At the last IWSN management committee a decision was made to suspend meetings with the Regulator and iCare due to a lack of progress on the issues of importance to our members. The management committee felt that the was exemplified by their ongoing stalling of signing the memorandum of understanding between the two organisations.
"We didn’t make this decision lightly" said the Injured Workers Support Network committee chair Mr David Henry. "But we are not interested in the IWSN meetings being a mere focus group for either the Regulator or the insurer. The lack of a memorandum of understanding is an important tool to ensure it doesn’t become such."
The committee has instructed the coordinator to place the IWSN on a campaign footing. "Injured Workers have real problems, real need that require a firm and active commitment from the regulator and government insurer to address." said committee member Joe Maric representing the western NSW region. "After reviewing the outcomes we can see some successes but we can see very little commitment from the regulator and the insurer to do anything but shuffle some of those major issues aside."
The letter to Mr Anthony Lean reads as follows:
11 May 2016
To: Mr Anthony Lean,
Deputy Secretary Better Regulation and Chief Executive of State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA).
Ms Carmel Donnelly, Executive Director, Workers & Home Building Compensation Regulation
Mr John Nagle, Executive Director of WorkCover Insurance.
Mr Peter Dunphy, Executive Director of SafeWork NSW
Dear Mr Lean,
The Injured Workers Support Network Committee of Management has directed me to write to you formally to express their concerns regarding the lack of progress on the issues presented by our organisation to your department/s over the past 12 months.
In particular they have highlighted the lack of progress for a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between SIRA/ICARE/SafeWork NSW and Injured Workers Support Network which was subject to an undertaking at our organisations initial meeting.
The Committee of Management has formed the view that this failure to commit to an agreed MoU exposes our members to abuse by insurers and concerns that our meetings regarding injured workers lack genuineness. This matter is of particular concern given the very limited resources of the Injured Workers Support Network
A resolution was carried at the last meeting of the Committee of Management to suspend our meetings pending signoff by all parties of the memorandum of understanding.
While we wait for this to occur, I have also been instructed with regards to issues left outstanding due to the limited effectiveness of our meetings to engage in a campaign to in an attempt to restore fairness to injured workers regarding those matters.
With Regards,
Rowan Kernebone
Injured Worker Support Network Coordinator
(02) 9749 7566
The IWSN will keep its members posted on any eventualities.