Queensland is one of the few Australian jurisdictions where the daily journey to and from work is still covered by workers' compensation. A worker injured in a car crash, a fall from a bicycle, or a trip on the way from the station to the office can claim statutory benefits as if the injury had happened at work. And because most journey injuries happen on the road, many of them also give rise to a CTP claim against the driver at fault.

Key points

  • Queensland covers injuries on the direct journey between home and work, between jobs, and to work-related training or treatment.
  • Journey claims are statutory only; there is no damages claim against the employer for the commute.
  • If another driver caused the journey injury, a CTP claim runs alongside and covers the losses WorkCover does not.

What a journey claim covers

The Act treats an injury as arising in the course of employment if it happens while you are travelling between your home and your place of work, between two workplaces or two jobs, to or from work-related training, or to or from treatment for an existing workers' compensation injury. Travel for work itself, to a client, a site or a conference, is covered as ordinary work.

The journey has to have started. An injury at home before you leave, on the front steps or in the driveway, is generally not a journey injury. And the journey has to be a real one: a substantial interruption or deviation for a private purpose, such as a detour to a friend's house, can take you outside cover until you are back on the way. Short, ordinary interruptions, stopping for fuel or a coffee, do not.

What you receive

The same statutory benefits as any other work injury: weekly compensation, treatment, rehabilitation, and a lump sum for permanent impairment once the injury has stabilised. The claim is lodged with WorkCover in the usual way, within six months.

The limit of a journey claim

Journey claims are statutory only. The Act does not allow a common law damages claim against the employer for a journey injury, because the employer had no control over the road. So a worker whose commute injury permanently affects their earning capacity cannot look to WorkCover for that loss.

The CTP claim beside it

That is where the second claim comes in. If the journey injury was caused by another driver, a claim lies against that driver's CTP insurer under the Motor Accident Insurance Act, and it covers everything the statutory claim does not: full economic loss to retirement, general damages for the injury, future treatment and care. The CTP claim has its own deadlines, notice within nine months of the accident or one month after seeing a lawyer, and its own process, and it runs alongside the WorkCover claim rather than instead of it.

The two interact. WorkCover has a right to be repaid, from the CTP settlement, what it has paid in weekly compensation and treatment; that refund is deducted at the end. And the two insurers will each want the other's material. Run together from the start, nothing is missed and neither deadline is lost. Run separately, or one not at all, the worker usually ends up with the smaller of the two.

Cyclists, pedestrians and public transport

A cyclist hit by a car on the way to work has both claims. A pedestrian hit at a crossing has both. A passenger on a bus involved in a crash has both. A cyclist who falls without any vehicle involved has the journey claim only.

What to do

Report the injury to your employer and lodge the WorkCover claim within the week. Report the accident to the police. Get the other driver's details and registration. Then get advice on both claims at once.

Frequently asked questions

Am I covered by WorkCover if I am injured driving to work in Queensland? Yes, as a journey claim, provided you had left home and were travelling directly to work without a substantial deviation for a private purpose.

Can I claim both WorkCover and CTP for the same accident? Yes, where another driver was at fault. WorkCover is repaid from the CTP settlement for what it has paid, and the two claims should be run together.

Is a detour on the way home covered? Brief ordinary stops are. A substantial deviation for a private purpose can take you outside cover until you are back on the journey.

Sources

  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 35–36 (journey claims; interruptions and deviations), Chapter 5 (access to damages) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • WorkSafe Queensland, Injury travelling to, from or for work — worksafe.qld.gov.au
  • Motor Accident Insurance Act 1994 (Qld), s 37 — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • Motor Accident Insurance Commission, Can I claim? — maic.qld.gov.au