Asbestos-Related Disease
An asbestos-related disease is a medical condition that a person can contract if they inhale asbestos fibres.
An asbestos-related disease is a medical condition that a person can contract if they inhale asbestos fibres.
A person has a compensable disease if they have an asbestos-related disease and the contraction of that disease is reasonably attributable to exposure to asbestos as a worker during a relevant employment period connected with Tasmania.
An imminently fatal asbestos-related disease is one where the sufferer has a prognosis of less than 2 years life expectancy.
A non-imminently fatal asbestos-related disease is one where the sufferer generally has prognosis of more than two years life expectancy.
If your claim for compensation is accepted the Asbestos Compensation Commissioner will pay reasonable medical expenses which may include:
It is important that you contact the Commissioner before you incur any of these expenses. The Commissioner must ensure that the medical expenses incurred are related to your disease (and not some other illness) before a payment will be made.
In the event of an emergency where a severely ill person requires an ambulance and hospital admission it is not necessary to first contact the Commissioner before making arrangements for care.
A member of the family means a:
A spouse includes a person to whom the worker is married and a person with whom the worker is in a significant relationship within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003. A significant relationship is a relationship between two adults who have a relationship as a couple, and who are not married or related by family.
To be eligible for compensation, the exposure to asbestos which is related to your asbestos-related disease must have been connected with Tasmania.
If a worker 'usually' performed their job in a particular State or Territory, then their employment is deemed to be connected with that jurisdiction.
However, a worker may also be eligible if they were usually based in Tasmania for the purposes of work, or where Tasmania was their employer's principal place of business. So, even if a worker happened to be outside Tasmania when (occupationally) exposed to asbestos, compensation may be payable as long as the worker's employment was connected with Tasmania.
When deciding whether a worker 'usually worked' in Tasmania consideration will be given to the worker's occupational history.
A person who is partially or totally incapacitated for work because of a non-imminently fatal asbestos-related disease may be eligible to receive weekly payments in addition to lump sum compensation. This would apply where they were:
To be entitled to compensation under the Asbestos Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011 (the Act), a person must be, or must have been, a worker as defined under the legislation at the time of exposure to asbestos. You are still defined as a worker if you have retired.
A worker is a person who has or had entered into or works or worked under a contract of service or training agreement with an employer.
Certain people are also deemed to be workers under the Act. They include:
Other people and volunteers may also be prescribed to be workers.
Certain people are not workers. These include:
An asbestos-related disease is automatically deemed to be reasonably attributable to workplace exposure where the person: