One of the many amazing return to work journeys shared through the Return to work Awards is that of Gary Watson, who turned his life around after an injury with the help of Return to work assist.
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In the pursuit of greater uniformity for assessment of permanent impairment, the Heads of Workers' Compensation Authorities and the Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland are investigating the merits of the Queensland workers' compensation jurisdiction transitioning from using AMA4 and the Table of Injuries to using AMA5 with an accompanying guide based on that developed and used by WorkCover New South Wales.
The opinions of the chairs of the respective Medical Assessment Tribunals were sought out, as authorities in the field of PI assessment, regarding the advantages and disadvantages of such a transition.
Q-COMP compiled a report for the workers' compensation policy unit at the Department of Justice and Attorney General, summarising these opinions and the general consensus was that a transition to AMA5 and an accompanying guide based on the NSW Guides is desirable. However, while the benefits of the NSW Guides were pointed out by a number of the chairs, there was a belief that it should not be adopted as is, but modified to create a Queensland version based substantively on the NSW Guide. This would enable perceived short-comings of the document to be addressed, and have a more appropriate version developed in terms of clarity and fairness of the PI outcomes awarded to workers and ensure that it is compatible with Queensland policy imperatives.
Working parties are currently being formed to progress the analysis and potential adoption of AMA5 and the relevant associated guidance material.