Overview

From 1 July 2008, if a worker disputes a decision to discontinue their weekly payments pursuant to Section 36 of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 (“the Act”), their weekly payments are not automatically reinstated while the dispute proceeds before the South Australian Workers Compensation Tribunal.

However, under Section 36(15) of the Act, a worker may apply to the WorkCover Ombudsman for a review of the decision if he or she has received a notice of discontinuance of weekly payments under Section 36 and has lodged a notice of dispute with the Tribunal.

If it appears to the WorkCover Ombudsman that it was not reasonably open to the WorkCoverSA or self-insured employer (“the decision maker”) to decide to discontinue the weekly payments, the WorkCover Ombudsman may suspend the operation of the decision.

For more information about the process and the WorkCover Ombudsman’s approach to reviewing decisions, see our Guidelines for Reviews.