https://theconversation.com/why-spo...-injured-workers-and-how-we-can-fix-it-200702
Worse still, exemptions from state and territory employer-funded workers’ compensation schemes deny professional sportspeople the fallback protection afforded to other workers.
In the absence of workers’ compensation, the primary medical obligation transfers to Medicare, shifting it from employers and state governments to taxpayers and the federal government.
The exemptions were introduced in the 1970s at a time when athletes first started to be paid well and leagues and clubs were concerned about their financial capacity to pay workers’ compensation premiums.
There also were perceptions that sport was not “normal” work, and (part-time) athletes were not workers. The arguments are redundant in a world in which sport has been corporatised and commercialised.
https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/af...t/news-story/c6fd39b735a2dc258a0a56be62c4e77d
“From 2009, the cover available under the AFL insurance policies has been essentially illusory, due to a very narrow TPD (total permanent disability) definition which provides that the policy will only pay out in the most catastrophic circumstances,” the case brief says.
“The effect of this is that in most if not all cases, a current or former AFL player would not be covered for serious mental health conditions that arise from concussion based injuries.
“In other words, since being drafted, AFL players have been asked to pay an annual premium in respect of the AFL insurance policies, despite these policies providing no relevant cover for serious concussion and related risks facing AFL players.”
The
Herald Sun also reported that the insurance schemes set up for footballers are dubbed as “zombie policies”, with one retired star set to be a test case for the action.