Map Queensland statutory compensation entitlements and the damages gateway
MaintainedLast reviewed
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the scheme the lawyer names, draft a table of weekly payments, treatment, lump sums and the damages gateway, with the provision or page to verify. For workers' compensation, use the WorkSafe payment pages and s 237. Do not state a weekly percentage the pages do not state, and do not state a dollar cap that is not on the page.
- What the lawyer must review
- Check the current Act and the QOTE notice before any figure is used.
- Section 237, not a percentage threshold, is the damages gateway that was opened.
- Accepting a lump sum where an election was required can remove the right to seek damages.
- Do this before any summary goes to the client.
Rules that apply
The document starts from the task name. Change it if this piece of work is different.
The work product
Forum. Queensland workers' compensation, with the damages pre-court steps in chapter 5
Produce. An entitlements table for the scheme the lawyer names, with each figure tied to a page or section.
Have ready. Scheme the lawyer names; Date of injury and notice of assessment, if any; Payment history; Current QOTE notice, if a QOTE figure is needed.
Example of the limit. Illustrative example: The file has a notice of assessment and no election. The table records s 237(1)(a)(i) and leaves the election decision blank. It does not calculate a weekly rate.
Stop and hand it back when
- A weekly percentage or a maximum dollar amount would have to be invented.
- The scheme is NIISQ or a motor accident insurer, and workers' compensation rows are still being used.
Sources for this task were checked on 2026-10-23.
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | From the scheme the lawyer names, draft a table of weekly payments, treatment, lump sums and the damages gateway, with the provision or page to verify. For workers' compensation, use the WorkSafe payment pages and s 237. Do not state a weekly percentage the pages do not state, and do not state a dollar cap that is not on the page. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- For weekly payments, record normal weekly earnings, time on payments, and the four stop events on the WorkSafe page.
- For treatment, record that the medical page requires reasonable and medically necessary costs, and the four-day hospital rule.
- For damages, record section 237(1)(a): a notice of assessment for the injury, or no notice for that injury but a notice for another injury from the same event and, for that assessed injury, a DPI of 20% or more or an election under section 239, or a terminal condition.
- A notice of claim for damages and a compulsory conference are stated in the handbook at ss 275 and 289.
Forms and precedents for this task
| Form or precedent | Kind | AI use | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Application for review (SAET form A02, Return to Work): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SAET form A02, Application for Review (Return to Work), on the start-a-new-case page. |
| Injury intake questionnaire | Form | AI use Yellow | Questions for the first contact with an injured person: who is enquiring, age and capacity, how the injury happened, which schemes might apply, treatment and work, and the documents to keep. |
| Application for expedited decision (SAET form A03): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SAET form A03, Application for Expedited Decision (Return to Work), named on the start-a-new-case page. |
| TAC funeral and dependency benefits claim form: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the TAC form for funeral expenses and dependency benefits after a death in a transport accident, with the online form and the PDF the TAC publishes on the same page. |
| Permanent impairment claim form (SIRA): lump sum workers compensation | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SIRA's permanent impairment claim form, with the form's own threshold words set beside the 11% and 15% figures on SIRA's current permanent impairment page. |
| Application for suitable employment (SAET form A04): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SAET form A04, Application for Suitable Employment (Return to Work), named on the start-a-new-case page. |
| TAC serious injury application form (Common Law Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request a serious injury certificate under Part 6 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Common Law Protocols 2026, including the section 93(17) limbs and the signed authority. |
| Victorian WorkSafe common law damages: steps on the public page | Checklist | AI use Yellow | The steps WorkSafe Victoria publishes for a common law damages application, including the 120-day response and the 21-day and 51-day window after a statutory counter offer. |
| Application for payment of wages (SAET form A06): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to SAET form A06, Application for payment of wages under the Return to Work Act, named on the start-a-new-case page. |
| TAC impairment application form (Impairment Assessment Protocols 2026): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Guide to the TAC form lawyers use to request an impairment assessment under Part 3 of the Transport Accident Act 1986 and the Impairment Assessment Protocols 2026. |
| Application for mediation (NT WorkSafe): completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the NT WorkSafe application for mediation under the Return to Work Act 1986. |
| PIPA notice of claim, dependency (Form 3, version 6) | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to Personal Injuries Proceedings Act Form 3, version 6, for a dependency claim. |
| Retainer and scope letter for an injury claim | Letter | AI use Yellow | Letter telling the client what the firm will do, what it will not do, who will do the work, and how health information will be handled. |
| WorkSafe worker's claim for impairment benefits: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the WorkSafe form a worker uses to claim compensation for permanent impairment from a work injury, which the claims manual treats as a non-economic loss claim. |
| Work capacity certificate for a Queensland workers' compensation claim | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the WorkSafe work capacity certificate page: the claim is not valid without it. |
| WorkSafe claim for compensation following a work-related death: completion guide | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the WorkSafe form used after the death of a worker from a work-related injury or illness, including dependency, grief and loss, and funeral expenses. |
| NIISQ application for interim participation | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the NIISQ interim-participant application for a serious personal injury in a Queensland motor accident on or after 1 July 2016. |
| Victim Assist Queensland request for funeral expenses | Form | AI use Yellow | Link to the Victim Assist page for funeral expenses after a violent crime: a related victim claiming online uses Part A, then Part B, and the email path uses a Funeral Only PDF that was not opened. |
Signed-in accounts can read the full text of each one. All precedents.
Sources
- WorkSafe Queensland: weekly compensation · 2026-10-23
- WorkSafe Queensland: calculating normal weekly earnings · 2026-10-23
- WorkSafe Queensland: medical and rehabilitation expenses · 2026-10-23
- Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) s 237 · 2026-10-23
- Queensland Law Handbook: common law claim for damages against an employer · 2026-10-23
WorkSafe says weekly compensation stops at the first of return to work and earning, a lump sum offer, five years of weekly payments, or the maximum amount payable. The first week is the employer's excess. QOTE is in the QOTE notice on the legislation website, not on the weekly page.
Section 237(3) says a worker who had to elect and who accepts a lump sum is not entitled to seek damages. Section 237(4) says that does not prevent damages under s 266. Section 266 was not opened.
Health, wage and benefit records stay in a firm-controlled tool. Check ASCR r 9, APP 11, and whether a disclosure is notifiable under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).