Workers Comp Weekly Payments Calculator

It depends on your state and how long you have been off. In NSW you get 95% of your pre-injury average weekly earnings (PIAWE) for the first 13 weeks, then 80% from week 14 (95% if you have returned to work 15+ hours a week), capped at $2,662.10 a week from 1 April 2026. In Victoria it is 95% of PIAWE for the first 13 weeks, then 80% to week 130, capped at $3,000 a week as at 1 July 2026. In Queensland it is the greater of 85% of your normal weekly earnings (NWE) or your award rate for the first 26 weeks, then the greater of 75% of NWE or 70% of QOTE ($1,396.15) from week 27 to week 104. All figures are indexed — checked 20 July 2026.

PIAWE (pre-injury average weekly earnings) is the average of your gross earnings over the 52 weeks before your injury — your base pay plus, in NSW and Victoria, overtime and shift allowances. In both states the overtime and shift-allowance components only count for the first 52 weeks of payments, so your payment can drop at week 53 even without a scheduled step-down. Queensland uses normal weekly earnings (NWE) instead, which includes your regular overtime and allowances. Your insurer calculates the formal figure from your payroll records — this tool only estimates it from the number you enter.

No — it is an estimate of the scheme formula. The insurer formally calculates your PIAWE or NWE (including how overtime, allowances, non-cash benefits and unpaid leave are treated), and that calculation sets your actual payment. Deductible amounts for non-cash benefits, award top-ups and superannuation treatment are not modelled here. Use this tool to sanity-check the insurer's number and to see when your step-downs land.

A step-down is a scheduled cut in your weekly payment after a set number of weeks on compensation. NSW and Victoria step down from 95% to 80% of PIAWE at week 14. Queensland steps down from 85% of NWE (or the award rate) to 75% of NWE (or 70% of QOTE) after week 26. These are automatic — they happen even if you are no better. A second cliff arrives when the entitlement period ends: week 130 in NSW and Victoria, week 104 in Queensland.

In NSW and Victoria the standard entitlement runs to 130 weeks. Beyond that, payments continue only if you meet strict criteria — in Victoria, no current work capacity likely to continue indefinitely plus (for claims reaching 130 weeks on or after 31 March 2024) whole person impairment of 21% or more; in NSW, work-capacity and impairment criteria, with the 2025 reform staging further changes from 1 July 2026. In Queensland weekly payments generally stop at 104 weeks unless your assessed degree of permanent impairment continues the entitlement.

You can dispute it. In NSW, ask the insurer for an internal review; unresolved disputes go to the Personal Injury Commission, and the Independent Review Office (IRO) can help. In Victoria, lodge for conciliation at the Workplace Injury Commission — generally within 60 days of the decision. In Queensland, apply to the Workers' Compensation Regulator for a review within 3 months. Deadlines are short and strict, so act on the first wrong payslip, not the tenth.

Workers Comp Dispute Navigator

NSW, Victoria and Queensland — the three largest schemes. WA, SA, Tasmania, the ACT, the NT and Comcare use different step-down structures (several start at 100% of earnings) and are not yet included; we only publish parameters we have verified against two sources. For the claim steps and payment structure in every Australian scheme, use the Workers Compensation Claim Navigator. If your injury is permanent, check the lump-sum thresholds with the Permanent Impairment Lump Sum Checker.

Workers Compensation Claim Navigator · Permanent Impairment Lump Sum Checker