What we do

The WorkCover Ombudsman:

• Reviews the operation of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 and recommend improvements. This means that the Office will receive submissions from those affected by the workers compensation scheme and will put forward recommendations for improvement to WorkCoverSA and to the Minister for Industrial Relations.
• Investigates complaints from workers, employers and other interested parties about administrative acts under the Act, including issues associated with rehabilitation and return to work, and seeks to resolve those complaints. This involves obtaining information from those making the complaint and from those against whom the complaint is made and then trying to find a resolution. For more information please see our Complaints page.
• Assists WorkCoverSA and employers to establish their own processes for handling complaints. The Office provides feedback to WorkCoverSA and employers about their internal complaint handling processes and provides guidance to any employer that does not yet have a process in place.
• Provides a phone and email service to help people find solutions to their issues or direct them to where they can get the help they need.
• Reviews decisions to stop a worker’s weekly payments. If the decision is not reasonably open, the WorkCover Ombudsman is able to suspend the decision so that the worker continues to get their weekly payments while the dispute proceeds in the Workers Compensation Tribunal. For more information please see our Review of Decisions page.