For union officials, organisers and delegates
Workers Compensation Training for Union Delegates
The delegate is often the first person an injured member calls.
WorkCover Hub runs delegate training, member seminars and on-site sessions for NSW unions, and publishes plain-English materials members keep. Sessions are run by our team, with a WorkCover doctor or physio where the topic needs one.
Or call (02) 7238 7379
What we bring to a branch
- Member seminars at branch meetings
- Delegate training
- On-site sessions
- Plain-English materials
NSW workplaces. Shaped to your industry and your members.
Member Seminars and Delegate Training
A claim can go wrong on procedure long before anyone looks at its merits. Every format below exists to get the first steps right.
Member seminars at branch meetings
A plain-English walk through what happens after a workplace injury in NSW — who to tell, what the certificate is for, how the first weeks run — fitted into the agenda of a branch or sub-branch meeting, with time for the questions members actually have.
Delegate training
For the person members come to first. The first conversation, the paperwork, the timeframes, and where the delegate's role ends and the union's own officials or legal pathways take over. Built around your training calendar, not ours.
On-site sessions
Short sessions at the workplaces where members work, arranged with the branch — a lunchroom, a depot, a crib room. Each industry carries different risks, so each session is shaped to the site rather than run off a template.
Plain-English materials
A delegate guide, a wallet card and lunchroom posters members can keep and come back to. Download and print them on an office printer, or order printed copies for the branch.
What a Delegate Can Do When a Member Is Hurt
The process a delegate can walk a member through in NSW. It is the process, not legal advice — the delegate's job is making sure these steps happen, not assessing the claim.
- 1
The member reports the injury to their employer
Everything else in the scheme runs from this notification. The delegate's first job is making sure it has happened.
- 2
The employer notifies its insurer within 48 hours
In NSW that is usually icare's Nominal Insurer, with the claim managed by one of its agents; some employers are self-insured or covered by a specialised insurer.
- 3
The member gets a Certificate of Capacity
It is SIRA's form, completed by the member's nominated treating doctor. The first certificate must come from a medical practitioner.
- 4
Provisional payments can start
Provisional weekly payments begin within 7 days, for up to 12 weeks, unless the insurer has a reasonable excuse. The insurer then determines full liability within 21 days.
- 5
The claim has a 6-month time limit
Section 261 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 sets a 6-month limit for making a claim, with relief available up to 3 years.
Sources (NSW, current September 2026)
- icare — The NSW workers compensation system
- Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW), s 261
The full sequence, with space for notes, is in the union delegate guide.
Delegate Guide, Posters and Wallet Cards
Written for the member who has just been hurt: three steps, one phone number, nothing to decode. Download for an office printer, or order printed copies for the branch.
Tell Us About Your Members
The industry, the branch or site, roughly how many people, and whether it's a seminar, delegate training or an on-site session you have in mind. We'll come back to you to shape it and find a date that suits your calendar.
Choose Union as the organisation type so it reaches the right people.
Rather talk it through? Call (02) 7238 7379
Book a session
Questions Unions Ask Us
If yours isn't here, call or use the form — answering it is the point.
Also for the workplaces your members work in: workplace injury training for employers and WorkCover briefings for government and PHNs.
Bring the First Steps to Your Branch
Book a seminar or delegate training, order printed materials for the lunchroom, or call with the question a member is stuck on.
Call (02) 7238 7379