Access keys | Skip to primary navigation | Skip to secondary navigation | Skip to content | Skip to footer |
Office of Fair and Safe Work Queensland
Department of Justice and Attorney-General
Home > Workers' compensation and rehabilitation > Workers' compensation costs less in Queensland

Workers' compensation costs less in Queensland..and you get more

What has changed and who is eligible?
How will it affect Queensland businesses?
Is there a difference in service delivery?
Does Comcare provide the same cover?

Queensland provides Australia's lowest cost workers' compensation system, but not at the expense of benefits to your workforce.

Consider this:

Queensland's workers' compensation system has provided Queensland employers with the lowest average premium rate in Australia for the past seven years.

The Queensland Government announced a further cut in May to an average premium rate of $1.15 for every $100 an employer pays in wages, saving business well over $30 million a year.

This year Queensland also started offering flexible payment options including a further 3% discount on the total premium if paid in full by 16 September, and interest free monthly or quarterly payments. This effectively reduces the average premium even further.

Queensland's system has good benefits, speedy claims settlement arrangements, the country's lowest rate of disputes and cover for some statutory payments that you don't get with Comcare.

The Federal Government would like large companies operating in Queensland to move to its Comcare workers' compensation scheme.

But the Queensland Government thinks it makes good business sense to stay in the Queensland workers' compensation system.

What has changed and who is eligible?

Under amendments to Commonwealth laws, which came into effect on 15 March 2007, national self-insurers and their workers are excluded from state and territory workplace health and safety laws.

To be eligible to self-insure nationally a company must meet certain criteria, have competed with a Commonwealth agency or former Commonwealth agency, have 500 workers and operate out of at least two states.

How will it affect Queensland businesses?

The movement of eligible large employers from the protection of Queensland’s low cost, high performance workers’ compensation system to self-insurance under Comcare will impact on insurers, employers and workers.

The top 2,000 premium payers in Queensland account for approximately 90% of the premium pool. The movement of a number of these large companies to self-insurance will result in pressure on the fixed costs of maintaining Queensland’s service delivery network and greater volatility may arise as the premium pool decreases.

Also, the Commonwealth Government’s decision to allow Comcare to regulate workplace health and safety for all national self-insurers will not make it easier for these employers. Instead it will result in more complex, fragmented and confusing safety laws for employers, contractors and any other business working with them.

Is there a difference in service delivery?

Queensland enjoys the lowest rate of claims disputes in Australia at just 3.8% in 2005-06. The national average disputation rate was 9.2%, while Comcare recorded 8.3% in the same period.

The Comcare dispute resolution process uses the adversarial format of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal resulting in delays and increased costs to both employers and workers. The dispute resolution process in Queensland is non adversarial, administered on a no cost basis and results in swift outcomes.

Queensland has by far the most timely and efficient dispute resolution process. In 2005-06 over 90% of disputes were resolved within three months in Queensland. More than half of Comcare's disputes took longer than nine months to resolve.

Does Comcare provide the same cover?

Under Comcare, workers are not covered for injury sustained while traveling to or from work or during recess periods. These benefits are provided in the Queensland scheme, along with the highest levels of benefits in Australia in the case of work-related severe injury or death.

Similarly, the safety of Queensland workers is protected by comprehensive workplace standards and compliance, facilitated by some 250 Inspectors. This results in safer workplaces with lower injury rates and associated costs.

Comcare inspector numbers are reportedly increasing to a target of 50 for Australia, which means the assistance and enforcement available cannot match Queensland coverage.

Businesses operating in Queensland are better off in the state workers' compensation system.

Last updated 22 July 2009

Resources

Campaign materials

Fact sheet (PDF, 186 KB)

Print advertisement - business (PDF, 4,424 KB)

Print advertisement (PDF, 889 KB)

Bus back advertisement (PDF, 718 KB)

Television advertisements

Ministerial media statement


For more information contact:


Graph showing if Queensland claimants were paid Comcare benefits they would receive 20% less in total compensation.
Graph showing actual costs to employers currently under Comcare are estimated to be 39% higher than under the Queensland system.

1Based on actual premium rates with some adjustment for industry mix and definitional differences. Adjustments for industry mix are largely judgemental and significantly influence the size of the cost difference.

2 Based on modelling Comcare benefits onto a typical year of Queensland claims. Modelling limited to weekly benefits, statutory lump sums, common law and medical benefits with other benefits and costs not modelled. Modelling incorporates an allowance for the impact of removing Queensland stable and stationary and weekly benefit cap provisions but otherwise assumes claim duration are unchanged. There has been no adjustment to durations for the absence of common law under the Comcare scheme; it is likely this could impact on claim durations and may partially explain the modelled cost difference.