Why WA police medical retirement is different
In most states, an injured officer's first safety net is the ordinary workers compensation scheme. WA police have historically been outside it. Before 2021, there was no dedicated statutory lump sum for officers medically retired with a work-related injury.
Two laws changed that. The Police Amendment (Medical Retirement) Act 2019 created a modern medical retirement process in Part IIC of the Police Act 1892. The Police Amendment (Compensation Scheme) Act 2021 then created a lump sum compensation scheme for officers medically retired because of a work-related condition.
Medical retirement process
2019
Part IIC, Police Act 1892
Compensation scheme
2021
for work-related conditions
Officers retired under it
71
reported by May 2024
The 71 figure comes from a May 2024 newspaper headline quoting the Police Minister, so treat it as a snapshot. Our data marks WA's exclusion from ordinary workers compensation as inferred, not verified in the legislation, so check your own position with the WA Police Union.
Independent, general information
We're not the WA Police Force, the WA Police Union or GESB. This guide explains the published law in plain English. It isn't legal or financial advice.
Part IIC: how the medical retirement process works
Part IIC defines an officer as medically unfit when they're unfit, on medical grounds (physical, mental or both), to perform the functions of their office. The process has clear steps and time limits.
- 1
Direction to see a medical board
s 33ZCIf the Commissioner reasonably suspects you're medically unfit, they can direct you to be examined by a medical board of at least three medical practitioners.
- 2
Notice of the Commissioner's opinion
s 33ZDAfter the board reports, if the Commissioner believes you're medically unfit, you get written notice of that opinion and that a decision about retirement is pending.
- 3
Your response
s 33ZD(4)You have 28 days after the notice to send a written response and supporting documents, or longer if the Commissioner allows.
- 4
The decision, with reasons
s 33ZEThe Commissioner decides whether you'll be retired and gives written reasons within 7 days, with copies of the material considered.
- 5
Maintenance payments
s 33ZFYou receive maintenance payments for 28 days after retirement, extendable up to six months in exceptional circumstances.
Use the 28 days. Your own specialists' reports are the best answer to a medical board's opinion.
The written reasons matter. They tell you, and the WAIRC if you appeal, exactly what the Commissioner relied on. Read them carefully against the board's report and your own medical evidence.
While you're still serving: leave and medical costs
Before any retirement decision, WA's industrial agreement does much of the work that workers compensation does elsewhere. Officers get paid illness and injury leave of up to 168 days a year, which can be extended, and work-related medical and hospital expenses are paid by the employer under clause 41.
Illness and injury leave
- What it covers
- Up to 168 days' paid leave a year, extendable
- Source
- WA Police Force Industrial Agreement 2024
Work-related medical expenses
- What it covers
- Employer-paid medical and hospital costs
- Source
- Agreement cl 41
Post-service medical entitlements
- What it covers
- Existing in-service and post-service medical entitlements were kept
- Source
- Government statements on the 2021 scheme
| Support | What it covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Illness and injury leave | Up to 168 days' paid leave a year, extendable | WA Police Force Industrial Agreement 2024 |
| Work-related medical expenses | Employer-paid medical and hospital costs | Agreement cl 41 |
| Post-service medical entitlements | Existing in-service and post-service medical entitlements were kept | Government statements on the 2021 scheme |
From our WA data. Details of how leave is extended and how post-service medical costs are claimed weren't in the sources we read; ask the WA Police Union.
See WA Police leave for how the illness and injury leave rules work in practice, and our national guide to police workers compensation for how WA compares.
The compensation scheme: what it pays
A lump sum for officers medically retired because of a work-related condition.
You're eligible if you ceased to hold office through medical retirement under Part IIC and the retirement decision was attributable to a medical condition related to your work. The payment has up to four parts, all measured against a "prescribed amount" for the financial year you become entitled.
- 1
Impairment compensation
s 33ZWA medical specialist assesses your permanent impairment against Schedule 2 of the workers compensation legislation. You get the prescribed percentage of the prescribed amount.
- 2
Salary component
s 33ZV(3)If the impairment payment is less than the prescribed amount, a salary component tops it up. It can't exceed your annual salary on your retirement day, and the total can't exceed the prescribed amount.
- 3
Vocational support
s 33ZV(4)A fixed 7% of the prescribed amount for retraining and vocational support.
- 4
Permanent total incapacity
s 33ZZIf you're found unable to work, additional compensation of up to 75% of the prescribed amount, decided by an appointed legal practitioner assessor.
The scheme is in addition to your other rights. The Act says it doesn't limit or affect any other compensation, payment or entitlement you have apart from it.
The caps: 2021 figures and what they are likely to be now
When the scheme was announced, the cap was $239,179, or up to $418,563 in certain circumstances, plus $16,743 for retraining. Those numbers fit the Act exactly: the base cap was the prescribed amount, the higher figure is the base plus the 75% permanent total incapacity component, and retraining is 7% of the base.
2021 (when the scheme began)
- Base cap
- $239,179
- With permanent total incapacity
- $418,563
- Retraining (7%)
- $16,743
- Status
- Published figures
2025/26
- Base cap
- $273,220
- With permanent total incapacity
- $478,135
- Retraining (7%)
- $19,125
- Status
- Calculated by us, unconfirmed
2026/27 (from 1 July 2026)
- Base cap
- $284,448
- With permanent total incapacity
- $497,784
- Retraining (7%)
- $19,911
- Status
- Calculated by us, unconfirmed
| Year | Base cap | With permanent total incapacity | Retraining (7%) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 (when the scheme began) | $239,179 | $418,563 | $16,743 | Published figures |
| 2025/26 | $273,220 | $478,135 | $19,125 | Calculated by us, unconfirmed |
| 2026/27 (from 1 July 2026) | $284,448 | $497,784 | $19,911 | Calculated by us, unconfirmed |
Later years are calculated by us from WorkCover WA's General Maximum Amount ($273,220 for 2025/26, $284,448 for 2026/27). The 2021 Act links the prescribed amount to the amount set under the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981, which was replaced by a 2023 Act; we haven't confirmed that the link now points to the General Maximum Amount.
These current figures are unconfirmed
WA Police and the government haven't published current cap figures in anything we could find. Our 2026/27 numbers assume the cap still moves with WA's workers compensation maximum, as it was designed to. Ask the WA Police Union or WA Police Force Human Resources for the figure that applies to your entitlement year before you plan around it.
The year that matters is your "entitlement financial year", not the year you were injured. A retirement that crosses 1 July can change the cap.
A worked example
Here's how the parts fit together for a senior constable at the top of the scale on $124,558, using the 2026/27 figures calculated above. The impairment figure is hypothetical, because real impairment compensation depends on a specialist's assessment.
Impairment compensation
- Amount
- $60,000
- How it's worked out
- Hypothetical, for illustration
Salary component
- Amount
- $124,558
- How it's worked out
- Up to a year's salary, but the total can't exceed the cap
Exit payment
- Amount
- $184,558
- How it's worked out
- Within the $284,448 base cap
Plus vocational support
- Amount
- $19,911
- How it's worked out
- 7% of the prescribed amount
Total
- Amount
- $204,469
- How it's worked out
- Before any permanent total incapacity component
Possible extra if permanently and totally incapacitated
- Amount
- Up to $213,336
- How it's worked out
- 75% of the prescribed amount
| Part | Amount | How it's worked out |
|---|---|---|
| Impairment compensation | $60,000 | Hypothetical, for illustration |
| Salary component | $124,558 | Up to a year's salary, but the total can't exceed the cap |
| Exit payment | $184,558 | Within the $284,448 base cap |
| Plus vocational support | $19,911 | 7% of the prescribed amount |
| Total | $204,469 | Before any permanent total incapacity component |
| Possible extra if permanently and totally incapacitated | Up to $213,336 | 75% of the prescribed amount |
Calculated by us, assuming the 2026/27 prescribed amount equals WA's General Maximum Amount. Tax treatment of the payment isn't covered in the sources we read; ask the ATO or a tax adviser.
Planning for the gap
Maintenance payments run for 28 days after retirement, or up to six months in exceptional circumstances. The compensation claim can only be lodged after your entitlement day, and an impairment assessment takes time to arrange. In practice, there can be weeks or months between your last pay and the lump sum.
Before your retirement day, work out what you'll live on in that gap: leave paid out on exit, any income protection in super, savings and your partner's income. If you're likely to need help, ask the WA Police Union early about welfare support and whether the maintenance period can be extended in your circumstances.
Two features stand out. For most officers, the salary component is worth more than the impairment component. And for anyone who can never work again, the permanent total incapacity component can be the largest part, so the evidence for it matters.
Know what you're replacing
Work out your current take-home pay, so you can see how far a lump sum and your super need to stretch.
Super, insurance and tax
New WA officers get the 12% Superannuation Guarantee into GESB or a fund of their choice. Older officers may be in the closed West State Super or Gold State Super schemes. Our data couldn't confirm the default death and TPD cover GESB gives new police, so check your own statement.
Ask GESB, or your fund
- ✓ Do I have TPD cover, and how is 'total and permanent disablement' defined?
- ✓ Do I have income protection, and does it pay after medical retirement?
- ✓ Is any of my benefit in West State or Gold State, and what do they pay on invalidity?
- ✓ Can I access my balance on permanent incapacity?
- ✓ What will the tax-free and taxable components of a disability payment be?
- ✓ Who are my nominated beneficiaries?
Super can be released early on permanent incapacity. If two medical practitioners certify that you're unlikely ever to work in a job you're reasonably qualified for, a lump sum is a disability super benefit, and its tax-free component is increased using your days to retirement, which usually run to 65.
A TPD claim in super and the compensation scheme are separate. One doesn't stop the other, but the medical evidence for both overlaps, so build it once. Our WA Police super guide covers the schemes in detail.
Claiming the compensation, and the evidence you need
You apply to the Commissioner for compensation after your entitlement day. That's generally 29 days after your retirement day or, if you appeal the retirement, after the appeal is resolved.
Your evidence folder
- ✓ The medical board's report and the Commissioner's notice and reasons
- ✓ Reports from your treating GP, specialists and psychologist
- ✓ Records linking the condition to your work: incident reports, duty history
- ✓ Your salary on your retirement day
- ✓ Any impairment assessment against Schedule 2
- ✓ Vocational assessments, if you're claiming permanent total incapacity
- ✓ Letters from WA Police, GESB and any insurer
- ✓ Notes of every call and meeting
What we couldn't confirm for WA
Three things aren't in any source we could open: the current cap figures, whether WA police are excluded from the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 2023 by the legislation itself, and how the compensation payment is taxed. The WA Police Union, WA Police Force Human Resources and the ATO are the people who can confirm them.
The link between your condition and your work is the hinge of eligibility. For psychological injury after years of exposure, a treating psychiatrist's report that explains how the duties caused or contributed to the condition is often central.
Time the claim with your super
The medical retirement, the compensation claim and any TPD claim each need much the same evidence. Gathering it once, early, saves months.
Appeals and disputes
WA has two separate dispute paths, one for the retirement decision and one for the money. Both have 28-day limits.
Medical retirement
- Where to challenge it
- WA Industrial Relations Commission
- Time limit
- 28 days after the retirement day
- Grounds
- Harsh, oppressive or unfair (s 33ZI)
Compensation payment
- Where to challenge it
- Police Compensation Tribunal (part of the WAIRC)
- Time limit
- 28 days after notice
- Grounds
- Disputes about the compensation decision; conciliation first, then arbitration
Super or insurance
- Where to challenge it
- Your fund's complaints process
- Time limit
- Check your fund's rules
- Grounds
- Then the external body your fund names
| Decision | Where to challenge it | Time limit | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medical retirement | WA Industrial Relations Commission | 28 days after the retirement day | Harsh, oppressive or unfair (s 33ZI) |
| Compensation payment | Police Compensation Tribunal (part of the WAIRC) | 28 days after notice | Disputes about the compensation decision; conciliation first, then arbitration |
| Super or insurance | Your fund's complaints process | Check your fund's rules | Then the external body your fund names |
From Part IIC (2019 Act) and the 2021 compensation Act, ss 33ZZA-33ZZH.
Reasons to appeal
- ✓The medical board's view conflicts with your treating specialists
- ✓You believe you could do the job with treatment or adjustments
- ✓The reasons don't deal with your response
Things to weigh first
- ✕An appeal can push back your entitlement day for compensation
- ✕Twenty-eight days is short to prepare evidence
- ✕Get union or legal advice before filing
The WA Police Union is the first call. See police associations and unions.
Mental injury, and where to get support
Psychological injury is behind many WA medical retirements. Being examined, waiting for decisions and leaving a job you trained for can be hard on you and your family. Reach out early.
A medical board examination can be confronting, especially for a psychological injury. You can take a support person to appointments where that's allowed, ask for breaks, and ask for copies of the reports. If a notice or decision letter arrives at a bad time, call someone before you read it alone.
Emergency
000
if you or someone else is in danger now
Lifeline
13 11 14
24/7 crisis support
Beyond Blue
1300 22 4636
24/7 support and counselling
Support for WA police and families
- ✓ Blue HOPE: a charity run by police for current and former police and their families, offering psychology, peer support and help with career transition.
- ✓ Fortem Australia: a not-for-profit supporting first responders and their families with counselling, wellbeing activities and career-change support.
- ✓ Your police association or union: the first call for representation, legal referral and help with insurer and super claims.
- ✓ Your force's employee assistance program: free, confidential counselling, usually also open to family members.
Our guide to PTSD and mental health support for police covers treatment and support in more depth.
Medical retirement in other forces
For the national comparison, read our police medical retirement guide, or see the WA Police Force profile.
Free email alerts
Changes to WA Police medical retirement and injury support
The compensation caps are indexed every July and the scheme is still young. We email you when the caps change or the rules for injured and medically retired WA officers move.
- ✓The new cap figures each July, once confirmed
- ✓Changes to Part IIC, the scheme and industrial agreement injury clauses
Frequently asked questions
How does medical retirement work in WA Police?
Under Part IIC of the Police Act 1892, the Commissioner can direct an officer to be examined by a medical board of at least three medical practitioners. If the Commissioner then believes the officer is medically unfit, they give written notice, the officer has 28 days to respond, and the Commissioner decides with written reasons. The officer can appeal to the WA Industrial Relations Commission.
What compensation do medically retired WA police get?
If the medical retirement is attributable to a work-related condition, the 2021 scheme pays impairment compensation plus a salary component of up to a year's salary, capped at the prescribed amount for the year, plus 7% of that amount for vocational support. Officers assessed as permanently and totally incapacitated can get up to a further 75% of the prescribed amount.
What is the WA police medical retirement cap in 2026?
When the scheme began, the cap was $239,179, or up to $418,563 in certain circumstances, with $16,743 for retraining. Those figures are indexed. If the cap still tracks WA's workers compensation General Maximum Amount, which is $284,448 for 2026/27, the base cap would be the same figure. WA Police hasn't published that, so confirm it.
Are WA police covered by workers compensation?
WA police officers have historically been outside the ordinary workers compensation scheme. Injured officers instead rely on paid illness and injury leave, employer-paid work-related medical expenses under the industrial agreement, and the 2021 medical retirement compensation scheme. We infer the exclusion from the scheme's purpose and haven't confirmed it in the legislation.
Can I appeal a WA Police medical retirement?
Yes. A medically retired officer can appeal to the Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission within 28 days after the retirement day, on the ground that the decision was harsh, oppressive or unfair. Disputes about the compensation payment go to the Police Compensation Tribunal, part of the WAIRC, within 28 days of notice.
Do I get paid after I'm medically retired?
Part IIC provides for maintenance payments for 28 days after retirement, which can be extended to up to six months in exceptional circumstances. After that, income comes from the compensation lump sum, your super and any insurance, so plan for the gap.
Does the compensation scheme replace other entitlements?
No. The Act says the scheme doesn't limit or affect any other compensation, payment or entitlement you have apart from it. The government said at the time that existing in-service and post-service medical entitlements were kept. Your super and any insurance in super are separate claims.
When can I apply for the compensation payment?
You apply to the Commissioner after your 'entitlement day', which is generally 29 days after your retirement or after any appeal is resolved. Gather your medical evidence before then, because impairment compensation depends on a specialist assessment.
Evidence
Sources and how we checked them
Every figure on this page comes from the sources below, read on 9 October 2026. Pay rates and rules change when new agreements are made, so check the source for the date you're reading this. Where we couldn't confirm something from an official source, the page says so instead of guessing. Spotted an error? Read our corrections policy.
- Police Amendment (Medical Retirement) Act 2019 (WA) — Part IIC: medical board, 28-day response, WAIRC appeal
- Police Amendment (Compensation Scheme) Act 2021 (WA) — ss 33ZR-33ZZH: eligibility, components, prescribed amount, Police Compensation Tribunal
- WA Government media statement: Landmark police compensation legislation introduced to Parliament (21 Oct 2021) — 2021 cap figures
- WA Government media statement: McGowan Government to deliver historic Police compensation scheme (23 Nov 2020)
- WorkCover WA: Indexation of workers compensation payments for 2026/27 — General Maximum Amount $284,448 from 1 July 2026
- WorkCover WA: Indexation of workers compensation payments for 2025/26 — $273,220 for 2025/26
- Western Australia Police Force Industrial Agreement 2024 (WAIRC, WES338) — illness and injury leave; cl 41 medical expenses; salaries
- Broome Advertiser: Police Minister reveals 71 cops have medically retired since compensation scheme set up (21 May 2024) — headline only; article paywalled
- GESB: West State Super (page blocked direct fetch)
- ATO: Invalidity or disability payments from employers or super funds — disability super benefit: two medical practitioners certify you're unlikely ever to work in a job you're reasonably qualified for
- ATO: Calculating components of a super benefit — s 307-145 uplift: benefit × days to retirement ÷ (service days + days to retirement)
- ATO: When you can access your super early — permanent and temporary incapacity
Related guides
Retiring and super
More in this series
General information, not advice. This guide explains published rules and rates. It doesn't consider your personal circumstances and isn't financial, legal, tax or credit advice. Confirm anything you rely on with your force, your police association, the ATO or a licensed professional.