By NICOLE VALICEK
ROAD accident victims and their families will be hurt by changes to the Transport Accident Commission (TAC) scheme, according to Member for Altona District Jill Hennessy.
Ms Hennessy said legislation introduced by the Napthine Government and expected to be voted on last week was a savage attack on the rights of victims of road trauma.
She said under the proposed scheme grieving families of people who die or are severely injured in transport accidents will be denied compensation.
“Under the changes, a family member can only claim to have suffered from the death of their closest relatives if they can prove they were unable to work for three years after the accident occurred,” she said.
“This means children, retirees, stay-at-home parents and people who can’t work due to disability will be instantly excluded from receiving assistance to help put their lives back together.”
She said under the current TAC scheme, family members are allowed to claim compensation for mental injury or nervous shock.
And a further change includes abolishing the right of family members to make a claim if the dead or injured relative attempted to, or committed, suicide.
However, according to a letter to the editor written by TAC CEO Janet Dore on 29 October, public commentary about the proposed reforms has been “misleading and alarming”.
“The TAC is committed to supporting Victorians who are injured or lose their loved ones in a transport accident,” Ms Dore said.
She said the proposed legislative changes will increase some of the benefits available to regional Victorians, as well as ensure the scheme’s long term viability to help all Victorians who need TAC support into the future.
“We’ve increased family counselling from $5870 to $15,000 ensuring families have access to more support at such a difficult time.”
Ms Dore said other new supports include increasing funds granted for funeral expenses and family travel expenses and establishing a modern definition of serious mental illness.
“This will not exclude Victorians with a mental injury from funded TAC support or from compensation,” she said.
“The proposed changes will simply bring mental injuries in line with physical injuries, in that only people with severe mental injuries can sue for damages.”
