The Police Association of Tasmania has warned the state government it will strongly oppose any attempt to reduce or restrict workers’ compensation entitlements for police officers.
President Shane Tilley said the association backed a financially sustainable scheme but not one balanced on the backs of injured officers.
“Police officers perform some of the most dangerous and psychologically demanding work in Tasmania,” he said.
“The community expects police to run towards danger. It cannot then expect them to carry the consequences alone when that work causes injury.”
Tilley said the association would be particularly concerned by any move to weaken the presumption that PTSD suffered by eligible first responders is work-related.
The presumption was introduced in 2019, alongside safeguards against reductions in weekly payments for frontline police.
“Going backwards on that protection would be a disgraceful outcome,” he said.
Tilley said rising claim numbers should not be treated as evidence officers were taking advantage of the system.
“If more police officers feel able to acknowledge psychological injury and seek help, that should be regarded as a success, not a failure,” he said.
“The real question is why so many police officers are becoming injured, not how their compensation can be reduced.”
He said the state government could either cut injuries by investing in prevention, staffing and early intervention or cut claims by making it harder for injured officers to get support.
“The police association will fight any attempt to take the second path,” he said.
The warning follows WorkCover Board Tasmania launching an independent review of the state’s workers’ compensation scheme, with consultation closing in September.
Police Commissioner Donna Adams told budget estimates earlier this year the department’s compensation premium rose from $46 million last year to $63 million from July 1, a 37% increase.
She said a $15 million budget allocation described as support for injured workers was going towards meeting that premium.
The association says it will take part in the review but will oppose any change that lifts the evidentiary bar for psychological injury claims or limits access to treatment.
