassment and excessive work demands, then look at the compensation scheme.
In response to the rising tide of criticism, the government has in recent days made changes to the process for claiming injury by introducing a fast track for injuries resulting from bullying and harassment with more limited payouts.
The government will either need to negotiate more changes or agree to send it to another parliamentary committee, with many of the crossbench already indicating their concerns.
In question time, the opposition targeted government ministers who had previously spoken out about attempts to cut payouts under the scheme, quoting their criticisms of cuts back at them.
The government has said it needs to make these changes to keep the workers’ compensation scheme sustainable.
About 95% of people who claim physical injuries are back at work within one year. However, less than 50% with psychological injuries return within a year, which the government says puts a huge burden on the scheme. In NSW the scheme offers lifetime support.
The government will also need to disclose the impact of rising psychological claims for its own employees – nurses, teachers, paramedics police and public servants – in the state budget on 24 June.
• In Australia, support is available at Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636, Lifeline on 13 11 14, and at MensLine on 1300 789 978. In the UK, the charity Mind is available on 0300 123 3393 and Childline on 0800 1111. In the US, call or text Mental Health America at 988 or chat 988lifeline.org
