Are the applicant’s statutory rights inherently susceptible to change?
[52] An assignment of a worker’s rights to compensation payable under the Act is void as against the employer or insurer: see s 186 of the Act. However, s 186 does not provide that such an assignment is void for all purposes and it may be that as between the worker and the assignee the assignment is still valid. There is no specific provision in the Act preventing compensation payments from being attached. Section 184 of the Act provides that claims to compensation survive after a claimant’s death and may be brought by the claimant’s personal representative. Section 185 of the Act provides that unpaid compensation forms part of a deceased worker’s estate. Section 186 contains provisions designed to prevent the contracting out of the provisions of the Act. These provisions are consistent with the concession that the applicant’s rights are property rights. Moreover, they tell against the argument that the rights are inherently susceptible to change. Rights which are inherently susceptibl
