Premiums under the WorkCover scheme will be frozen for 2024/25 under an agreement to secure opposition support for the bill.
The deal means the legislation, which restricts eligibility and testing requirements to curtail rising costs, could pass the upper house as early as Tuesday.
Under the legislation, workers suffering stress and burnout will no longer be able to access weekly WorkCover benefits.
They would instead be eligible for 13 weeks of provisional payments to cover medical treatment, along with access to enhanced psychosocial support services.
Workers receiving payments beyond two-and-a-half years would also have to undergo another impairment and capacity test to determine if they are still eligible.
Some 98,000 Victorians received support through WorkCover in 2022/23 and over the last three years taxpayers have topped up the scheme with an extra $1.2 billion to offset rising costs.
The average premium for businesses was lifted from 1.27 per cent to 1.8 per cent in July after the government declared the scheme was broken and in need of an overhaul.
WorkCover claims liability has tripled in Victoria since 2010, mainly because of people staying on the scheme longer and soaring mental health claims.
Over the 2022/23 financial year, 16 per cent of claims were for mental injuries and that was expected to rise five per cent every year until 2030.
The union movement has staunchly opposed the bill, with Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari writing to all 70 Labor MPs encouraging them to lobby WorkSafe Minister Danny Pearson to ditch the changes.
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