The New South Wales Government has announced the establishment of a new legal service that will provide a free and independent process to resolve disputes between injured workers and insurers.

  

“The new Independent Legal Assistance and Review Service (ILARS) is designed to provide a free, independent and quick process to address matters otherwise dealt with in the Workers Compensation Commission,” State Minister for Finance and Services Greg Pearce said.

 

Under the scheme, workers will be able to have their matters reviewed without going through a full hearing before the Workers Compensation Commission and will incur no legal expenses.

 

 The scheme will be established through funding from the WorkCover Authority Fund, which is in itself funded through insurers and employers.

 

“Legal stakeholders and their associations have played a particularly constructive role through WorkCover’s legal stakeholder reference group in addressing the difficult questions of costs,” Mr Pearce said.

 

Features of the new system include: 

 

  • A free legal review service within the WorkCover Independent Review Office (WIRO) – no legal expenses need be covered by the worker; 
  • Reviews will be conducted by independent legal experts in the area of workers compensation; 
  • Where the insurer does not agree with the opinion of that independent legal advice, workers may be provided with independent legal representation to pursue matters in the Workers Compensation Commission following a merit review. 

 

“The new service will be conducted by solicitors or barristers who are independent of both WorkCover and WIRO and who have strong experience in workers compensation. This may include current practitioners and those who have previously worked as arbitrators within the Workers Compensation Commission,” Mr Pearce said.