The NSW Government is negotiating to get as much of its workers’ comp reform package into action as it can – even if it means pushing out some of the more contentious items to a judicial inquiry.

The most contentious area of disagreement between the State Government and unions is the injury threshold for common law claims. Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosco has handed over the task to Justice Terry Sheahan, a judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court (and former ALP minister and state president).

The rest of the package, including a non-judicial dispute resolution system, will be introduced into the NSW Parliament next week.

Not surprisingly, insurers and employers are growing impatient with the constant delays to the resolution of NSW’s long-standing workers’ comp problems. The system is now operating with a deficit of well over $2 billion, and fundamental problems revealed by the 1997 Grellman report have still not be rectified.

More details in next week’s InsNet News.