Application for Conciliation Form
The Workplace Injury Commission (WIC) is a body that can help to resolve WorkCover insurance disputes.
If your Insurer or Self Insurer makes a decision that you are not happy with you should appeal the decision to Conciliation at the WIC.
Disagreeing with a decision by a WorkCover insurer is very common. For long term injured persons, it is often not “if” but “when” a disagreement occurs.
You can do this even if your Insurer or Self Insurer fails to make a decision such as to pay you weekly payments, medical expenses or accept your claim within a reasonable period.
You can start your appeal process by either completing the below form and lodge the Application for Conciliation or downloading and emailing to afc@wic.vic.gov.au
Once an Application for Conciliation has been made, you will be contacted by the WIC to allocate you a dispute number. Soon after you will receive a date for a meeting at your nearest Conciliation centre.
You will need to prepare for the Conciliation conference. How you prepare for the dispute will depend upon why you believe the decision of the Insurer or Self Insurer is wrong. We would recommend you obtain evidence such as:
A lot of law firms choose not to attend Conciliations for their clients. We do not think this is properly looking after injured workers.
Lawyers are not necessarily given permission to appear at Conciliation, as permission must be given by the WorkCover insurer.
Conciliation can sometimes be daunting, and not easy for a lot of workers, who often already feel bullied by WorkCover.
The experienced Lawyers of Arnold Dallas McPherson are best placed to recommend what evidence will best support your application for Conciliation, can obtain such on your behalf and can assist you in this preparation.
We have appeared for thousands of workers at Conciliations.
We will often turn up even if not given permission to be involved in the conference, so we can speak with you and the conciliator straight away after it, to ensure your rights are protected.
Your Conciliator (similar to Mediator) will meet with you and a representative of the Insurer or Self Insurer at a conference.
The Insurer or Self Insurer will then say why they made the decision.
You will have the opportunity to set out why you disagree with the decision.
The Conciliator will then try to get the parties to come to some sort of agreement, usually by splitting off into separate rooms to discuss things with both sides privately, then acting as a go between. Anything said in these sessions is confidential, and will not be communicated to WorkCover, unless you give permission.
There are 5 possible outcomes at Conciliation:
You are always entitled to at least 7 days to get legal advice following a Conciliation conference to assist you in making a decision as to what is best for your matter.
If you do come to an agreement, it is important to obtain legal advice before the outcome of the Conciliation is finalised. To not do so could hurt your claim in the long run. You can call one of our experienced personal injury lawyers to discuss potential outcomes with no obligation.
It is free to lodge an Application for Conciliation. If you instruct our firm to assist in your matter in most cases our No win No Fee policy will apply.
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