Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA)

WA Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 — employer obligations (insurance, claims, return-to-work, records)

Requirements: 10
Last reviewed: 16/04/2026
Next review: 16/04/2027
Source: Commenced 1 July 2024; current compilation at 2026-04-16

Reconciliation notes

Curated build covering employer obligations under the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA), which fully replaced the 1981 Act from 1 July 2024. This framework is distinct from ISO 45001 (hazard prevention / management systems) and the WHS Act 2020 (WA) (primary duty of care / incident prevention). The WCIM Act addresses post-injury compensation, claims management, return-to-work, and insurance obligations. Key changes from 1981 Act: 130-week WPI threshold for ongoing payments, stricter mental injury claim eligibility, tax treatment of lump sum settlements (ATO CR 2025/88), modernised dispute resolution. Penalties range $5,000-$15,000 per offence; being uninsured carries $10,000 per worker. Total requirements: 10. Applicable: 10. Reference-only: 0. Sources: AustLII ss.28, 160, 166, 167, 202, 204, 212 (section-level verified); WorkCover WA employer guidance; Sparke Helmore and HWL Ebsworth analysis of 2023 Act changes. Section numbers for provisional payments, no-deductions, injury management system establishment, records obligation, and protected dismissal period need verification against full Act text — marked in requirement notes.

Requirements

Showing 10 of 10 requirements

ID	Clause	Requirement	Applicability	Coverage	Evidence	Gap
WCIM-INS-01	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.202	An employer must at all times hold a current workers' compensation insurance policy issued by a WorkCover WA licensed insurer. Applies to all employers with workers — no minimum headcount threshold. Self-insurance requires a separate WorkCover WA licence (not applicable to small employers).	Applicable	Full	QHSE-MAN-001 §11.3 — Manual §11.3 legal compliance monitoring references insurance obligations. Workers' compensation insurance maintained via broker.
WCIM-INS-02	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.204	Penalty for being uninsured or failing to maintain cover: $10,000 per worker to whom the offence relates. Continuing offence: separate offence for each week of non-compliance at the same per-worker rate. Court may order repayment of avoided premiums for up to 5 years prior to conviction. For a 15-person workforce, a single week uninsured could attract $150,000+ in fines.	Applicable	Full	QHSE-MAN-001 §11.3 — Insurance maintained continuously. Penalty awareness for executive due diligence.
WCIM-INS-03	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.212	Employer must hold and make available a current certificate of currency for workers' compensation insurance. Certificate must be kept at the principal place of business and produced for inspection on request by WorkCover WA. Penalty: $5,000.	Applicable	Gap	—	Low Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA)) — the certificate of currency is held and produced by Finance, not a WMS document.
WCIM-CLM-01	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.28	Employer must transmit workers' compensation claims to their insurer promptly. If the insurer does not issue a liability decision notice or deferred decision notice within 14 days of receiving the claim, liability is automatically deemed accepted. Penalty for failure to transmit: $5,000.	Applicable	Partial	QHSE-PRO-004 §Workers' compensation claim — Coordinating Manager completes employer section and transmits claim to insurer within s.63 time limits.	Medium Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA) operational obligation) — claims transmission and the 14-day deemed-liability window are handled in the claims system, not a WMS document.
WCIM-CLM-02	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) Part 2 Div 3 (section number needs verification)	Employer/insurer must commence provisional weekly payments to an injured worker within prescribed timeframes while liability is being determined. Penalty for failure: $10,000. Employer must not make deductions from worker wages toward compensation costs. Penalty for deductions: $10,000.	Applicable	Gap	—	Medium Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA)) — provisional weekly payments and the no-wage-deduction rule are claims-system obligations.
WCIM-RTW-01	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.160	Employer must establish a return-to-work (RTW) program as soon as practicable when: (a) a treating medical practitioner issues a partial incapacity certificate, (b) a practitioner advises in writing that a program should be established, or (c) an arbitrator determines partial incapacity. Program must be developed in consultation with the injured worker. Must comply with prescribed regulatory requirements. No employee-count threshold. Penalty: $5,000.	Applicable	Partial	GOV-POL-002 §Policy Statement — WHS Policy commits to injury management and return to work. GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments — Policy establishes the s.160 RTW program: early contact within 24 hours (Commitment 2), individualised plans with suitable duties and graduated hours (Commitment 3), and worker consultation (s.160(2)). RTW Coordinator role coordinates the process including s.165 case conferences. QHSE-PRO-004 §Return to work / suitable duties — Documented RTW procedure: suitable-duties selection, worker consultation, regular review, s.165 case conferences.	High Policy commitment exists but no documented RTW procedure or program template. Develop a RTW procedure covering: trigger conditions (partial incapacity certificate, medical advice, arbitrator determination), consultation with injured worker, suitable duties identification, program documentation, and review schedule. Can be integrated into a broader injury management procedure.
WCIM-RTW-02	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.166	During the 12-month employment obligation period following injury, employer must either restore the worker to their pre-injury position or, if that is not practicable or the worker lacks capacity, offer a suitable position (comparable status and pay, work the worker can perform and is qualified for). Obligation does not apply if the worker is lawfully dismissed for a reason unrelated to the injury. Penalty: $10,000.	Applicable	Full	GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments — Policy Commitment 4 articulates the s.166 12-month employment obligation period: pre-injury position restored or, if not practicable, a suitable alternative position of comparable status and pay; ensures no worker is dismissed in contravention of s.168 dismissal protections during this period. Managers row commits supervisors to identify and provide suitable duties. QHSE-PRO-004 §Person unfit for work — s.166 position kept available and s.168 dismissal protection applied during incapacity.
WCIM-RTW-03	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.167	Host employers (businesses using labour hire workers) must cooperate with the labour hirer to facilitate an injured worker's return to work. Penalty: $5,000.	Applicable	Gap	GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments — Policy Commitment 5 commits Westlink, where engaging labour hire workers, to cooperate as the host employer with the labour hirer to facilitate the injured worker's return to work — identifying suitable duties at the host site and sharing fitness-for-duty and workplace-modification information (s.167).	Low If Westlink engages labour hire workers, this obligation applies. Document host-employer RTW cooperation duty in the sub-contractor/labour hire management section of relevant procedures. Verify whether Westlink currently uses labour hire.
WCIM-IMS-01	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) Part 3 (section number needs verification — likely s.159 or adjacent)	Employers must establish and maintain an injury management system. The system must provide for the management of injuries to workers, facilitate recovery and return to work, and comply with prescribed requirements. Penalty: $5,000.	Applicable	Partial	GOV-POL-002 §Policy Statement — WHS Policy commits to injury management. GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments — Policy commits to establishing and maintaining an injury management system and return-to-work program meeting Part 3 requirements (Commitment 1). Scope covers all workers with work-related injury or illness. QHSE-PRO-004 §Purpose — Operationalises the s.159 injury management system facilitating recovery and return to work.	Medium An injury management system exists informally through the WHS management system but is not documented as a discrete system per the WCIM Act requirements. Consider whether the existing incident management procedures in QHSE-MAN-001 §10.2 and QHSE-PRO-003 are sufficient, or whether a standalone injury management procedure is needed.
WCIM-REC-01	WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s.212 + Part 11 (ss.507-527)	Employer must maintain workers' compensation records sufficient for insurer and WorkCover WA audit. Must assist WorkCover WA inspectors and auditors and not hinder or obstruct. Penalty for obstruction or failure to assist: $15,000 (highest standard penalty in the Act). Penalty for inadequate records: $5,000.	Applicable	Partial	GOV-SCH-001 §Records Retention Schedule — Records retention schedule exists; verify it includes workers' compensation records category with appropriate retention period.	Low Verify GOV-SCH-001 includes a workers' compensation records category. WorkCover WA audit cooperation should be documented in the legal compliance section of QHSE-MAN-001 or equivalent. Records should include: claims lodged, liability decisions, RTW programs, provisional payments, certificate of currency history.

Source document

WA Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 — employer obligations (insurance, claims, return-to-work, records)

10 normative shall-statements extracted from Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) (source: Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 (WA) — No. 28 of 2023). The frontmatter requirements array is the source of truth — this body is rendered by scripts/render_compliance.py.

Coverage summary

Coverage	Count
✅ Full	3
🟡 Partial	4
🟠 Ref-only	0
🔴 Gap	3
— N/A	0

Gap severity distribution

Severity	Count
🔴 Critical	0
🟠 High	1
🟡 Medium	3
🟢 Low	3

Requirements

Clause WCIM Act 2023 (WA) Part 2 Div 3 (section number needs verification)

ID	Coverage	Evidence	Gap	Notes
WCIM-CLM-02	🔴 Gap	—	🟡 Medium	Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA)) — provisional weekly payments and the no-wage-deduction rule are claims-system obligations.

Clause WCIM Act 2023 (WA) Part 3 (section number needs verification — likely s

ID	Coverage	Evidence	Gap	Notes
WCIM-IMS-01	🟡 Partial	[GOV-POL-002 §Policy Statement](/wms/GOV-POL-002#sPolicy Statement) [GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments](/wms/GOV-POL-007#sPolicy Commitments) QHSE-PRO-004 §‘Purpose’	🟡 Medium	An injury management system exists informally through the WHS management system but is not documented as a discrete system per the WCIM Act requirements. Consider whether the existing incident management procedures in QHSE-MAN-001 §10.2 and QHSE-PRO-003 are sufficient, or whether a standalone injury management procedure is needed.

Clause WCIM Act 2023 (WA) s

ID	Coverage	Evidence	Gap	Notes
WCIM-INS-01	✅ Full	QHSE-MAN-001 §‘11.3’
WCIM-INS-02	✅ Full	QHSE-MAN-001 §‘11.3’
WCIM-INS-03	🔴 Gap	—	🟢 Low	Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA)) — the certificate of currency is held and produced by Finance, not a WMS document.
WCIM-CLM-01	🟡 Partial	[QHSE-PRO-004 §‘Workers” compensation claim’](/wms/QHSE-PRO-004#s’Workers” compensation claim’)	🟡 Medium	Managed in isCompliant / by the insurer (WCIM Act 2023 (WA) operational obligation) — claims transmission and the 14-day deemed-liability window are handled in the claims system, not a WMS document.
WCIM-RTW-01	🟡 Partial	[GOV-POL-002 §Policy Statement](/wms/GOV-POL-002#sPolicy Statement) [GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments](/wms/GOV-POL-007#sPolicy Commitments) [QHSE-PRO-004 §‘Return to work / suitable duties’](/wms/QHSE-PRO-004#s’Return to work / suitable duties’)	🟠 High	Policy commitment exists but no documented RTW procedure or program template. Develop a RTW procedure covering: trigger conditions (partial incapacity certificate, medical advice, arbitrator determination), consultation with injured worker, suitable duties identification, program documentation, and review schedule. Can be integrated into a broader injury management procedure.
WCIM-RTW-02	✅ Full	[GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments](/wms/GOV-POL-007#sPolicy Commitments) [QHSE-PRO-004 §‘Person unfit for work’](/wms/QHSE-PRO-004#s’Person unfit for work’)
WCIM-RTW-03	🔴 Gap	[GOV-POL-007 §Policy Commitments](/wms/GOV-POL-007#sPolicy Commitments)	🟢 Low	If Westlink engages labour hire workers, this obligation applies. Document host-employer RTW cooperation duty in the sub-contractor/labour hire management section of relevant procedures. Verify whether Westlink currently uses labour hire.
WCIM-REC-01	🟡 Partial	[GOV-SCH-001 §Records Retention Schedule](/wms/GOV-SCH-001#sRecords Retention Schedule)	🟢 Low	Verify GOV-SCH-001 includes a workers’ compensation records category. WorkCover WA audit cooperation should be documented in the legal compliance section of QHSE-MAN-001 or equivalent. Records should include: claims lodged, liability decisions, RTW programs, provisional payments, certificate of currency history.

Rendered from frontmatter by scripts/render_compliance.py. Source extraction: scripts/extract_iso9001_requirements.py. Evidence population: scripts/populate_iso9001_evidence.py. Validate: scripts/compliance_validate.py.