This page provides advice on obtaining medical reports to support a WorkCover claim being disputed through the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service.

It is sometimes necessary to obtain medical reports from a treating medical practitioner to help demonstrate that an injury, illness or disease, is caused or aggravated by employment and compensable:

What if my doctor will not provide a medical report: 

There are a number of reasons why medical practitioners may refuse to provide medical reports. The two most common reasons are:

• Pre-payment for the medical report required
• Written authorisation/commissioning of report required

If your doctor refuses to provide a medical report, and insists that pre-payment occurs prior to releasing the report, you can either:

• pay for the report and claim the amount paid from the agent, or
• Request the agent to make a pre-payment directly to the medical practitioner

How to arrange for a pre-payment of a medical report:

If your doctor requires that a pre-payment occurs prior to supplying a medical report, you should establish the cost of the report, contact the CPSU WorkCover Service Geoff Lewin as soon as possible and provide details such as the cost of the report, doctors name and address and the union will arange for pre-payment to occur.

Medical report authorisation:

If your doctor requires written authorisation from you, prior to releasing the medical report, you should provide a written authorisation indicating whom the doctor should release the report to and the address the report should be sent to.

What should the medical report contain:

The medical report/s should address the following:

Description of the injury, disease or illness. The cause of the injury, disease or illness, did the injury arise out of or in the course of employment. If medical and like services are in dispute, an explanation as to why the dispute treatment is required.

Geoff Lewin
CPSU/SPSF WorkCover Service Officer