Once an injured worker receives a letter from the insurer to decline liability or reduce the amount of weekly benefit, they can:

1. Accept the decision,
    
2. Contact WorkCover’s Claims Assistance Service, union or legal representative for advice,
   
   If an injured worker requires any assistance in relation to the notice they can contact WorkCover’s Claims Assistance Service on 13 10 50, their Union or a legal representative.
    
3. Request that the insurer conduct a further review of the decision
   
   Attached to the dispute notice will be an application form for the injured worker or their representative to complete. On the application form the injured worker should explain why they are requesting the review attaching any additional information that they think is relevant to the decision.
   
   The insurer is required to respond back to the worker in writing within 14 days of receiving the request for a review. The insurer will either decide to accept the claim or maintain their decision and issue a review notice, with any additional information relevant to the decision.
   
   If a dispute is lodged in the Workers Compensation Commission the parties can only rely on information included with the dispute notice or application for review. Therefore it is important for an injured worker to attach all relevant information at the review stage as they will be precluded from introducing new material after an application has been lodged at the Workers Compensation Commission.
   
   There may be instances when an insurer inadvertently fails to attach all relevant documents or communicate everything they are required to in the notice. The insurer has an obligation to remedy any defective dispute notices as soon as they become aware of the defect.
   
   In the first instance the injured worker should contact the insurer and ask them to remedy the defect, if they do not then the injured worker can contact Claims Assistance Service on 13 10 50, their Union or legal representative to assist them.
    
4. Lodge an Application with the Workers Compensation Commission
   
   If the worker is satisfied that the insurer has considered all of the relevant issues in making their decision to decline the claim and they disagree with the merits of the decision they can chose to lodge an application to dispute the decision with the Workers Compensation Commission. The Workers Compensation Commission has a screening function under which a number of preconditions have to be met prior to them accepting an application to lodge a dispute.
   
   Those preconditions include:
   • A dispute notice that complies with s74 of the 1998 Act or s54 of the 1987 Act
   • Copies of all relevant documents referred to in the dispute notice, or
   • A Claims Assistance Service response if the worker has contacted Claims Assistance Service for assistance in the event that the insurer has not remedied a defective dispute notice or not responded to a claim.

Should a worker not have a notice that complies with s74 or s54 of the Acts or copies of the relevant documents referred to in the dispute notice, they will need to contact the insurer who has to remedy the defects in the notices as soon as they are notified. If the worker has not been able to get the insurer to remedy any defects the worker can contact Claims Assistance Service on 13 10 50 for assistance.