© Commonwealth of Australia (Safe Work Australia) 2012.
With the exception of the Safe Work Australia logo, this report is licensed by Safe Work Australia under a Creative Commons 3.0 Australia Licence. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en
The Comparison of Workers’ Compensation Arrangements in Australia and New Zealand provides information on the operation of workers’ compensation schemes in each of the jurisdictions in Australia and New Zealand.
This edition of the Comparison report has been substantially revised and reformatted. The main changes are that:
The majority of tables contained in this report provide a snapshot of workers’ compensation arrangements as at 30 September 2011. Note that the ACT has arrangements as at 30 June 2011. Information taken from the 13th edition of the Comparative Performance Monitoring report covers the 2009-10 financial year and some jurisdictions have reported recent developments to the end of December 2011. However, because each jurisdiction may vary its arrangements from time to time, and because there may be some exceptions to the arrangements described in this edition, readers wanting more up to date information should check with the relevant authority.
On behalf of the Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities (HWCA), the Victorian Workcover Authority produced this publication from 1993 to 2005. The Australian Safety and Compensation Council took over responsibility for the report in 2006 and produced it in 2006 and 2007. Safe Work Australia has been producing the report since 2008. The work of the Victorian Workcover Authority and the Australian Safety and Compensation Council is acknowledged. Safe Work Australia thanks the representatives from each jurisdiction for the valuable assistance they have provided in producing this edition of the Comparison.
Contents
Chapter 1: Recent developments in workers’ compensation schemes in Australia and New Zealand 5
Chapter 2 - Schemes at a glance 13
Table 2.1: Jurisdictional contacts 14
Table 2.2 Agencies responsible for overseeing workers’ compensation in each jurisdiction 16
Table 2.3: Key features of schemes 17
Table 2.4b: Guidelines and information for determining coverage of workers 21
Table 2.4c: Coverage of journeys and breaks 21
Table 2.4d: Definition of injury and employment contribution 22
Table 2.5: Summary of entitlements as at 30 September 2011 25
Table 2.6: Prescribed time periods for injury notification 28
Table 2.7: Prescribed time periods for claim submission 29
Table 2.8: Prescribed time periods for payments 31
Table 2.9: Dispute resolution process 33
Table 2.10: Definition of remuneration for the purpose of premium calculation 38
Table 2.11: Employer excess 40
Table 2.12: Uninsured employer provisions 41
Table 2.13: Leave accrual while on workers’ compensation 43
Table 2.14: Superannuation and workers’ compensation 45
Chapter 3 - Coverage and eligibility for benefits 46
Table 3.2: Deemed workers 50
Table 3.3: Treatment of sportspersons and sporting injuries 53
Table 3.4: Workers’ compensation arrangements for government employers 55
Table 3.5: Workers’ compensation arrangements for judges and members of parliament 57
Table 3.6: Industrial deafness thresholds 59
Table 3.7: Definition of work - journeys and breaks 59
Table 3.8: Definition of injury and relationship to employment - detailed 60
Table 3.9: Statutory definitions of permanent and impairment and criteria for determining whether impairment is permanent 63
Table 3.10: Permanent impairment guides 66
Table 3.11: Discounting of prior conditions 70
Table 3.13: Exclusionary provisions for psychological injuries 74
Table 3.14: Cross border provisions 78
Chapter 4 - Benefits 79
Table 4.1: Income replacement 81
Table 4.2: Medical, hospital and other costs 87
Table 4.3: Permanent impairment payments 93
Table 4.4: Death entitlements 96
Table 4.5: Definitions of dependants/ spouse for death benefits 98
Table 4.6: Common law provisions 104
Table 4.7: Suspension and cessation of benefits 107
Table 4.8 Incapacity benefits settlements 110
Chapter 5: Return to work 111
Table 5.1: Sections of workers’ compensation Acts and guidance material relating to return to work 112
Table 5.2a: Requirement to have a workplace rehabilitation/ return to work program or policy 115
Table 5.2b: Return to work plans - Individual return to work plans 119
Table 5.2c: Suitable duties 123
Table 5.2d: Other requirements of employers 127
Table 5.3: Responsibilities of workers 128
Table 5.4: Injured worker placement incentives 131
Table 5.5: Responsibilities of authority/ insurer 134
Table 5.6: Functions and training of workplace rehabilitation coordinators 136
Table 5.7a: Responsibilities of rehabilitation provider 141
Table 5.8: Prescribed time periods to establish a return to work plan 146
Chapter 6: Self-insurer arrangements 147
Table 6.1: Workers’ compensation and self-insurance coverage 149
Table 6.2: Criteria for becoming a self-insurer 150
Table 6.3: Approval process, application and ongoing costs and duration of licence 153
Table 6.4: Work health and safety requirements and auditing 157
Table 6.5: Bank guarantees/ prudential margins and excess of loss requirements 159
Table 6.6: Self-insurance restraints on company structure 161
Table 6.7 Outsourcing of Case Management 161
Table 6.8: Other ongoing licence requirements 163
Table 6.9: Reporting requirements 166
Table 6.10: Requirements for surrendering a self-insurance licence and penalties for exiting the scheme 173
Chapter 7: Scheme administrative and funding arrangements 175
Table 7.1: Applicable workers’ compensation legislation 177
Table 7.2: Transitional legislation provisions as at September 30 2011 178
Table 7.3a: Minor schemes - New South Wales* 179
Table 7.3b: Minor schemes - Victoria 181
Table 7.3c: Minor schemes - Western Australia 182
Table 7.3d: Minor schemes - South Australia 183
Table 7.3e: Minor schemes - Tasmania 183
Table 7.3f: Minor schemes - Commonwealth 184
Table 7.3g: Minor schemes - New Zealand 185
Table 7.4: Schemes’ funding positions as at 30 June 2011 and 30 June 2010 187
Table 7.5: Standardised average premium rates 2005-06 to 2009-10 (% of payroll) 189
Table 7.6: Selected industry premium rates as at 30 September 2011 (% of payroll) 190
Appendix 1 196
Appendix 2 222
Glossary 231
Acronyms and abbreviations 238