Rural Workers Left Behind

In NSW Journey claims occur when employees are injured whilst travelling between home and work and are injured while off duty. Due to the change in legislation employees will now only be eligible for Workers Compensation benefits when there is a ‘substantial connection’ between the person’s employment and the incident at which the injury arose.

Workers who are forced to make long commutes to and from work are generally people who live in rural areas. Rural workers often commute long distances daily on dangerous unsealed roads to rural properties, mines and alike. Without Journey claims these rural workers are significantly disadvantaged.

“Having grown up driving on country roads, I know the dangers that people in the country take as part of their daily commute. The recent changes for Journey Claims have been met with a lot of criticism in the legal community.” George Hoddle, Solicitor at Carneys Lawyers.

If a worker is not able to establish that their injuries occurred as a substantial connection between the workers employment and the accident, the injured party may only have a claim under the Compulsory Third Party Insurance (CTP) Scheme.

An injured party (who is ineligible for workers compensation)  seeking to recover damages following a motor vehicle accident must prove negligence on the part of the driver(s) at fault to claim under the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 (NSW). Any injured party must report an accident under this legislation within 6 months of the accident occurring by serving a Motor Vehicle Accidents Claim Form on the Insurer.