ABSTRACT
In most industrialized nations, workers’ compensation was introduced in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In Australia, following the UK and New Zealand precedents, legislation was introduced with the central tenet being the relationship between loss of income and injury arising during the course of work (Blackmore, 1993). All Australian states had adopted such legislation by 1914. Prior to this legislation, workers injured during the course of their employment had been able to make claims for damages under common law, which recognized that injury could result from work. However, the question of liability in such claims was problematic because they were dependent on the worker being able to establish a specific relationship between the current work and the injury before the current employer could be held responsible (Kenny, 1994). The legislative changes at the turn of the century were the first laws that dealt specifically with the working environment, formally recognizing that injury could be the consequence of work and not necessarily the negligence of the worker. These laws made it mandatory for employers to take out insurance covering employees against income losses and medical expenses resulting from injuries arising in the course of work (Craigie et al., 1986) and provided a right, without question of fault, to a package of benefits which accrued from employment (Kenny, 1994). Insurance was also needed to cover liabilities under common law, since employees could still claim damages under common law if they considered the compensation provision inadequate or if the injury was considered to be due to negligence or breach of statutory duty.
