Regulator News

WA - PTSD precedent introduced

Ambulance workers in WA with PTSD will automatically be entitled to workers' compensation next month. The new provisions apply to ambulance officers, paramedics and ambulance communications officers who are diagnosed with PTSD on or after 1 February.

The changes are significant as the legislation presumes an ambulance worker's PTSD to have been significantly caused by their employment, unless their employer can prove otherwise. For workers who regularly face traumatic scenes at work, this relieves the burden of having to prove their PTSD was caused by their work.

According to the WA Industrial Relations Minister and Mental Health Minister, the current claims process for ambulance workers with PTSD can cause further harm by requiring them to relive traumatic events and delaying support.

Share Tweet

RELATED

‘ECO-ANXIETY’ TOLL DEMANDS WORKPLACE SUPPORT
Research psychologists from King's College London emphasize the need for workplace support in addressing the psychological impacts of climate change and extreme weather, often referred to as 'eco-anxiety.'
Read More
GLOBAL: NARROW DEFEAT IN BID FOR GLOBAL RIGHT TO KNOW
Efforts supported by unions and public interest groups to reform a UN right to know treaty on the export of the most hazardous substances have narrowly failed.
Read More
MANUFACTURER FINED AFTER WORKER'S FINGERS AMPUTATED
An aluminium window and door manufacturer has been fined $70,000 after a worker had four fingers amputated while operating a saw at a Bayswater North factory.
Read More