The Western Australian workers’ compensation and injury management scheme is based on a ‘no-fault’ principle. This means you do not have to establish that your employer was at fault or negligent to make a claim. You are entitled to compensation if you are a worker, suffer an injury or develop a disease at work and require medical treatment or time off work as a result.

A treating doctor has a clear role in the injury management process, which includes:

It is not the treating doctor’s role to determine whether a worker has a valid claim under the Workers’ Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981. Medical opinion should be restricted to whether the medical condition could have resulted from the incident reported by the worker and the consequential ability of the worker to perform their work duties (i.e., full capacity for work, some capacity for work or no capacity for any work).

Medical practitioners issue certificates of capacity as part of the claims and injury management process.