COVID-19 & Workers Compensation

Do you have COVID-19? You may be entitled to Workers Compensation benefits! 

A recent resurgence in COVID-19 cases has left lots of us in the community worried. For those of us who are required to engage with other people as part of our jobs, it’s especially easy to feel vulnerable to the threat of COVID-19. If this is you, you may be left wondering, ‘What happens to me if I contract COVID while I am working?’ 

The simple answer is this: you may be entitled to workers compensation benefits. 

As of 14 May 2020, workers who fall within the definition of ‘prescribed employment’ may be able to claim workers compensation benefits if they contract COVID-19. 

So who falls within the definition of ‘prescribed employment’? 

‘Prescribed Employment’ includes people who work in:

• The retail industry (other than businesses providing only on-line retail);
• The health care sector, including ambulance officers and public health employees; 
• Disability and aged care facilities; 
• Educational institutions, including pre-schools, schools and tertiary institutions (other than establishments providing only on-line teaching services); 
• Police and emergency services (including fire brigades and rural dire services); 
• Refuges, halfway houses and homeless shelters; 
• Passenger transport services; 
• Libraries; 
• Courts and tribunals; 
• Correctional centres and detention centres; 
• Restaurants, clubs and hotels; 
• The construction industry; 
• Places of public entertainment or instruction (including cinemas, museums, galleries, cultural institutions and casinos); 
• The cleaning industry; and
• Any other type of employment prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition. 

It can also be the case that you are eligible as a casual employee, or if you work from home. If you’ve been working from home and are thinking, ‘well, this doesn’t apply to me’ — you might be wrong! 

What does this mean for you? 

If you are an injured worker — in this case, an employee who contracts COVID-19 — who works in ‘prescribed employment’, then you are presumed to have contracted the disease in the course of your employment. The only way for this to fail, is if the insurer can prove anything to the contrary. 

So, with all that said, if you have contracted COVID-19 and think you may have a claim, contact our Injury Compensation Team today!