Important WSIB Policy Changes for Ontario Police Members
The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board has introduced important policy changes affecting workers with serious injuries and occupational hearing loss. These developments may be particularly relevant to police members whose claims arise from catastrophic injuries, substantial functional limitations, firearms exposure, sirens or other operational noise.
Expanded support for workers with serious injuries
Effective September 21, 2026, the WSIB introduced nine new or revised policies governing independent living and quality of life benefits. The previous requirement that a worker be “severely impaired” has been replaced by a broader “serious injury or illness” framework. Entitlement will now be assessed more individually, with greater attention to the worker’s functional limitations, personal circumstances and ability to complete activities of daily living.
The revised policies address:
Personal care attendants and allowances
Home health care
Medical and assistive devices
Guide dogs and service dogs
Vehicle modifications
Home modifications
Independent living allowances
Quality of life benefits and allowances
This change may improve access to benefits for injured police members who require meaningful assistance but may not have qualified under the former threshold. It may also be relevant to members experiencing serious psychological or cognitive limitations, provided the evidence establishes the necessary functional impact and need for assistance.
Members and associations should consider reviewing existing serious injury files, particularly where independent living, attendant care, home modification or quality of life benefits were previously denied or never pursued. Medical evidence should address more than the member’s diagnosis or permanent impairment rating. It should explain the member’s actual functional restrictions, the activities they cannot perform independently, the assistance they require and how frequently that assistance is needed.
The revised policies and transitional provisions are available through the WSIB policy updates page. The WSIB has also published a summary of its serious injury program consultation.
New occupational hearing loss policy
The WSIB has also finalized a revised Noise Induced Hearing Loss policy, which takes effect on October 7, 2026. The new policy confirms that occupational noise exposure does not have to be the sole or predominant cause of hearing loss. It is sufficient if workplace exposure was a significant contributing factor. Noise exposure accumulated through employment with more than one Schedule 1 or Schedule 2 employer may also be considered collectively.
Although the policy continues to include standard noise exposure and audiometric thresholds, claims falling below the usual exposure benchmark may still be accepted based on the totality of the evidence. Relevant considerations may include individual susceptibility, exposure to occupational chemicals and intermittent abrupt or explosive sounds.
These provisions are particularly important for police members. Operational noise exposure may include firearms training, actual firearm discharges, sirens, vehicle engines and other sudden high intensity sounds that do not necessarily fit the traditional model of continuous industrial noise. The revised policy also recognizes that compensable hearing loss may be asymmetrical. This may assist members whose duties exposed one ear more significantly than the other, including through vehicle positioning, sirens, radio equipment or firearm use.
The use of hearing protection will not, by itself, establish that the workplace exposure was harmless or defeat a claim. The WSIB must still consider the nature and extent of the member’s actual occupational exposure. The policy also addresses tinnitus. A member with an accepted occupational hearing loss claim may qualify for an enhancement to a non-economic loss award where ongoing tinnitus has been properly documented for at least two years by an audiologist or other qualified health care professional.
Police members pursuing these claims should provide a detailed employment and exposure history. That history should identify firearms training and operational discharges, time spent in police vehicles, siren positioning, specialized assignments, prior police services or other employers, and the availability and practical limitations of hearing protection. Audiological assessments conducted on or after October 7, 2026 must also meet the revised testing requirements, including appropriate air and bone conduction testing.
The advance copy of the revised Noise Induced Hearing Loss policy is available from the WSIB.
Practical implications
These changes may create new entitlement opportunities in both existing and future police WSIB files. Police associations should identify potentially affected members, preserve detailed evidence of functional limitations and occupational exposure, and consider whether previously denied or restricted claims should be reviewed under the revised policies.
Members should obtain advice based on the particular facts of their claim before requesting reconsideration or pursuing an appeal, as applicable time limits and transitional provisions may affect the available options.
