Changes to Mental Health Injury Lodgments with WorkSafe Victoria | Alert for Employers
9 April 2026Key Change – Investigations Cannot Commence Without Part B
Effective immediately, Authorised WorkCover Agents (AWA) of WorkSafe Victoria (WSV) can no longer commence investigations upon receipt of only Part A of a claim form for Mental Injury claims. This is because WSV has removed the system functionality that previously allowed AWAs to commence investigations to start immediately after the Part A alone was received.
As of now, the system will now only allow progression to investigation after Part B has been received and registered.
Impact on Agent Receive Date
The date Part B is received will now be recorded as the Agent Receive Date (ARD).
AWAs will have 28 days from the ARD to make a liability decision.
This is a significant shift from previous processes where early investigations were allowed to be undertaken by Eligibility Officers of AWAs.
Employer Responsibilities
Employers must now lodge Part B within 10 days of receiving a claim.
Potential Penalties
If an employer fails to submit Part B within the 10-day requirement as outlined above:
- AWAs have been instructed to contact the worker directly and request they re-lodge the claim directly with the AWA;
- Failure to lodge Part B within this timeframe may result in penalties from WSV; and
- WSV will have the original WorkCover claim be closed, and a new direct-lodgement claim be created.
Penalties for failing to comply with this can be up to 300 penalty units for a body corporate (see section 73 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic)).
What does this mean for you?
Your HR or relevant department responsible for overseeing WorkCover-related matters must lodge their Part Bs within 10 days, or sooner rather than later, for the purposes of efficiency and ensuring timely liability determinations are made by your AWA.
Please get in touch with your AWA if you have any questions or queries in relation to the new requirements.