e-Bulletin No. 79 - September
President’s Welcome
Welcome to e-Bulletin No. 79 of the Workers Compensation Commission.
This bulletin outlines:
- Piloting new digital platform
- 2018 Seminar series
- Attendance and client conferences
- Vacancy – Principal Lawyer
Piloting new digital platform
The Commission’s new digital service delivery platform is currently in development. The new platform will provide significant benefits to parties in proceedings, including:
- 24/7 access to lodge and view applications from any device;
- Online access to and exchange of information;
- Real time access to progress of matters, including future allocations such as medical appointments or conciliation conferences/arbitration hearings;
- Opportunities for reduction in timeframes to resolve disputes;
- SMS technology for notification of proceedings “events”.
Law firms interested in participating in the pilot of the new platform can express interest by emailing the Commission’s registry at registry@wcc.nsw.gov.au and use the subject heading “WCC digital platform pilot”.
2018 Seminar Series
The Commission will again be holding a seminar series for practitioners in Sydney and regional/rural NSW. The focus of the seminars will be to provide an overview of the Commission’s new digital platform and anticipated changes resulting from reforms to the dispute resolution model.
The seminars will commence at 10:30 am and finish at 1:00 pm. Morning tea will be available from 10:00 am and a light lunch at the conclusion, which will provide further opportunities to chat with our presenters. The timetable for seminars is as follows:
Wagga Wagga: Tuesday 30 October 2018
Venue: Mercure Wagga Wagga, 1 Morgan Street, Wagga Wagga
Sydney: Wednesday 31 October 2018
Venue: Workers Compensation Commission, Level 21, 1 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst
Port Macquarie: Thursday 1 November 2018
Venue: Mercure Centro Port Macquarie, 103 William Street, Port Macquarie
Tweed Heads: Tuesday 6 November 2018
Venue: Mantra Twin Towns, 1 Wharf Street, Tweed Heads
Coffs Harbour: Thursday 8 November 2018
Venue: Coffs Harbour Showground & Function Centre, 123 Pacific Hwy, Coffs Harbour
Tamworth: Tuesday 13 November 2018
Venue: Best Western Sanctuary Inn, 293 Marius Street, Tamworth
Penrith: Wednesday 14 November 2018
Venue: Penrith RSL, 8 Tindale Street, Penrith
Orange: Thursday 15 November 2018
Venue: Mercure Orange, 231-243 Anson Street, Orange
Newcastle: Tuesday 20 November 2018
Venue: Harbourview Function Centre, 150 Wharf Road, Newcastle
Wollongong: Thursday 22 November 2018
Venue: Novotel Wollongong Northbeach Hotel, 2-14 Cliff Road, North Wollongong
To register, click on one of the links above or go to www.eventbrite.com and enter the event Workers Compensation Commission and your preferred venue.
If you have any questions, please contact Stathis Toumasatos by email at stathis.toumasatos@wcc.nsw.gov.au or by telephone on 8281 6342.
Attendance and client conferences
In e-Bulletin No 69 practitioners were reminded of the necessity to attend and be ready to participate in conciliations/arbitration hearings at the allotted time. Late attendances and failure to hold conferences with clients prior to the time listed in the notice continue to occur, both in Sydney and regional venues.
The Commission expects that all parties will be ready to commence at the designated starting time, irrespective of whether the proceedings are listed in Sydney CBD or regional/rural NSW.
Legal representatives holding client conferences should ensure they are concluded before the designated proceedings commencement time.
Vacancy - Principal Lawyer
The Commission is seeking applications from legal practitioners for the role of Principal Lawyer, Grade VI.
Principal Lawyers work as part of the Legal Services Unit and provide professional legal services to the Commission and its stakeholders on complex and challenging matters, including exercising a full range of legal and statutory decision-making functions of the Registrar, under delegation. The successful candidate will have substantial legal experience and a sound understanding of workers compensation law and administrative law.
Applications close on 14 October 2018.
For more information, including the role description, go to:
https://iworkfor.nsw.gov.au/job/principal-lawyer-115957
Judge Greg Keating
President