Comparison Performance Monitoring Report 17th Edition

Coordination

This report has been compiled and coordinated by Safe Work Australia with assistance from representatives of all work health and safety and workers’ compensation authorities in Australia and New Zealand.

Through a partnership of governments, employers and employees, Safe Work Australia leads the development of national policy to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements across Australia.

Australian Government — Comcare

• 
  _{Seacare — Seacare Authority (Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and} Compensation Authority), and
  
• 
  _{New Zealand — Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation Insurance}
  
• 
  Corporation and New Zealand Department of Labour
  

• 
  the Return to Work Survey that replaced the Return to Work Monitor previously published by the Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities. The New Zealand Accident Compensation Corporation and all Australian jurisdictions except for the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory took part in the survey, the full results of which can be accessed at swa.gov.au.
  
• 
  The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provides estimates of the number of employees and hours worked based on the Labour Force Survey, the Survey of Employment and Earnings and data provided by Comcare. Further adjustments are performed using data from the Census, the Forms of Employment Survey and the Survey of Employment Arrangements, Retirement and Superannuation.
  

There are two important changes that have been implemented in this report:

1. 
   The estimates of the number of employees and hours worked that are used
   

to calculate incidence and frequency rates have been revised back to 2007-08 by the ABS in line with the 2011 census and other new employment information. Incidence and frequency rates published in this report will differ to those previously published in earlier editions of the report

2. 
   The definition of a serious claim has been revised to align with the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy 2012-2022. The change in the definition means that two sets of rates are presented in this report. In chapter 1, the previous definition of a serious claim applies for final reporting against the National Occupational Health and Safety Strategy 2002-2012 (National Strategy). In chapters 2 and 6, the new definition of a serious claim applies. Use of either definition of serious claims shows similar patterns of improvement at the national and jurisdictional level.
   

Coordination

This report has been compiled and coordinated by Safe Work Australia with assistance from representatives of all work health and safety and workers’ compensation authorities in Australia and New Zealand.
Through a partnership of governments, employers and employees, Safe Work Australia leads the development of national policy to improve work health and safety and workers’ compensation arrangements across Australia.

Table of Contents

Foreword 3

Statement of purpose 3

Data 3

Coordination 5

Coordination 6

Summary of findings 10

Performance against the Australian Work Health and Safety Strategy (Australian Strategy) 2012–2022 10

Work health and safety performance 10

Workers’ compensation scheme performance 11

Chapter 1 – Progress against the Australian Strategy 12

Injury and disease target - serious claims 13

Injury and disease target - musculoskeletal claims 13

Traumatic injury fatalities target 15

Chapter 2 – Work health and safety performance 16

Serious claims 16

Long term claims - twelve or more weeks of compensation 19

Duration of absence 20

Work-related traumatic injury fatalities 21

Work-related disease fatalities 22

Claims by mechanism of incident 24

25

Claims by size of business (in the private sector) 25

Chapter 3 – Work health and safety compliance and enforcement activities 27

Interventions 27

Inspectors 28

Notices 28

Enforceable undertakings 29

Legal proceedings 29

Fines 29

Chapter 4 – Workers’ compensation premiums and entitlements 36

Standardised average premium rates 36

Temporary impairment 37

Permanent impairment 40

Workplace fatality 41

Chapter 5 – Workers’ compensation scheme performance 46

Assets to liabilities ratio 46

Scheme expenditure 50

Current return to work 55

Disputation rate 56

Dispute resolution 58

Chapter 6 – Industry information 61

Claims by industry 61

Premium rates by industry 61

Appendix 1 — Explanatory notes 64

1. Workers’ compensation claims data 64

Scope 64

Time series and adjustment of scheme data 66

Definition of injury and disease 66

Adjustment of Victorian and South Australian data 67

Size of business 67

Self-insurers joining Comcare - adjustment of claims 67

2. Enforcement data 68

3. Premium rates and Entitlements 69

Premiums in the self-insured sector 69

Employer excess factors 69

Journey factors 70

Seacare scheme 70

Effect of adjustment factors on premium rates 70

Legislative changes to the NSW workers’ compensation system 71

4. Return to work data 73

Research design and sample selection 73

Interpretation of Seacare Authority return to work results 74

5. Assets to liabilities ratio (Funding ratio) data 75

Prudential margins 76

6. Scheme expenditure data 77

Appendix 2 — Key features of Australian Workers’ Compensation Schemes 78

Fund Type Managed 78

Central fund Central fund Private 78

Central fund Private 78

journey claims Yes(a) No(b) Yes No No(c) No Yes - Limited(d) Yes No(e) 78

available Yes Yes - limited Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Yes - Limited 78

employees (g) 3 268 000 2 607 300 2 121 300 1 243 800 724 500 207 200 130 900 135 000 382 800 78

self-insurers 68(h) 38 25 27 66 plus 44 crown 11(i) 4 7 30(j) 78

(%) 138 132 178 132 66 128 99 not available 69 78

rate (%) 2.4 12.7 3.4 3.1 7.2 10.8 5.9 n/a 4.4 81

to work rate (%) 78 75 77 79 70 76 79 n/a 81 81

Appendix 3 — Jurisdictional contact information 84