Understanding Exempt Workers Under NSW Workers Compensation Law
Published on September 21, 2026 by Jacqueline Pearce and Scott Dougall
Who Are “Exempt Workers” and Why It Matters
In New South Wales, most injured workers are subject to the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, including recent legislative reforms introduced through the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2025 and the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Reform and Modernisation) Act 2026. These reforms introduce significant changes to parts of the workers compensation scheme, particularly in relation to psychological injury claims, medical treatment entitlements, impairment assessments, and other aspects of claim management.
However, certain categories of workers are classified as “exempt workers.” This includes groups such as police officers, firefighters, paramedics, coal miners, and certain volunteers.
Importantly, while exempt workers remain subject to the workers compensation legislation, they are generally excluded from many of the restrictive provisions and reforms that apply to other workers. As a result, the recent legislative changes will have a far more limited impact on many exempt worker claims.
What Makes Exempt Workers Different?
Exempt workers are not subject to many of the more restrictive provisions that apply to other workers, including:
- Work capacity decision frameworks
- Arbitrary limits on weekly compensation
- Certain statutory step-downs in benefits after prescribed periods
- Various entitlement restrictions that apply to non-exempt workers
Instead, exempt workers generally retain access to more traditional compensation entitlements, which may include:
- Weekly payments based on pre-injury earnings
- Longer durations of benefits without strict statutory cut-offs
- Greater protection against the reduction or termination of weekly payments
- Enhanced rights regarding ongoing incapacity and return-to-work disputes
Do the Recent NSW Workers Compensation Reforms Affect Exempt Workers?
The recent NSW workers compensation reforms have attracted significant attention, particularly due to their impact on psychological injury claims and entitlement thresholds for many workers.
While some procedural and administrative aspects of the scheme may affect all participants, most substantive reforms were not intended to alter the long-standing entitlement framework for exempt workers. Consequently, exempt workers largely continue to enjoy the broader protections and compensation rights that existed before the reforms were introduced.
Nevertheless, exempt workers should not assume that every change is irrelevant to their circumstances. Legislative reform can affect the administration of claims, dispute resolution processes, medical assessments, and insurer practices. Each claim should therefore be considered on its individual facts.
Why Legal Advice Is Important
Even for exempt workers, insurers regularly dispute:
- The extent of incapacity
- Suitable duties and return-to-work arrangements
- Entitlement to ongoing weekly payments
- The level of permanent impairment
- Treatment and rehabilitation expenses
Understanding your classification as an exempt worker can make a significant difference to the value, duration, and management of your claim.
If you are unsure whether you qualify as an exempt worker, or how the recent NSW workers compensation reforms may affect your rights, it is critical to obtain legal advice as early as possible.
Please contact Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers to review your rights and entitlements further. You can also use our Personal Injury Claim Check now.
Disclosure and important note: This article is based on our own legal research and thinking. Some of its content has been drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The authors have checked and approved this article, including the AI generated content, for publication.
This article was published on 21 of September 2026 by Carroll & O’Dea Lawyers and is based on the relevant state of the law (legislation, regulations and case law) at that date for the jurisdiction in which it is published. Please note this article does not constitute legal advice. If you ever need legal advice or want to discuss a legal problem, please contact us to see if we can help. You can reach us on 1800 059 278 or via the Contact us page on our website. (www.codea.com.au). If you or a loved one has been injured, use our Personal injury Claim Check now.
