Travel claims remain in compo laws WORKERS who lodge fraudulent compensation claims could face up to five years' jail while common law claims will be capped in an overhaul of Queensland's workers' compensation scheme. But those injured on their way to or from work will continue to be covered by WorkCover with journey claims to be retained. 83pc of Queenslanders against compo changes 'Outlandish' compo claims targeted Attorney-General Jarrod Bleijie has revealed his planned changes to the scheme which were approved by Cabinet yesterday. He said an injury threshold of five per cent would be applied to common law claims while those lodging fraudulent compensation claims would face harsher penalties, including a maximum of five years' jail, up from the current 18 months' maximum. Employers will also once again be allowed to access the injury claim history of employees under the changes. "Our scheme will put the focus back on injury management, rehabilitation and return to work outcomes for injured workers and a competitive premium for employers," Mr Bleijie said. Access to common law claims will remain in Queensland, except for those with a medically assessed injury of 5 per cent or less. We want workers to be covered, even when they are travelling to and from work so journey claims will be retained. Mr Bleijie said all injured workers would still continue to be covered under the statutory, no fault compensation system which included payment for lost wages, medical treatment and access to lump sum compensation. He said the five per cent threshold was reasonable considering other states had thresholds as high as 30 per cent or no access to common law claims at all. Other changes include merging of body Q-Comp into the Department of Justice and the Attorney-General. WorkCover will be compelled to forward allegations of fraudulent claims to the department for investigation. Business had called for the threshold cap along with the scrapping of journey claims. Unions and lawyers, however, have mounted a campaign for both to remain untouched saying it would disadvantage thousands of workers injured due to their employers' negligence. It followed a parliamentary review of the WorkCover scheme which also recommended against the changes. Mr Bleijie, however, said he wanted to ensure the scheme was balanced. Having a competitive premium will encourage more investment into our State which means more jobs for Queenslanders while maintaining a viable system well into the future protecting those most in need. We don't want to just have a good workers compensation scheme; we want to have the best in Australia for both workers and employers. Mr Bleijie yesterday tabled WorkCover's annual report which showed both premiums and common law claims had remained steady with the body posting an $517 million profit. Queensland Council of Unions president John Battams urged the government to use that profit to reduce premiums for business instead of tinkering with the scheme. WorkCover Protection Alliance spokesman and lawyer Rod Hodgson said the report also disproved the claims of business that common law claims were out of control. Mr Bleijie, however, said his changes would ensure the scheme remained profitable and viable into the future.