Medical Panels are independent panels of medical practitioners and other healthcare professionals to answer medical questions where there is a dispute under the legislation. Each panel sits as a tribunal, and its answers are final and legally binding.

A conciliation officer, a court, a WorkSafe agent or a self-insured employer can make the referral. It generally happens when there is a difference of opinion about your injury, your entitlements, your level of impairment or work capacity, or a decision the agent or self-insurer has made on your claim.

The questions put to a panel can cover the nature of your condition, whether your incapacity is permanent, what other work you might manage, whether your treatment is appropriate, whether your employment was a significant contributing factor, your level of impairment, and your likely prognosis. They can’t answer questions about fault/negligence, determine factual questions, or whether you have a “serious injury”.

Yes. The worker must attend the hearing. Cancelling delays the resolution of your case, and non-attendance can lead to your entitlements being suspended.

If you genuinely can’t make it, tell the Medical Panels office straight away rather than simply not turning up.

You are required to cooperate with the panel and with the hearing process. If you don’t, your entitlement to compensation may be suspended.

That said, you are entitled to understand what is happening. If something about the process worries you or isn’t clear, say so during the hearing — the panel would rather you raised it than sat on it.

Most physical injury hearings are held at the Medical Panels office at Level 6 (North Tower), 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne. If yours is somewhere else, the confirmation email will say so — always check that email for the venue.

Most psychiatric assessments, plus some other assessments are conducted online by Zoom, depending on the complexity and injury type of the claim. If yours is a Zoom hearing you’ll be sent a user guide, and you can ask for a test call beforehand. You can also ask to convert it to an in-person hearing, though waiting times for in-person hearings can be long and that may delay your dispute.

All physical injuries are assessed in person, and you cannot attend by phone call.

Bring copies of anything you know the panel doesn’t have already relating to your condition, particularly:

• X-rays, CT scans, MRI scans and nerve conduction studies, along with the reports that go with them
• results of any other tests, such as blood or urine tests
• a list of your current medications.

The panel may need to look at imaging, test results and hospital summaries you bring if they weren’t already included in the referral material.

Yes. You can provide medical reports from a hospital, doctor or allied health professional, and you can also write a summary of things in your own words. You can post or email it to the Medical Panels office before or after the hearing, or bring it with you on the day. Anything that arrives after the panel has formed its opinion (in writing) won’t be considered.

Two things to keep in mind. First, anything you give the panel is also provided to the other parties in the dispute. Second, if you were referred by the Magistrates’ Court or the County Court, the magistrate or judge must approve any material before it goes to the panel — which is why it’s usually best for your representatives to handle it.

The Medical Panels office will send you a list of all the material it received with the referral. If you want copies of any of it, you need to ask the referrer directly, not the panel.

Surveillance footage can be given to the panel, and the panel may watch it and discuss it with you during the hearing.

If surveillance is listed in your referral documentation, contact the referrer to get copies of it — and do that before your hearing, so you aren’t seeing it for the first time in the room.

If an interpreter has already been arranged, your hearing confirmation email will say so. If you need one and you’re not sure it has been arranged, contact the Medical Panels office as early as you can.

If the office doesn’t know you need an interpreter, the hearing may not be able to go ahead and will be rescheduled. Friends and family members are not permitted to interpret for you.

You’ll see one or more doctors, either individually or together. They’ll ask you about the history of your claimed injury or condition, and it is a detailed discussion — it can extend to your work history, your previous medical history and your life experiences. Don’t be surprised if you are asked questions that might not directly relate to your work injury.

You may also be invited to comment on the material that has been provided to the panel, and the hearing may include a physical examination.

Afterwards the panel discusses your case. You may be asked to attend a further hearing (though this is rare) or provide more information, and if so you’ll get clear instructions from the office about what to do. If nothing further is needed, the panel forms its opinion and sends it to all the relevant parties.

If you have a physical injury or condition, there likely will be a physical examination. A thorough examination can involve parts of your body beyond the immediate injury — your legs might be examined in a back injury claim, for example, because of how the body works together.

You will most likely need to remove clothing, so wear appropriate clothing and underwear that’s also easy to get in and out of. Gowns are provided. Nursing staff are available on request to assist and may be present during the examination, and you can ask for a nurse to be there as a chaperone.

Hearings normally run between 30 and 90 minutes. The length depends on the complexity and nature of the injury, because a full history of your condition is discussed, and there may also be a thorough physical or psychiatric examination and a review of the referral material and reports.

Most hearings start on time, but the panel can run late because of a medical emergency or a complex hearing earlier in the day. If you’re able to wait, the panel will see you as soon as it can. If you can’t, ask reception to arrange another hearing for you.

Call the Medical Panels office on 1800 061 715 and let them know. The hearing may have to be cancelled and rescheduled so the panel has enough time to assess you properly.

Allow plenty of travel time, and if you have any doubt about how to get there, ring the office for directions before the day.

No. The panel is not permitted to give you advice about treating your injury or condition.

Its role is to independently assess your condition and give its opinion to the court, body or person that referred the medical questions.

You can bring a friend or family member with you for support when you attend.

Whether that person can actually be present during the examination is decided by the panel on the day, because of how personal some of the questions are. The office can’t confirm it over the phone beforehand, so it’s worth preparing for either outcome. Usually there is no issue with having someone sit in on a physical examination, however psychiatric assessments are typically performed without any additional people being involved due to the sensative nature of those assessments.

Only if you are a ‘person under disability’, in which case you are entitled to representation under law. That covers people under 18, people with a disability who are incapable of self-advocacy, and people with legally or court-appointed advocates, litigation guardians or representatives. If that applies to you, contact the Medical Panels office so arrangements can be made for your representative to accompany you.

Otherwise, legal representatives, WorkCover insurers, union representatives, employers and any other official party to the dispute cannot attend the hearing with you or on your behalf. That includes us, our role is to prepare you beforehand and to act on the opinion afterwards.

The panel specifcally asks that you don’t bring children to an assessment. The panel wants to speak with you without distraction, and bringing a child may mean the hearing has to be postponed or rescheduled. There are no child minding facilities. If a child’s attendance is unavoidable, another adult must come to supervise them while you’re in the examination room.

You can bring a registered assistance dog, and you may be asked for evidence that the dog is qualified, accredited and serving the person it is with. Let the Medical Panels office know in advance if you’ll be attending with one. Emotional support animals are not recognised by law in Australia and are not permitted to attend.

Usually no extra tests or scans are required. The panel first checks the tests already done by other doctors you’ve seen that have been made available to it. Sometimes it needs to arrange additional X-rays or other basic investigations, such as hearing tests. If that happens, the panel arranges it with your treating healthcare practitioner, with your consent.

The panel may also need to contact your treating healthcare practitioner directly, and will only do so with your consent. The same applies to other providers involved in your care, such as physiotherapists and psychologists. The Medical Panels office organises that contact for you. This is something that happens rarely, do don’t expect it to occur in your matter.

If your injury is a psycholigcal injury, then yes. Some claims are a mix of physical and psycholigcal injury and in those matters you will see a psychiatrist as part of your panel hearing. 

You don’t pay anything for the hearing itself. The cost is met by the WorkSafe agent or the self-insured employer.

For costs you incur getting there, speak to your WorkSafe agent or self-insured employer directly — they administer what can be claimed and how. Reasonable travel costs can usually be claimed, and in some cases accommodation and meals as well.

If paying those costs upfront would cause you financial hardship, there are pre-payment options. Raise it with your agent or self-insurer as soon as you receive notice of your hearing rather than waiting until afterwards.

Once the panel has written its medical opinion it is sent to all relevant parties. Opinions are occasionally released within 24 hours of the hearing, but for most WorkCover cases it takes around four weeks, and longer for complex matters. Occassionally the panel will request an extension of time to provide their opinion.

If you need proof you attended, the Medical Panels office can provide a Certificate of Attendance on request.

A panel cannot reopen your matter once its opinion has issued, and the opinion is treated as final and conclusive by any court, body or person in relation to the issues you saw the panel about. If you disagree with it, get legal advice — and get it promptly, because the options that exist are narrow and time-sensitive.

If you’re unhappy with how the hearing itself was conducted, you can raise that with Medical Panels by phone on 1800 061 715, by email to [email protected], or by mail to Medical Panels, Level 6 (North Tower), 485 La Trobe Street, Melbourne VIC 3000. For example, if an examiner was particuarly rude or caused excessive pain during an examination.