Who is covered by the SRC Act?

It is a common misconception that only Commonwealth public servants are covered by the SRC Act. However, some of Australia's largest corporations (including Telstra, Optus, the Commonwealth Bank and NAB) are licensed self-insured under the SRC Act (see the full list of licensees here).

While the Commonwealth workers' compensation scheme is often labelled the 'Comcare Scheme' (after the Commonwealth agency that insured the Commonwealth's public servants), we consider this label misleading as employees of licensed corporations are insured for workers' compensation by their employer, and are unlikely to ever deal with Comcare. 

If you are an employee of the Commonwealth government or a licensed corporation, it is important that you are aware that your rights and entitlements to workers' compensation, as well as to common law damages, are likely to be significantly different to other workers insured under your local state or territory workers' compensation scheme. 

Strict time limits apply to notifying your employer of your injuries and making a claim for compensation, as well as requesting reconsideration and lodging appeals of insurers' decisions. It is important that you seek legal advice as quickly as possible so that you can protect your interests.