Firefighters who are diagnosed with ten cancers will be able to access support more quickly through the workers compensation system under reforms to be introduced by the Minns Labor Government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NSW Government will expand the number of cancers where firefighters are presumed to qualify for workers compensation, in recognition of the occupational hazards they are exposed to as first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This removes the worker\u2019s usual burden to prove causation, which can be difficult due to the nature of how these cancers are contracted and firefighting work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The additional cancers include primary site lung, pancreatic, thyroid and skin cancers, as well as female and male reproductive cancers including cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, vulval and penile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This will bring NSW into line with other states, while making NSW the first state to recognise two female reproductive cancers (vulval and vaginal) as presumptive cancers for firefighters. This is part of the Government\u2019s ongoing efforts to provide equity for male and female first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the Workers Compensation Act 1987, qualifying firefighters are already presumed to be eligible where they are diagnosed with other primary cancers including leukemia, brain, bladder and kidney cancer, as well as breast, testicular and prostate cancer. The list of existing presumptive cancers also covers non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, esophageal, colorectal and ureter cancer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All firefighters must serve qualifying periods to be entitled to the presumption. Under the changes, an expert panel will be established to review volunteers\u2019 claims for the additional cancers against a requirement for the firefighter to have regularly engaged in frontline firefighting activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The changes will enhance access for volunteer and paid firefighters with the NSW Rural Fire Service as well as firefighters employed by Fire and Rescue NSW, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NSW Forestry Corporation and other NSW agencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a significant milestone to ensure that people who put themselves in harm\u2019s way for the safety of the community are supported in their time of need. Firefighters work in difficult conditions protecting the community and this reform provides recognition by delivering on our commitment to support frontline workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know a cancer diagnosis can be devastating for a firefighter and their family, as well as their colleagues and employer. These changes mean these firefighters will be able to easily and quickly access compensation entitlements through the presumptive cancer provisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn developing this reform, we met with firefighters, the union and volunteer firefighter associations and considered work in other jurisdictions to determine how we could best support first responders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are providing a better safety net for frontline firefighters in this state while at the same time reforming workers compensation to make it more sustainable so it can continue to support injured workers, including our emergency service workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI urge the Parliament to support these measures as a priority to ensure these benefits can be provided as quickly as possible.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Industrial Relations Sophie Cotsis said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Minns Labor Government has been working tirelessly towards this historic announcement to ensure those who serve and protect the community have access to compensation entitlements through the presumptive cancer provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have been working closely with the Fire Brigade Employees\u2019 Union (FBEU) and the Rural Fire Service Association (RFSA) and thank their members and families for their ongoing strong advocacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt present, eligible firefighters in New South Wales are entitled to a presumption to workers compensation if they have a diagnosis of any of the 12 primary site cancers listed in the workers compensation legislation. This legislation will also impact National Parks and Wildlife Service and NSW Forestry Corporation workers who are AWU members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy including additional cancers, we are acknowledging the occupational exposure to risks that firefighters regularly face and the long latency periods for certain cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Secretary of the FBEU, Leighton Drury said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cProfessional firefighters have worked hard for this result and we are pleased to see our employer, and the NSW Government, recognise the additional risks of our profession.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cFBEU members keep our communities safe every day and it\u2019s important that our safety at work is recognised in this legislation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott Campbell AFSM, President of the RFSA said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVolunteer firefighters work at the frontline to keep the community safe from a range of incidents, from bushfires to vehicle and structure fires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know that bushfire smoke is a threat to the health of volunteer firefighters. This reform means volunteers who unfortunately suffer cancer as a result of their service will be properly covered.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Firefighters who are diagnosed with ten cancers will be able to access support more quickly through the workers compensation system under reforms to be introduced by the Minns Labor Government. The NSW Government will expand the number of cancers where firefighters are presumed to qualify for workers compensation, in recognition of the occupational hazards they are exposed to as first responders. This removes the … Continue reading “Strengthening safety net for firefighters affected by cancer”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35973"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35974,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973\/revisions\/35974"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}