No Workers Compensation Scheme for WA Police

2nd June, 2018

As Australians, we understand that if you are injured at work, or become sick due to our work, that there will be a worker's compensation system to cover us. That workers compensation system allows for our wages, medical expenses and rehabilitation costs in times of need.

Whilst this is correct for most of Australia's workers, this is not the case for our Western Australian Police officers who are not covered by any workers compensation system. If our Police are injured and become medically unfit to perform their duties, then officers are usually medically retired with no workers compensation benefits. The only way to seek any form of compensation for injuries that occur in the line of duty is through either a criminal injuries compensation claim, or via an ex gratia payment through our state government.

No more evident was the case of WA Police officer Ryan Marron, who fell ill with the mosquito born Murray Valley encephalitis whilst working in the remote Balgo community in the Kimberley in 2011. Ryan was unfortunately left paralysed, unable to walk or care for himself and needing constant care. This created problems for Ryan, his partner and family and as a result, had to pursue the state government for an ex gratia payment.

Also discovered earlier this year was a problem whereby police officers working outside of WA could not make a claim either, and considering our police are our front-line defence, and are usually the first to go into a situation when things go wrong, it's disgraceful that a situation like this has been allowed to continue. Worse still is that even after the problem has been recognised, the situation still has not changed, despite successive governments talking about the very same issue.

The frustration of frontline WA police is growing, and its incumbent on us as a society to ensure that a scheme designed to protect workers equally across Australia, at the same time covers all workers in the community. I therefore stand in solidarity with our WA Police, its WA Police Union President George Tilbury and all West Australians in calling for an immediate introduction of a Workers Compensation Scheme. I find it incredible that every other Australian state has a worker's compensation scheme for Police, but our WA Police officers are still waiting.

Philip Couper