NSW: Police medically retiring at 10 times rate than in Vic

AAP General News (Australia)
12-10-2008
NSW: Police medically retiring at 10 times rate than in Vic

By Nick Ralston, State Political Reporter

SYDNEY, Dec 10 AAP - NSW police retire on medical grounds at 10 times the rate in the
Victorian force, prompting calls for a review of their benefits.

Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat has recommended a review of the death and disability
scheme, which covers 12,000 officers, following his report into managing injured police.

He said there was a 300 per cent increase in the number of medical retirements in the
first two years after the new scheme was introduced in 2005.

The cost of managing injured officers now exceeded $110 million a year, Mr Achterstraat found.

"There is also cost for the community ... we're losing experienced, highly-trained
police officers that take a great deal of time to replace," he told reporters.

The report showed there were 445 medical retirements in the NSW Police Force in 2006-07,
compared with 47 in Victoria.

There was also a sharp spike in retirements of officers employed after April 1988 -
those who are covered by the death and disability scheme.

Mental stress was listed as the third most common cause of injury, after being hit
by a moving object or body stress.

Mr Achterstraat said the NSW Police Force should conduct an immediate review of the
scheme and look to either reduce the benefits or scrap it altogether.

The force must also look at the number and location of restricted duties positions
so there was "more flexibility" to get injured police back to work, he said.

Police Minister Tony Kelly has refused to completely scrap the scheme and said a review
into all emergency service compensation schemes is underway.

He said the government would respond to Mr Achterstraat's report in time, while Police
Commissioner Andrew Scipione said the force would look at the recommendations.

"We need to look after our officers. People do get injured in the workplace," Mr Scipione
told reporters.

"This is a career that carries with it significant risk and therefore we need to be
responsible and manage that risk and help them get back to work."

However, the NSW Police Association said officers needed to be assured they would be
given proper protection if they were expected to continue in their high risk job.

"It is not people in ivory towers, it is not bean counters in the attorney generals
office, it's police officers that are keeping us safe," association secretary Peter Remfrey
told reporters.

"They need the protection and they need to know tonight and today if they put themselves
at risk for the community that they are going to be looked after."

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