Tuesday, 10 September, 2024
Short Stay Levy Bill concerns raised
McAllister is running for election again
Casey MP is worried about grant delay
See Real Estate liftout inside
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A Star News Group Publication
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Well done Murphy, Macey Bridget Murphy and ‘Penmain Promise’, known as Macey, were the first Australian combination to take to the sand, delivering a pleasing test with a score of 66.724 per cent placing them in seventh position in the Grade II Individual Test on the opening day of the Para-equestrian competition on Tuesday 3 September. Murphy and Macey continued their Paraequestrian journey on Friday 6 September at the Chateau de Versailles for the team event with their teammates Lisa Martin and Stella Barton representing Australia. On Saturday 7 September, the final Para-equestrian event of the Paris Paralympic
Games, Murphy and Macey participated in the individual freestyle. Reflecting on her time at her maiden Paralympics, Murphy was proud and grateful. “It means everything, like all kids in Australia, I grew up thinking that wearing the green and gold is the pinnacle, and it was such an honour, and I hope that I did it proud,” she said. Turn to page 25 for more
Bridget Murphy’s debut in Paralympics on Tuesday 3 September. (Paralympics Australia)
Fight for workers By Mikayla Van Loon When the prospect of returning to work after injury fades, the state’s workers compensation framework is meant to guide and support those unable to because of their condition. Yet a Launching Place mother and a volunteer dedicating her time to helping people through the claims process tell a very different story of the system. Former Boral Quarries Montrose employee Joanna McNeill, who was diagnosed with silicosis from exposure to silica dust as an administrative worker in 2019, said she has been met with hurdles at nearly every stage of her WorkSafe Victoria claim process since being approved. Injured Worker Support Team (IWST) volunteer Vasalia Govender, who worked as a health and safety representative in the disability sector, has shifted her focus to guiding others from all industries through, what she described, as a difficult system to navigate. Because she knew the legislation and process, Vasalia said many of her claims were accepted without dispute but she discovered this wasn’t
the case for many people. “I found that other injured workers in the disability sector who had claims terminated, and it became a real issue,” she said. “So 10 years ago, that’s when I actually started assisting injured workers, helping them to get claims accepted. “The rule is simple, if you get hurt whilst at work or work is the contributing factor, your claim is to be accepted. But what I found was that claims were being rejected without any evidence, even when the medical evidence supported the injury.” In 2021, Vasalia started IWST to assist injured workers through their claims with WorkSafe. The community of injured workers Vasalia currently supports is 327, with 38 waiting to be admitted into the group. “We would help you from the day you got injured, help you to put in the claim, provide supporting evidence. If the claim was rejected, we’d represent you at the Workplace Injury Commission,” she said. A WorkSafe spokeswoman said the compen-
sation body has a variety of programs to support each individual in accessing the support needed as an injured worker, especially those with long term injuries or complex needs. “WorkSafe provided tailored support to more than 104,000 injured workers last financial year and improving outcomes and experiences of workers compensation is a core priority,” she said. “No one chooses to suffer an injury or illness at work and WorkSafe is committed to ensuring the right supports are in place to care for those who are injured to give them the best possible chance of recovery.” One of the major problems Vasalia identified, however, is the fact that injured workers are referred to with their claim number, not their name, something she said was dehumanising. “Once you become an injured worker, you become a number, and none of your rights matter. It’s not about getting you back to work. It’s not about treating your injury or your illness. It’s about pushing you off the system.” In Joanna’s case, because of her condition, she is more susceptible to severe illness and in 2022, she was admitted to hospital with pneumonia.
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The fear of what would happen to her two young children made her hospital admission all the more scary. “I said, ‘who’s going to look after my children? I needed someone and I was screaming ‘I have no support, I need someone to look after my two girls’,” Joanna said. “I was crying on the phone to everybody, and at this stage I didn’t know IWST, and I was like ‘am I going to get my kids taken off me because of a workplace injury?’” After connecting with Vasalia, Joanna came to realise she should have been provided childcare services under her work cover, as well as her admission fee of $500 being covered. “The reason Jo didn’t get the support was because in an email to us, the case manager initially said she didn’t know about the Child Care Policy and the reimbursement for being in hospital,” Vasalia said. Because of the trauma experienced by her two children, Joanna said she has been trying to get them access to therapy under her work cover since 2019 but still hasn’t been able to. Continued page 2
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