Closing Loopholes bill changes onus for PTSD cases from first responders to employer

But it was an assault incident at work, where a local man tried to choke the former AFP detective sergeant, that triggered a full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder and later forced him to give up his job.

Mr Taylor considers himself lucky because he was able to claim compensation through national work health and safety agency Comcare. But he said many other first responders haven't been able to do the same.

Proposed reforms to be introduced into Parliament on Monday would make it easier for commonwealth and ACT government first responders to access workers' compensation for PTSD.

The changes, which form part of Labor's Closing Loopholes bill, would reverse the burden of proof onto the employer, meaning workers won't have to prove their job significantly contributed to their PTSD when they make a compensation claim.

First responders including Australian Federal Police employees, ambulance officers, paramedics and firefighters are among those who would be covered if the proposed changes are adopted.

The government's broader workplace changes also include changes to bolster the rights of gig workers, such as Uber drivers, including a minimum pay rate.

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Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke said that the proposed changes would "streamline the processes for first responders, supporting their mental health and recovery".

The Albanese government has already amended industrial relations laws to add eight new cancers, including cervical and ovarian cancers, to the list covering firefighters for workers' compensation.

Independent ACT senator David Pocock, who negotiated with the government for the changes, said he had been raising the issue of PTSD and mental health injury with the government after a number of Canberrans approached him for help.

"PTSD and mental health injury are known risks of being a first responder, given the number of potentially horrific things a person may need to witness over the course of their career," he said.

"A diagnosis like PTSD can sneak up on people and it's not easy to prove it was related to the job if it's the result of a decade of mental health injuries.

"By allowing insurers to presume that PTSD was caused by the job, it will mean that first responders can get the support they need much faster."

Mr Taylor, who has also been pushing for such changes since resigning from his job in 2021, said for most first responders, dealing with complex PTSD isn't the result of a single incident, but is accumulative.

"It's the nature of your work, your work contributes to it," he said.