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Juggling two jobs? watch this gap

Brie is a 30 year old who, like about 7% of working Australians, has two jobs: her main job is as a learning support assistant at a primary school, where she works about 30 hours a week, and she also works one night a week as a disability support provider. Brie earns $1,760 a week from her main job, and $600 a week from her second job, totalling $2,360 a week.

Last month Brie fell down the staircase at the school resulting in a very serious ankle injury. She is expected to be unable to work for at least two months as a result of the surgery and complications. This sort of timeframe is consistent with statistics showing that 80% of workers who take time off work after a work related injury return to work within the first 13 weeks.

Brie is covered by the school’s compulsory workers compensation insurance and her pay and medical bills are covered, including physio for several months. Even though it was possibly her fault, she is entitled to workers compensation because it’s a no-fault system covering injuries at work. And depending on the circumstances of the injury, she may be entitled to a permanent impairment payout (a compensation payout to cover any permanent impairment that occurred as a result of a work-related injury or illness) and a Work Injury Damages payout (a common law claim that could result in a lump sum payment for damages if the employer is found to be negligent). The last two amounts depend on the specifics of the accident, will usually require legal advice, and are generally not automatically awarded after an injury.

But will Brie be covered for the income from both her jobs?

The answer isn’t exactly simple because workers compensation is a state-based cover, and each state or territory can, and does run the system slightly differently. Commonwealth employees are dealt with separately under ComCare.

Depending on where she is working when she incurs the injury, Brie’s benefits would be determined by the relevant state or territory legislation and she would deal with the local authority to establish exactly what is covered.[1]

In some states or territories, she would continue to accrue annual leave but not sick leave while she was off work and in others she would now accrue both.

Each state and territory in Australia has its own workers’ compensation authority:

  • Australian Capital Territory: WorkSafe ACT

  • New South Wales: State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA)

  • Northern Territory: NT WorkSafe

  • Norfolk Island: Norfolk Island Workers' Compensation Scheme

  • Queensland: WorkCover Queensland

  • South Australia: ReturnToWork SA

  • Tasmania: WorkSafe Tasmania

  • Victoria: WorkSafe Victoria

  • Western Australia: WorkCover WA

  • Commonwealth: Comcare (responsible for federal government employees)

Brie’s injury means she is unable to work in either of her jobs. This is important in determining what she would be paid under a workers’ compensation claim in some states but not in others.

The income used to determine her payments in NSW and Vic, for example, is called her pre-injury average weekly earnings (PIAWE), in Qld it is called NOW. The actual value is typically calculated based on a person’s usual earnings over the 52 weeks prior to the injury. The calculation of this amount can be complex, time-consuming and confusing for all parties and differs across the country and also within each state/territory for new workers and short-term/seasonal workers. It also usually excludes superannuation and allowances that the employee may have been entitled to, although the employer in some cases may have to keep making super contributions for the employee, and some allowances may be included in some states.

In NSW the legislation specifically defines earnings as “income of the worker received by the worker for work performed in any employment during the week.” Similarly in WA,” if, on the day on which the worker’s injury occurred, the worker concurrently held 2 or more positions as a worker, whether in the employment of the same or different employers — the weekly rate obtained by aggregating the worker’s average weekly rates of earnings in the positions the worker held.”  However, in Victoria and Qld the legislation is less clear and it is more likely that only the income from the primary job will be counted, although there may be scope in Qld to receive payment from the second job if you can show you cannot work at it because of the injury from the main job. In Victoria, this is unlikely to matter as they currently don’t cover it.

So what Brie receives will depend on what state or territory she was working in when she was injured. It may also depend on what sort of injury she has, as, for example, NSW is proposing tightening access to mental health claims meaning they may not be covered at all under NSW Workers Compensation, whereas they may be covered in a different state or territory. And it may also take some time and effort to get the pay she is entitled to.

Regardless of which income is used, the payments also change over time. For example, in NSW and Victoria, Brie would be entitled to 95% of this income for the first 13 weeks she was off work and then 80% for the weeks 14-130, assuming she was not working at all. In Qld, the amount doesn’t reduce until after 26 weeks, and in SA, not until after 52 weeks.

If Brie to was to return to work in a part-time capacity, different formulae apply to the amount she would receive depending on where she was working. So it is not straightforward, and things can get tough as the income received drops.

Depending on her expenses, Brie could find herself struggling to make ends meet if she is off work for longer than 13 weeks in NSW or Vic. A financial adviser might be able to help her manage this by:

  • working with her on a new budget,

  • recommending that she speak with a lawyer if there is a chance she could receive more compensation.

  • assist with contacting lenders and starting a hardship claim, or seeking ways to defer payment of loans

  • assist with potentially accessing superannuation if the financial situation is severe enough.

  • determine if it is likely that Brie could make a claim on other insurance held personally or within superannuation (such as income protection)

It is also important to note that there is a maximum amount that will be paid under some workers compensation arrangements. For example, as at 1 July 2024 the payment amount is capped as a percentage of $2,800 for Victoria (indexed annually) and $2,569.60 in NSW (indexed twice a year). For high-income earners, this means that workers compensation in some states won’t cover them for their current income as it cuts out at 95% of around $146,000 per annum. High-income earners could be under significant financial stress if they were to rely solely on workers compensation.

Warm regards,

___
Ben Wieland | EGU Wealth Management
Partner and Senior Wealth Manager

1300 102 542 | 0423 710 820
ben@egu.au | www.egu.au
GPO Box 1598 Brisbane QLD 4001

This information is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation, or needs. Before acting on this advice, you should consider whether it is appropriate for your individual circumstances. If the advice involves acquiring a specific financial product, you should read and consider the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any decision.

Sources:

  • ABS, March 2025, Multiple job-holders, https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/labour/jobs/multiple-job-holders/latest-release#:~:text=There%20were%201.0%20million%20multiple,job%2Dholder%20(9.9%25).

Ben Wieland