New South Wales Government proposes changes to workers' compensation death benefits

25/07/2008

The New South Wales Government has announced that it will legislate during the next parliament to increase the lump sum paid if a worker dies from a work related incident. The amount will increase from $337,000�to $425,000. The improved death benefits will be paid to the families of workers who died as a result of their employment on or after 24 October 2007. Other measures in the proposed Bill will include:

• broadening the circumstances in which the lump sum death benefit is available, by making it payable to the worker’s estate (currently the lump sum is only paid if the worker had financial dependants); and
• ensuring that weekly payments for the dependant children of deceased workers are not reduced on the grounds of their having been partially financially dependant.

View Premier Morris Iemma's media release>

25 July 2008