How Much Will WorkCover Pay You?
NSW Weekly Payment Calculator
Use our NSW weekly payment calculator to see your likely entitlements — then call us to start your claim. Built on current SIRA rates, no sign-up required.
Enter your weekly earnings — see your estimate
Adjust the PIAWE input to see how your payments change. The figures update live against SIRA's statutory weekly cap.
Your Details
Enter your pre-injury average weekly earnings
This is your average gross weekly pay across the 52 weeks before your injury — including regular overtime, shift allowances and regular bonuses. Super is added for weeks 14+ only.
Not sure what your PIAWE is? Our team can work it out with you from your payslips when you open your claim.
Most NSW workers sit between $1,200 and $2,500 a week. The SIRA maximum weekly compensation amount is currently $2,662.10 (effective 1 April 2026).
Weeks 1–13 · Weekly payment
95% of your PIAWE during the first entitlement period.
Weeks 14–130 · Weekly payment
80% of your PIAWE while you still have no current work capacity. Top-up applies if you return to work at reduced hours.
Total · First 13 weeks
Cumulative payments during the first entitlement period.
Total · First 2.5 years
Cumulative payments across the full 130-week statutory period, if you remain unfit for work throughout.
After Week 130
After week 130 (roughly 2.5 years) your weekly payments cease — unless your Whole Person Impairment (WPI) is assessed at 21% or more. If you meet that threshold, weekly payments continue. We help you arrange the WPI assessment and get the supporting documents together.
Estimate only.Your actual entitlement depends on your exact PIAWE, work capacity, SIRA indexation and whether your claim involves partial earnings, shift allowances or superannuation. Our team can check it with you as part of your claim — you don't need to work it out yourself.
The three phases of NSW weekly payments
The NSW scheme pays in three windows, each with its own rules. The legislation behind them is sections 36 and 37 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987.
Weeks 1–13 · 95% of PIAWE
The first entitlement period. If you have no current work capacity because of your injury, the insurer pays 95% of your pre-injury average weekly earnings every week. If you return to suitable employment at reduced hours, the scheme pays a top-up so your total earnings still hit 95% of PIAWE. Super isn't included in this period.
Book a WorkCover DoctorWeeks 14–130 · 80% of PIAWE
The second entitlement period (weeks 14 to 130, up to 2.5 years). The rate drops to 80% of PIAWE if you still have no current work capacity. If you've returned to work at reduced hours, a top-up keeps you at 95% of PIAWE during this window. Employer super contributions are added for this period.
Talk to our teamAfter Week 130 · Continuation Tests
After 130 weeks, weekly payments continue only if you meet the continuation tests in the Act, and they stop at week 260 unless your Whole Person Impairment is more than 20%. An accredited assessor does the WPI assessment. If you disagree with the result, we explain how to ask for a review.
Ask us about week 130Statutory rates come from s 36–37 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW) and are capped by the SIRA maximum weekly compensation amount, indexed twice yearly.
If weekly payments end and you can't return to work, the next entitlement to check is the Total and Permanent Disability cover sitting inside your super — our TPD payout calculator estimates it across every fund you've held.
Not just your base wage
Pre-injury average weekly earnings is the figure the whole calculation runs off — getting it right is the single biggest factor in your weekly payment.
What gets added in — and what gets left out
Included: base wage or salary; regular overtime averaged over the 52 weeks before your injury; shift allowances and penalty rates; commissions; regular bonuses; and from week 14 onward, employer super contributions. Excluded: one-off or ad-hoc bonuses, irregular overtime, expense reimbursements and allowances for costs you don't actually incur any more. If your earnings varied over the year — casual, shift-based, commission-driven — our team works through PIAWE from your payslips with you so it's accurate and complete.
Book a WorkCover DoctorCounted in PIAWE
- • Base wage or salary
- • Regular overtime (52-week average)
- • Shift and penalty allowances
- • Commissions
- • Regular bonuses
- • Super (weeks 14+ only)
Not counted
- • One-off or ad-hoc bonuses
- • Irregular or ad-hoc overtime
- • Expense reimbursements
- • Allowances for costs no longer incurred
- • Fringe benefits and non-cash perks
For the full breakdown — the reference periods, the 95%/80% step-down and worked examples across three income brackets — read how PIAWE is calculated.
What workers ask us about weekly payments
The same six questions come up in almost every consultation. Here are the short answers — detailed versions are in the sections above.
Want your exact PIAWE calculated? Book a WorkCover doctor →
Before you claim, read these
Am I eligible for WorkCover?
A 2-minute check on whether your injury qualifies under NSW rules.
Read moreContinueWhat happens at week 13 — the payment drop
Why weekly payments fall from 95% to 80% of PIAWE and how to prepare.
Read moreContinueWorkers Compensation NSW — complete guide
The full playbook: lodgement, decisions, disputes, return to work, lump sums.
Read moreContinueShould I actually claim?
The trade-offs, the realities, and when lodging is clearly the right call.
Read moreContinueWeekly payments (PIAWE) explained
How PIAWE sets your weekly rate — the formula, the 95%/80% rule, worked examples.
Read moreContinueHow to make a claim
The step-by-step process from eligibility to weekly payments.
Read moreContinueSee a WorkCover doctor
We book you in. The doctor assesses your injury and writes your Certificate of Capacity at the appointment.
Read moreContinueManager's checklist when a worker reports an injury
For HR and payroll: each step from the first report to telling the insurer within 48 hours.
Read moreReady to claim what you're owed?
One phone call and we book the doctor, line up physio, psych or rehab, and follow up with the insurer for you. Our help is free, and on an accepted claim the insurer pays for treatment.
Book a WorkCover Doctor