Scheme & legislation

About the Comcare scheme

For: Employers and managers Information seekers

The Comcare scheme provides a system for work health and safety, rehabilitation and compensation for employers in Australia.

Scheme legislation

The Comcare scheme administers several pieces of legislation.

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act)

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) contains the workers' compensation scheme for employees of:

the Australian Government
Australian Government authorities and corporations
corporations who have a licence to self-insure under the SRC Act.

It provides rehabilitation and workers’ compensation to employees covered by the scheme for a work-related injury or illness.

It is characterised by:

a 'no fault' scheme, with limited access to common law
an integrated approach to preventing injury and providing occupational rehabilitation and workers' compensation
employers being responsible for the occupational rehabilitation and return to work of their employees
Comcare approval of workplace rehabilitation providers
a comprehensive benefit structure with an entitlement to compensation payments
cover of relevant medical, rehabilitation and related costs associated with a work-related injury or illness
lump sum payments for permanent impairment due to a work-related injury or illness.

For more information, see:

Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act)

Comcare administers the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and Work Health and Safety Regulations 2011 (WHS Regulations) in the Commonwealth jurisdiction.

The WHS Act and WHS Regulations implement the model work health and safety laws.

For more information, see the Work Health and Safety Act.

Asbestos-related Claims (Management of Commonwealth Liabilities) Act 2005 (ARC Act)

Under the Asbestos-related Claims (Management of Commonwealth Liabilities) Act 2005 (ARC Act), Comcare manages most asbestos-related claims for compensation.

For more information, see:

Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme

The Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme (PICS) covers parliamentarians and the Prime Minister’s spouse.

For more information, see the Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme.

Authorities we work with

Heads of Workers' Compensation Authorities (HWCA)

Comcare takes part in the Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities (HWCA) group with other Australian and New Zealand workers’ compensation authorities.

HWCA promotes and implements good practice in workers’ compensation arrangements in Australia and New Zealand. It does this through policy and legislation, regulation and scheme administration.

Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA)

Comcare participates in the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (HWSA) organisation, along with other Australian and New Zealand work health and safety regulators.

HWSA promotes and implements better practice in work health and safety policy, legislation, education and enforcement.

Comcare has signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Heads of Workplace Safety Authorities (PDF, 189.2 KB) that has been reviewed and signed by all jurisdictions.

The Memorandum of Understanding is reviewed two times a year by HWSA and continues until it is replaced.

Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy

The Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012–22 is a framework to drive improvements in work health and safety in Australia.

It promotes a collaborative approach between the Australian Government, state and territory governments, industry and unions and other organisations to achieve healthy, safe and productive working lives.

The strategy has been developed by Safe Work Australia in consultation with other organisations.

Comcare is working with other work health and safety regulators and key organisations to help achieve the vision and outcomes of the strategy.

Training on the Comcare scheme

We provide training through our learning management system called Comcare LMS.

To access our training, you first need to create an account in Comcare LMS (see the steps to create an account). Then, select the training item that you are interested in and login with your email and password.