Conciliation involves parties in dispute coming to an agreement.
The primary role of the Workers Compensation Conciliation Service is to assist the parties resolve workers compensation disputes by agreement with the assistance of an independent and impartial Conciliator.
Each party is given the opportunity to present their position and support it with evidence and other information. This may occur quickly and informally over the phone however is usually done in a conciliation conference conducted in private.
Most disputes are resolved at conciliation and parties are encouraged to resolve the dispute, independently of the Conciliation Service, at any stage of the process.
To start conciliationFor more information on the Conciliation Service and how to lodge an application for conciliation, see the Guide to the Workers Compensation Conciliation Service.
If the dispute is not resolved at the completion of conciliation, an application for arbitration may be made.
See the full conciliation and arbitration Process Chart.
Conciliators assist those in dispute reach an agreement acceptable to all parties. They do so by acting fairly, economically, informally, quickly and according to the substantial merits of the case.
Conciliators:
- are independent, impartial and focus solely on resolving disputes via conciliation
- are trained and experienced in dispute resolution techniques
- are flexible and assist in defining the dispute, noting the most important concerns and agreed facts
- have statutory authority to make limited interim compensation directions for the payment, suspension or reduction of income compensation and the payment of medical and health expenses compensation, miscellaneous expenses compensation and workplace rehabilitation expenses compensation, in appropriate situations
- cannot advise how parties should put their case or negotiate, but can highlight the risks or limitations involved and offer best and worst case scenarios
- may express opinions about the probable outcome of the application if it were to be determined by an arbitrator. These opinions are not binding but may serve as a useful guide in the resolution of issues.
The rules and forms related to conciliation in the Workers Compensation Conciliation Service are available on the Conciliation rules and forms page.
Lodging an application for conciliation
Applications for conciliation are lodged online via ‘WorkCover WA Online’ unless you are an exempt party such as an unrepresented worker or an uninsured employer. As an exempt party you can choose not to lodge your application online and lodge an Application for Conciliation instead.
In order to lodge an application online, you will need to be registered with WorkCover WA Online. Once you have registered and verified your WorkCover WA Online account, complete and submit the online application, attaching any documents that support your case.
In certain limited circumstances, such as a system outage, the Director may authorise an Application for Conciliation form being submitted by all applicants or their representatives where applicable.
If required, a printable version of the Application for Conciliation form is available to download from the Conciliation rules and forms page. You can lodge your application:
- by email – conciliation@workcover.wa.gov.au
- in person – WorkCover WA, 2 Bedbrook Place, Shenton Park, WA
- by post – Workers Compensation Conciliation Service, WorkCover WA, 2 Bedbrook Place, Shenton Park, WA, 6008
If you need assistance completing an application for conciliation, contact Advice and Assistance on 1300 794 744.
Documents related to current conciliation applications should be uploaded using the online system unless you are an exempt party and you have chosen not to use the online system or where the Director has issued a specific exemption. In these cases the above alternative methods of lodgement can be used.
Documents are to be submitted at least three(3) days prior to a scheduled conciliation conference or within any other time limit which the conciliator directs.
In accordance with the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Conciliation Rules 2024, documents lodged in connection with a dispute will be made available to the other parties to the dispute.
Conditions of lodgement by email
The approved email address for lodging documents with the Conciliation Service is conciliation@workcover.wa.gov.au
Documents not complying with the following conditions may be returned to the sender and considered to have not been lodged.
- An email by which documents are lodged under this rule must:
- state the sender’s name and email address
- state a telephone number by which the sender can be contacted; and
- describe the documents being lodged by email; and
- if more than one document is being lodged under this rule, list the documents being lodged.
- The subject line must include the conciliation case reference number unless the document lodged is a new Application for Conciliation.
- Any documents lodged must relate to a current or proposed (in the case of an Application for Conciliation) matter before the Conciliation Service.
- Documents submitted by email must be in pdf, tiff, jpeg or png format and be less than 20MB.
The Director has issued the following Conciliation Practice Notes about the practice and procedure of the Conciliation Service pursuant to section 384(1) of the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023.
Conciliation Practice Note 1 – Applications for Conciliation – Provisional Payments
Conciliation Practice Note 2A – Disputes about Liability Taken to be Accepted is effective from 1 October 2024.
NB: Conciliation Practice Note 2 was revoked with effect from 5pm 30 September 2024.
Conciliation Practice Note 3 – Disputes about Medical and Health Expenses Compensation is effective from 28 October 2024.
Conciliation Practice Note 4 – Attendance at Conciliation Conferences is effective from 11 November 2024.
