This addendum to an earlier report has been prepared to provide information specifically related to workers’ compensation arrangements covering asbestos-related diseases. The commentary and tables contained in this document have been compiled to provide an overview of the way in which the various workers’ compensation schemes in Australia and New Zealand apply to workers with...

Biomechanical demands such as repetitive hand or arm movements, lifting heavy loads or working in awkward postures contribute to the development or worsening of inflammatory or degenerative musculoskeletal disorders. However, little is known about patterns of exposure to different biomechanical demands and how they relate to the demographic and employment characteristics of Australian workers. To...

While the Compendium is restricted to the analysis of accepted workers’ compensation claims, it nevertheless provides a good indicator of Australia’s Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) performance in 2007–08 and allows trends in OHS performance over time to be analysed. Data are presented by key variables such as industry, occupation, age and sex with supporting...

This comparison provides background to the evolution of workers' compensation arrangements in two jurisdictions and discusses the way that each scheme deals with coverage, benefits, return to work provisions, self-insurance, common law, dispute resolution and cross-border arrangements. This edition of the Comparison has been enhanced with new sections on permanent impairment, deemed occupational diseases and...

The use of asbestos has been banned in Australia since 2003. However, as a result of the widespread use of asbestos in the past, there remains a large amount of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) in older buildings. These ACMs include asbestos cement sheet walls, asbestos cement pipes and asbestos containing electrical switchboards. Construction and maintenance...