New workers’ compensation arrangements begin their legislative passage in the NSW Parliament today. It includes the formation of the new Workers’ Compensation Commission – a dispute resolution system that stands outside the increasingly expensive legal arena.

The changes won’t do anything to reduce NSW’s workers’ comp deficit, which is now exceeding $2.18 billion. The legislation doesn’t include the most controversial aspect of Industrial Relations Minister John Della Bosca’s overhaul of the workers’ comp system: the threshold for workers to gain access to common law.

That will be handled by Justice Terry Sheahan, who has been given a judicial inquiry to find more efficient ways of processing claims, reducing unnecessary costs and cutting back on unnecessary common law actions.

The new amending Bill means NSW’s workers’ comp system will soon operate under four different Acts of Parliament, dating back to 1987.