Once a work injury has stabilised, WorkCover arranges an assessment of your degree of permanent impairment (DPI) and sends you a Notice of Assessment. It will usually come with an offer of a lump sum. For anyone whose employer was at fault, the decision made on that document determines whether they receive a modest statutory payment or full compensation for what the injury has cost them. The rules are clear; the problem is that people do not know them when the envelope arrives.

Key points

  • The Notice of Assessment states your degree of permanent impairment and usually comes with a lump sum offer.
  • Under 20 per cent DPI you must choose between the lump sum and a damages claim; at 20 per cent or more you can have both.
  • You have 20 business days to respond or contest the percentage; doing nothing defers the offer rather than losing it.

What the assessment is

A doctor, or for some injuries a Medical Assessment Tribunal, examines you and rates the permanent effect of the injury as a percentage under the guidelines. The percentage drives the lump sum, which the Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 calculates as that percentage of the maximum statutory compensation; our guide to how the lump sum is worked out explains the formula. It is a payment for the impairment itself. It is not compensation for lost income, and it is not related to how the injury happened.

The two things the Notice asks you to decide

Do you accept the percentage? If you think the assessment understates the injury, you have 20 business days to say so. For physical injuries you can ask for a fresh assessment by another doctor, or for referral to a Medical Assessment Tribunal, whose decision on the percentage is final. Do not accept a percentage that does not match what your treating specialist has said.

Do you accept the lump sum? This is the decision that matters, and it turns on the number.

If your DPI is under 20 per cent

You must choose. Accept the lump sum, and the statutory claim closes permanently and you cannot later claim damages for the injury. Reject it, and you keep the right to bring a common law damages claim against your employer, but you give up the lump sum. You cannot have both.

For a worker with no negligence claim, because the injury was nobody's fault, the lump sum is the end of the road and accepting it is right. For a worker whose employer was negligent, the lump sum is very often a fraction of what the damages claim is worth, because the damages claim includes the income lost over the rest of a working life, which the lump sum does not touch.

If your DPI is 20 per cent or more

You may accept the lump sum and pursue a damages claim. The lump sum is later deducted from the damages, but there is no election to make, and accepting it does not close anything.

The 20 business days

You have 20 business days from receiving the Notice to accept, reject, or contest the assessment. If you do nothing, the offer is treated as deferred, not withdrawn: it remains open, and you can accept it later, including after obtaining advice or after a damages claim has been assessed. Deferring is often the right course while advice is taken. What is not open to you is to accept and then change your mind.

What to do the day it arrives

Do not sign anything. Photograph the Notice and send it to a lawyer. The first consultation is free and the questions are simple: what is the percentage, was the employer at fault, and what is the damages claim likely to be worth against the lump sum on the table. Most people get an answer within the week, well inside the 20 business days.

Frequently asked questions

What happens if I ignore the Notice of Assessment? After 20 business days the offer is treated as deferred. It stays open and can be accepted later, including after a damages claim is assessed.

Can I dispute my permanent impairment percentage? Yes, within 20 business days. For physical injuries you can ask for another doctor or a Medical Assessment Tribunal, whose decision on the percentage is final.

Is the WorkCover lump sum taxed? Statutory lump sum compensation for permanent impairment is generally not taxable income. Confirm your position with your accountant.

Sources

  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 179–186 (assessment of permanent impairment; Notice of Assessment), 187–189 (lump sum compensation; election where DPI is less than 20%), 190 (deferral), Chapter 5 Part 2 (entitlement to seek damages) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2025 (Qld), s 117 (calculation of the lump sum) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • WorkSafe Queensland, Lump sum payments (20% threshold, 20 business days, deferment, Medical Assessment Tribunal) — worksafe.qld.gov.au
  • WorkSafe Queensland, Making a common law claim — worksafe.qld.gov.au