APS Senior Instructing Officer, Senior Reconsiderations Officer

Comcare has Ongoing and Non-ongoing (6 months) Vacancies for an APS6 Senior Instructing Officers and an Ongoing vacancy for an APS6 Senior Reconsiderations Officer.  

A merit pool will be created and may be used to fill similar ongoing and non-ongoing vacancies.

About Comcare

Comcare has several important roles. We are a claims manager, work health and safety regulator, a scheme manager and an insurer. We also have essential enabling roles, focused on the capability and capacity of our own workforce and on supporting engagement and better practice approaches to health and safety across our scheme. 

We deliver functions specified in: 

• the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) 
• the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) 
• the Asbestos-related Claims (Management of Commonwealth Liabilities) Act 2005 (ARC Act) 
• the Parliamentary Injury Compensation Scheme (PICS) established under the Parliamentary Business Resources Act 2017.

Claims Management Group

The Claims Management Group contributes to Comcare’s purpose to promote and enable safe and healthy work by delivering high quality, tailored, innovative, client-centric claims management services, that enhance health and return to work outcomes and client experience.

A core function of Comcare is managing claims for:

• Australian Government employees
• People suffering an asbestos-related disease
• Australian Government parliamentarians
• Employees or organisations who have contracted Comcare.

Overview of the Team and Roles

The Reconsiderations and Appeals team is responsible for the statutory reconsiderations of Comcare claims decisions and management of Comcare’s response to Administrative Appeals Tribunal applications and court appeals. The team works closely with the Senior Director, Claims, the Claims Operations teams and Comcare’s Legal Group to achieve positive outcomes for employees and employers.  

Senior Instructing Officer

The Senior Instructing Officer (SIO) works as part of the team with responsibility for litigation related to worker’s compensation claims. As an Instructing Officer, this role advocates Comcare’s position in litigation and works to improve claims management through lessons learned. The Senior Instructing Officer reports to the Assistant Director (Administrative Appeals Tribunal) and will assist with the supervision, development and guidance of other team members. Experience or qualifications in litigation is an advantage for candidates.

Senior Reconsiderations Officer

The Senior Reconsideration Officer (SRO) works as part of the Reconsiderations and Appeals team responsible for the statutory reconsideration of claims decisions. SROs will contribute to and manage a range of reconsiderations including engagement with injured employees,  employers and medical providers. The SRO role will be responsible for reconsiderations decisions that are medium to high risk. The Senior Reconsiderations Officer reports to the Assistant Director, Reconsiderations and may assist with the supervision, development and guidance of other team members.

The SRO is a subject matter expert of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) and responsible for the quality assurance of reviewable decisions for areas of experience and ensuring consistency of reviewable decisions. They are also responsible for managing their own workload, assisting other Senior Reconsideration Officers while offering guidance through sharing their expertise. Experience in an insurance or injury compensation environment is an advantage for candidates.

Eligibility and specific conditions of employment:

1. Australian citizenship
2. Character clearance (police records check)
3. Health assessment
4. Six months probationary period
5. Ability to obtain and maintain a Baseline Security Clearance.

How to apply

Please review the Job Information Pack below and provide a statement of claims with your responses outlining what you could bring to this position including your skills, experience and knowledge relevant to the job specific capabilities and role (maximum 2 pages).