How to lodge a conciliation request < Back

Referring a dispute to the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service merely requires the completion of a simple form and sending that form to the service. The postal address of the service is:

GPO Box 251
Melbourne Vic 3001

A conciliation form can be obtained from the following;
  • the Accident Compensation Conciliation Service - telephone 1800 635 960 or (03) 9940 1111

  • download a form now here

  • your WorkCover claims agent

  • or by telephoning Workforce Legal on 1800 134 204
The form should be completed by filling in all relevant particulars. The form asks you to specify whether anyone is assisting you with your conciliation. Generally, lawyers are not permitted to attend conciliation on your behalf but assistance is available, at no cost, from two excellent advocacy services:
  • Union Assist can assist members of unions who have a referral arrangement with Union Assist. If you are a union member you should contact your union and they may be able to represent you themselves or may refer you to Union Assist.

  • WorkCover Assist is also an excellent advocacy service which is independently funded by government. WorkCover Assist advocates for persons who are not union members or persons who do not wish to use a union-based service.
Both services employ skilled and committed advocates who will attend conciliation to assist you and to argue your case.

If you insert the name of the organisation assisting you with conciliation on the form this will mean that they will automatically be copied in on correspondence and also ensures that your matter will be scheduled at a time that is suitable to the advocacy service. This can be inserted as follows:

'to be advised'
'WorkCover Assist/Union Assist'

When completing the form you will be asked to specify the decision of the WorkCover agent that you are disputing. Normally, the decision will be contained in a written notice but sometimes it may be conveyed to you verbally by your WorkCover agent. In other cases, you may want to refer a matter to conciliation because the WorkCover agent has failed to make a decision about a particular aspect of your case- e.g. pay travelling expenses, approving surgery etc. This type of dispute should only be referred to conciliation after a reasonable period has expired for WorkCover to respond to your request. It is also useful to try and contact the WorkCover agent and request a response before referring the matter to conciliation. If these efforts are unsuccessful, you should refer the matter to conciliation.

You should insert the details of your dispute in the large box at the bottom of the form. If you have received a written decision from WorkCover that you dispute, you should include a copy of that decision.

These are a number of typical examples that could be inserted;
  • 'I dispute the decision to terminate my entitlements'

  • 'I dispute the decision to reject my claim',

  • 'The WorkCover agent has incorrectly calculated my pre-injury average weekly earnings',

  • 'The WorkCover agent has failed to pay travelling expenses forwarded to them on.'

  • 'The WorkCover agent has failed to approve my request for surgery which was submitted on..'
When you have lodged your conciliation form by posting it to the Conciliation Service, you will receive an acknowledgement. The Conciliation Service may also provide you with DVD which shows how a typical conciliation is conducted.

If your dispute involves medical issues, the Conciliation Service will provide you with some forms for you to sign and give to your doctors. This form requests the doctors to prepare a report on your condition and to send that report to the Conciliation Service. If the conciliation has not sent enough copies of the form you can contact conciliation and request more or, alternatively, you can photocopy the form. The bill for the preparation the report should be sent to the WorkCover Agent.

The Conciliation Service will contact you again and advise you that a date has been allotted for your conciliation. At this point, you should contact your conciliation advocate to advise them of the date and to make arrangements to meet with them. As they have been specified as your agent in the form that you lodged, they will have been copied in on all correspondence related to your matter. The Conciliation Service will also have provided to them any copies of medical reports that they have received about your matter.

The conciliator who will be handling your matter will then contact you to provide you with more information about the conciliation process.

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