Does WorkCover back pay?

Yes, if your claim is rejected and then later accepted, you’re entitled to be back paid to put you in the position of if your claim was initially accepted.

If you reach an agreement with the insurance company or their lawyers to resolve your weekly payments for a specific period of time, then you’re entitled to be back paid for that entire period.

How do I make sure I get back paid?

If your claim is rejected and then later accepted, the WorkCover insurance company will calculate and pay you any back pay owed.

Depending upon how much back pay is owed to you, and whether there is any payment that needs to be made to Centrelink, this backpay should be paid to you within a few weeks after your claim has been accepted or an agreement reached to settle your matter.

If you don’t hear from the insurer within say two to three weeks after the agreement was reached to backpay you, you should follow them up.

One thing you do need to do in order to be back paid is to ensure you have valid certificates of capacity and that you send these to the insurance company.

You should have an unbroken period of certificates covering the period of backpay.

So, if you were attending your doctor or other health practitioner and obtaining certificates during this period, you should have no worries.

However, if you did not obtain certificates during this period, you’ll need to go back to your doctor or health practitioner and ask them to provide you with a certificate or certificates to cover the period.

Keep in mind however that WorkCover certificates can only be backdated for a period of 90 days. And backdated certificates must still be for periods of not more than 28 days.

So if you are outside of this period, it will be difficult for you to obtain certificates.

Instead, what you can do is complete a statutory declaration that outlines what work you did during the relevant backpay period.

This certificate might for example say that you didn’t work at all during the period. Or, it might say that you worked on certain days or during certain periods.

When completing a statutory declaration, just make sure that it is accurate. A statutory deflation is a legal document, and if it is found to be incorrect, you may be subject to penalties. Copyright – this is original content from TheWorkInjurySite.com.au.

Is interest paid on weekly payments if I am back paid?

In general, it is possible to claim interest on top of any back paid weekly payments. However, this is only in very limited circumstances.

Do I need to pay Centrelink back if I’m backpaid weekly payments?

Yes, you will need to pay any money back to Centrelink that you received during the backpay period.

This is on a dollar for dollar basis.

So if you received $10,000 during the relevant period from Centrelink, this entire amount will need to be repaid.

The WorkCover insurer, or their lawyers, will look after this for you. You do not need to contact Centrelink and advise them of the WorkCover payment.

Conclusion

Yes, you are entitled to be backpaid weekly payments if for whatever reason you were not getting paid weekly payments and then later on, had an entitlement to payments.

You do not need to do anything to initiate the back payment to you as the insurer will usually calculate and pay you without the need to be prompted.

If you do not hear from them within a couple of weeks after the agreement was reached to back pay you, you should follow them up.

You will need to ensure you provide the insurer with valid certificates covering the back pay period, or alternatively a statutory declaration.