Weekly compensation is the part of a WorkCover claim that people feel first and understand least. It replaces part of your wage while you cannot work, it changes over time, and it ends, sometimes before the injury does. Knowing the shape of it in advance avoids the shock, and shows why the damages claim matters for anyone whose injury will outlast the payments.

Key points

  • Weekly compensation is 85 per cent of normal weekly earnings for the first 26 weeks, then 75 per cent (or 70 per cent of QOTE) to 104 weeks, then depends on impairment.
  • Payments stop after five years at the latest, or earlier on return to work, a lump sum, or a capacity decision.
  • Income lost beyond the payments is only recoverable in a common law damages claim.

The starting point: normal weekly earnings

Weekly compensation is a percentage of your normal weekly earnings (NWE), worked out from what you actually earned in the 12 months before the injury, or over the shorter period you had been with the employer. It includes wages, regular overtime, penalty rates and higher-duties payments. It excludes allowances that reimburse expenses (travel, meals, tools), superannuation, and lump sum termination payments. If your earnings varied, the calculation averages them. If the figure WorkCover has used looks wrong, it can be reviewed.

The first week

Your employer pays the first week of compensation as its excess. WorkCover takes over from the second week.

The step-downs

For injuries since 2008 the scheme pays:

  • Weeks 1 to 26: the greater of 85 per cent of your NWE, or the amount payable under your award or agreement.
  • Weeks 27 to 104: the greater of 75 per cent of your NWE, or 70 per cent of Queensland ordinary time earnings (QOTE, a state-wide figure updated each year).
  • After 104 weeks: payments continue only where the assessed degree of permanent impairment justifies it, at a rate that depends on that assessment.

Weekly compensation stops altogether once you have received it for five years, or when the total statutory amount for your claim is reached, whichever comes first.

When payments stop earlier

Weekly payments also stop when you return to full-time work, when your injury is assessed as stable and a lump sum offer is made and accepted, or when WorkCover decides you have capacity to work and suitable work is available. Each of those is a decision you can ask the Workers' Compensation Regulator to review within three months.

Partial return to work

If you go back on reduced hours or lighter duties, WorkCover tops up the difference between what you earn and what weekly compensation would have paid. Return-to-work planning is compulsory for both sides, and an employer must provide suitable duties where reasonably practicable.

Why this matters for the damages claim

For a worker whose injury permanently reduces their earning capacity, weekly compensation is a bridge, not a remedy: it steps down at six months, again at two years, and ends at five. The income lost over the rest of a working life is only recoverable in a common law damages claim, where future economic loss is assessed to retirement age. That is why anyone whose injury is likely to outlast the payments should get advice from WorkCover lawyers in Brisbane on the damages claim early, and well before the three-year limitation period.

Frequently asked questions

How is WorkCover weekly compensation calculated? From your normal weekly earnings over the 12 months before the injury, including regular overtime and penalties but not expense allowances or super, at the percentages set by the Act.

How long can I be on WorkCover in Queensland? Weekly compensation ends after five years, or earlier when you return to work, accept a lump sum, or the maximum statutory amount is reached.

Can I challenge WorkCover's decision to stop my payments? Yes. Apply to the Workers' Compensation Regulator for review within three months of the decision.

Sources

  • Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld), ss 106–108 (normal weekly earnings), 144A–150 (weekly compensation: amounts and duration), 168 (cessation after five years) — legislation.qld.gov.au
  • WorkCover Queensland, Weekly payments and compensation (percentages, step-downs, NWE, first-week excess, five-year limit) — workcoverqld.com.au
  • WorkSafe Queensland, Independent review of insurer decisions — worksafe.qld.gov.au