WorkCover lawyers on the Gold Coast.
Whether you need a lawyer for a WorkCover claim, when fault and a common-law claim come into play, and how Fraser Lawyers acts for injured workers.
Not every WorkCover claim needs a lawyer. Queensland runs a no-fault statutory scheme, and for a straightforward claim where the injury is accepted, the benefits are paid, and the worker recovers and returns to work, an injured worker can often deal with WorkCover directly.
The decision to get advice usually turns on one of a few things: the claim is rejected or the benefits are stopped, the injury is permanent and a lump sum offer has to be weighed, the accident involved someone’s negligence and a common-law claim may be open, or a deadline is approaching. Queensland has two pathways under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld): no-fault statutory benefits administered by WorkCover Queensland or a self-insurer, and, where the employer’s negligence caused the injury, a separate common-law claim for damages. The choice between them is not always reversible, and getting it right is the decision that matters most.
Fraser Lawyers acts for injured workers in both pathways. The principal is Blake Fraser, admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 2013. The work is practical: reading the medical and employment evidence, advising whether a common-law claim is open and worth pursuing, weighing a permanent impairment offer against what a common-law claim would involve, and handling the correspondence and the notice so you can make the election with the full picture in front of you.
For the mechanics of the scheme itself, how a statutory claim is lodged, what each pathway pays, the time limits, and what to do if a claim is rejected, see our guide to WorkCover claims in Queensland.
When you can make a claim.
The Queensland framework that applies in workers’ compensation matters:
- Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). The principal Queensland workers’ compensation framework. Establishes statutory benefits, common-law claims, the role of WorkCover Queensland and self-insurers, and the interaction between the two pathways.
- Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld). The current regulation under the principal Act, governing day-to-day administration of claims and benefits.
- Chapter 5 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). Governs a common-law damages claim against an employer, including the breach and causation tests in ss 305B to 305D and the Act’s own contributory-negligence and damages provisions. The Civil Liability Act 2003 (Qld) does not supply the governing negligence test for a workers’ compensation damages claim, because its s 5 excludes an injury for which damages are claimed under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld).
- Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld). Sets the time limits for commencing common-law proceedings. Its interaction with the workers’ compensation scheme is complex and has to be worked through for the particular claim.
- Legal Profession Act 2007 (Qld). Sets the costs-disclosure regime, which is tiered: depending on the estimated costs and the statutory exceptions, disclosure may not be required, may be short form or may be detailed under ss 307A, 307B and 308, and is given before, or as soon as practicable after, the firm is retained under s 310. A conditional costs agreement is governed by ss 322 to 324. Section 347 sets the claim-related costs cap for speculative personal injury work, including workers’ compensation common-law claims.
Deadlines and risks.
Statutory claims should generally be lodged within six months after the entitlement to compensation arises under s 131 of the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), subject to the Act's waiver provisions. WorkCover can reject a late claim; it is not an automatic extension.
The common-law pathway has its own timelines, which interact with the statutory process in ways that are not always obvious. A compliant Notice of Claim for a common-law damages action must generally be lodged within three years of the injury, but the practical window is often shorter because the statutory pathway must be worked through first.
WorkCover will sometimes close a file without making clear that the worker has a right to be assessed for permanent impairment, and that accepting a lump sum impairment benefit forecloses the common-law pathway in most circumstances. That is the decision that usually matters most. Leaving it until a deadline is close leaves less room to make it properly.
Scope of the work.
Statutory benefits
Weekly benefits, medical expenses and lump-sum compensation administered by WorkCover Queensland or a self-insurer under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld). Available regardless of fault for any workplace injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment.
Common law claims
Damages claims at common law against the employer’s insurer where employer negligence (or another party’s, such as a labour-hire host) caused the injury. The common law claim runs as a personal injury matter under the WCRA. Our walkthrough of the common law claim process sets out each step.
Workplace injury types
Acute injury (back, shoulder, knee, hand), industrial deafness, occupational disease, psychiatric injury including PTSD and adjustment disorders. Different evidentiary pathways and calculation rules apply across these types under the WCRA.
TPD, superannuation and income protection
Many injured workers also hold total and permanent disability cover, terminal illness cover or income protection cover within superannuation. These claims sit alongside, not instead of, the WCRA pathways. Our TPD and income protection claims page sets out how those claims are structured.
How Fraser Lawyers acts in these matters.
We do not make extravagant promises about outcomes. No competent lawyer should.
We identify which pathway is open, advise on the steps in the statutory process, and explain, in plain terms, in writing, what the common-law pathway would involve and whether the medical evidence supports it. We coordinate the medical evidence. We prepare the claim documentation. We appear at or represent the client in any proceeding or conference that is required.
For workers with overlapping superannuation insurance cover, we identify the policies and advise on whether a TPD or income protection claim runs alongside the workers' compensation pathway. The two systems are parallel; we explain how they interact.
The likely path.
Step 1: Initial call
You call or send a short enquiry. We confirm the date and nature of injury, the employer, whether a claim has already been lodged, and which insurer is administering the file.
Step 2: Statutory claim review
If a statutory claim is already running, we review the current position: what benefits are being paid, whether the claim is accepted, and whether WorkCover is proposing to close the file. If no claim is lodged, we assist with lodgement.
Step 3: Medical evidence
We coordinate the medical evidence: treating doctors, specialist reports, and the permanent impairment assessment that will determine the statutory lump sum and, if applicable, the threshold for the common-law pathway. You do not chase the medical process.
Step 4: The impairment decision
When WorkCover proposes to close the file with a Notice of Assessment and a lump sum offer, we advise on the offer and on whether the common-law pathway is open and worth pursuing. This is the decision that usually matters most.
Step 5: Common law (if applicable)
Where a common-law claim is viable, we prepare and lodge the Notice of Claim, gather the financial and vocational evidence, and run the pre-court process through to compulsory conference under the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld).
Step 6: Resolution
Most common-law workers' compensation claims resolve at compulsory conference. If they do not, we advise on whether to issue court proceedings and, if those proceedings are filed, we run them.
Questions we hear often.
Plain-English answers to the questions clients tend to ask. If your question is not here, call us.
Get in touchWhat is the difference between a statutory claim and a common-law claim?
A statutory claim is the entitlement to weekly benefits, medical expenses and lump-sum compensation administered by WorkCover Queensland or a self-insurer, regardless of fault. A common-law claim is a separate damages claim against the employer’s insurer where the employer is at fault for the injury. The two pathways interact: statutory entitlements must usually be assessed before a common-law claim can run, and any statutory amounts received are accounted for in the common-law assessment.
Can I claim if my employer was not at fault?
For statutory benefits, fault is not required. The claim is simply for an injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment. For a common-law claim, the employer’s negligence must be established. We explain which pathway is open on the first call once we know the circumstances.
How long do I have to start a workers' compensation claim?
Statutory claims should generally be lodged within six months after the entitlement to compensation arises under s 131 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), subject to the Act’s waiver provisions. The time limit for a common-law claim is more complex and interacts with the statutory pathway. The general personal injury limitation period under the Limitation of Actions Act 1974 (Qld) is three years.
Will I lose my job if I make a claim?
Section 232B of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) provides that, during the 12 months after the injury, an employer must not dismiss a worker solely or mainly because the worker is not fit for the position because of the injury. That protection is narrower than a general ban on dismissal for making a claim, and it runs only for that 12-month period. Other workplace laws may give separate protection against dismissal, but with different elements, time limits and remedies.
Should I accept the lump sum WorkCover offers when my file is about to close?
The lump sum impairment benefit is not the only option, and accepting it generally closes the common-law pathway. For most injuries below 20% impairment that choice is final, subject only to a narrow exception under s 266 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), which can apply where there is unexpected material deterioration proved by fresh medical evidence, at least 10% additional impairment and total impairment of at least 20%. You should not rely on that exception when weighing an offer. Before accepting any offer from WorkCover, it is worth understanding what the common-law pathway would involve and whether the medical evidence supports it. The decision is yours to make; the point is to make it with full information.
Personal injury claims in Queensland run to strict time limits. Some apply within months of the injury or accident, the limits differ by claim type, and a few, such as hit-and-run claims against the Nominal Defendant, cannot be extended.
Talk to Fraser Lawyers about your workers' compensation matter.
An initial call or email is the fastest way to know whether we can help and what the next step looks like. Fraser Lawyers is based at 86 Bundall Road, Bundall QLD 4217. We answer the phone Monday to Friday, 8:30 to 5:00.
Visit us in Bundall.
Five minutes from Surfers Paradise, ten from Robina. On-site parking. Talk to us about your matter; we will tell you what we think and what the next step is.
- Office86 Bundall Road, Bundall QLD 4217
- Phone(07) 5554 6116
- Email[email protected]
- HoursMonday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm