Investigation into WorkSafe following a rise in complaints

The Victorian Ombudsman is investigating WorkSafe following a rise in complaints about WorkSafe and its Agents to 370 in the 2014/15 financial year. According to the Ombudsman, the most common complaints are about claims decisions and procedures and a failure to consider evidence. The Ombudsman will investigate whether claims have been rejected or entitlements for injured workers terminated because of financial incentives offered by WorkSafe. Independant medical examintions performed at the request of the WorkSafe Agents will also be looked at. The investigation also comes after the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service Annual Reports show that the number of Conciliation requests rose from 5.2 per cent to 13.6 per cent in the last 2 financial years.