Redetermining Average Weekly Earnings of Apprentices and Workers Under the Age of 21 Years

Published: 18 February 2010

There are some special considerations that apply to the setting of average weekly earnings (AWE) for apprentices and workers under the age of 21 years.  If as a result of their compensable disability, they suffer a permanent incapacity for work, their AWE must be determined on the basis of what is payable to someone who had completed the apprenticeship or was 21 years old.

 

This requirement only applies if the injured worker is either an apprentice or under the age of 21 when the compensable disability is suffered and the incapacity for work is permanent (whether total or partial).  If a person meets this criteria their AWE is not calculated according to what they actually earned in the 12 months prior to their injury but according to what rate is payable to someone who has either completed the apprenticeship or reached the age of 21. 

 

However, often it will not be obvious from the beginning that a person’s disability will result in a permanent incapacity.  This may only become apparent after a period of treatment or an unsuccessful attempt to return to pre-injury duties.  In some cases, permanency of the incapacity only becomes clear some months or years after the claim was originally accepted and the AWE set. 

 

In this situation, section 4(11) of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 provides that the average weekly earnings may be redetermined (under section 53 of the Act) when it is determined that the incapacity is permanent.  This means that if an apprentice or a worker under the age of 21 years has had their AWE set according to their actual earnings at the time of the injury, they have the opportunity to have the AWE reset at a higher rate when the disability stabilises and it is clear that there is a permanent incapacity.  A higher rate of AWE will result in an increase in their weekly payments of compensation.

 

The injured worker will benefit from the higher rate only once the Case Manager has determined that the incapacity is permanent and has formally redetermined the AWE.  Therefore, workers in this situation should request that their Case Manager redetermines their AWE as soon as possible after their doctor confirms that they have a permanent incapacity for work as a result of their compensable disability.