WorkCover Queensland – Prepare to renew your WorkCover Accident Insurance policy in 2022/23

Want to save time and renew your policy?

Appointing myWorkCover to manage your policy is the simplest way to renew and declare your wages. We will make certain that your business classification is correct and that you pay the appropriate premium. By renewing your policy with us, you’ll be able to see any discounts you’re entitled to, compare your claims performance to the industry average, and understand the factors influencing your premium calculation (such as wages or industry rate).

Time to renew your policy

If you have an accident insurance policy with WorkCover Queensland that covers your business for the cost of any work-related injuries to your employees, it is about to expire.

Important Notice: Paying your premium late can affect your insurance cover. You’ll not only receive a late payment penalty, but you won’t be covered by your policy until payments are up to date (including penalty fees). If you’re not covered by your policy due to late payment, and one of your workers is injured, you’ll be liable for their costs.

For a quick overview of your accident insurance policy, watch the short video below. It explains Queensland workers’ compensation’s “how what, and why.”

What does the law say?

An employer has five days after hiring employees to obtain a policy, which must be maintained by making periodic returns and paying a premium at the time and in the manner specified by the policy. Employers who fail to maintain adequate insurance coverage are subject to penalties under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act of 2003 (the Act). These rules apply to any employer who hires workers. Failure to provide workers’ compensation insurance to all employees is a crime.

Individuals who fail to maintain workers’ compensation insurance face a maximum penalty of 275 penalty units (currently $37,908.75). If the employer is a corporation, the penalty is five times the prescribed maximum penalty for an individual, for a total of $189,543.75.

Important key dates

• From 1 July – declare your wages early and take advantage of a payment plan if you need it

• 31 August – wage declarations due

• 16 September – if you pay in full by this date and your wages were declared on time, you’ll receive a discount on your premium

• 30 September – your full premium payment is due by this date if you don’t have a payment plan

Interim Certificate of Currency

Please contact myWorkCover if you are not receiving electronic communications from WorkCover Queensland and we will assist you in obtaining one. In June, WorkCover Queensland issues an Interim Certificate of Insurance, which covers policyholders from 1 July to September 30, 2022. While this certificate provides coverage during this period, you must still pay your premium or commit to a payment plan to receive your full Certificate of Currency and remain covered until 30 June 2023.

Policy Renewal and Declaring Wages

For the premium to be calculated, you must declare your wage information between 1 July and 31 August 2022. Declaring your company’s wages is an important part of renewing your accident insurance policy, as well as a key responsibility as an employer.

Generally, wages mean the total amount paid to a worker as wages, salary, or other earnings having monetary value.

See National Remuneration Matrix Guide for full details

Who should I cover for?

Employers in Queensland are required to provide accident insurance to their employees in order to protect them from work-related injury or illness. To understand who you should cover for workers’ compensation – and accurately declare your wages – you must first define a worker. The legislative definition is outlined below, along with steps you can take to determine who is a worker and who is not, so you can get things right for your business and cover the right people.

Who is a worker?

Workers are all PAYG employees and some contractors. However, the legal definition is complex, and there are some exceptions. Some people are not considered workers under the Act, and there are specific inclusions and exclusions.

As set out in the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, a worker is:

• only an individual, not a corporation, partnership or trust (sole traders may be considered workers)

• a ‘person who works under a contract and, in relation to the work, is an employee for the purpose of assessment for PAYG withholding

• someone who works under a ‘contract of service’, as a sub-contractor. This worker may do the same work as an employee and could also be a worker under the Act.

Is my worker a “contract of service” or “contract for service”?

A ‘contract of service’ is a contract between an employer and an employee. This is how the majority of employers hire their employees. It is not the same as a contract for services, which is typically an agreement with a contractor. For more information refer to Who is a worker – Employer’s guide

According to the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act of 2003, anyone considered a worker must be insured for workers’ compensation (the Act). Refer to the Worker Determination tests guide to see if a person you hired is deemed to be a worker based on a test. If, after applying all four tests, you are still unsure whether a person is a worker, contact myWorkCover for assistance.

Is my worker an employee or contractor?

Whether a worker is an employee, or a contractor can be figured out by looking at the working arrangement. There are six main points for each – as set out by common law – that you should consider.

Importance notice: Contractor and working director are not covered under the Queensland Workers’ Compensation Scheme. Some contractors are still considered workers and need to be covered. Use the ATO’s employee/contractor decision tool to work out their status as a contractor or an employee.

The full article on Contractor Provision can be found here.

Employees:

1. The worker can’t pay someone else to do the work (subcontract).
2. The worker is paid by the hour for the time they work, per piece of work or for a commission.
3. The worker doesn’t provide their own tools or equipment for the job or, if they do, they are paid an allowance for this.
4. The worker isn’t legally liable for the cost of fixing any faults. The employer is responsible.
5. The employer has the right to tell the worker where and how to do their job.
6. The worker works within and is considered part of the employer’s business.

Contractors:

1. The contractor can pay someone else (subcontract) to do the work.
2. The contractor is paid for a job done based on a verbal or written quote they provided.
3. The contractor provides their own tools and equipment for the job and doesn’t get an allowance for this.
4. The contractor is legally responsible for their work and for the cost of fixing any faults in the work.
5. The contractor can do the work in the way they see fit, subject to the specific terms of any contract or agreement
6. The contractor operates their own business independently from the employer and is free to accept or refuse additional work.

ATO’s online decision tool

To determine whether your worker is an employee or a worker, use the ATO’s online decision tool to work out specific contracting arrangements. If you have any further questions about employees or contractors, please contact myWorkCover.

What you need to declare

To ensure you meet your workers’ compensation obligations, you must understand who you must cover and what payments must be declared as wages. To determine what you need to declare, consult the WorkCover Queensland Declaration of Wages guide. You can also consult the National Remuneration Matrix guide.

To meet your workers’ compensation obligations, first, understand who you must cover and what payments must be declared as wages. To find out what you need to declare, consult the WorkCover Queensland Declaration of Wages guide. You can also consult the National Remuneration Matrix.

Declare your wages early to take full advantage of the flexible payment options, including:

• interest-free monthly payment plans with deductions occurring on the date of your choice

• a discount if you pay your premium in full by 16 September.

Note: Some payment options will not be available if you do not declare your wages by 31 August 2022. Discounted premium price cannot go below $200.

WorkCover Queensland

Who is covered?

Your policy covers any employees you hire as defined by the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act of 2003. It only applies to employees who work for your company. Anyone you hire to perform a service for another company is covered by their own employer. You are not considered a worker if you are a sole trader, director, or partner in your own business, or a trustee in a Trust.

Do I need to cover interstate and overseas workers?

You may or may not be required to provide workers’ compensation coverage in Queensland if you hire workers from other states or countries. You may be required to cover them in a different state, or you may not be required to cover them at all. You can use simple tests to determine your responsibilities and whether you should cover them.

Note: If your Queensland employees are travelling to interstate or overseas to work for a short period of time, the rule of thumb is no more than 6 months. Your Queensland policy may cover them while working outside of Queensland. This is known as cross-border coverage.

You can find all of this information on our Cover for interstate and overseas workers page.

Do I need to cover apprentices?

Apprentices are considered workers for the purposes of workers’ compensation. They are covered by your policy just like any other employee. Businesses that employ apprentices, on the other hand, can benefit from an ‘apprentice discount’ on their accident insurance policy premium. This works by removing the cost of apprentice wages from your wage declaration, resulting in a lower premium.

Apprentice discount

If your company employs an apprentice or several apprentices, you may be eligible for a premium reduction. The discount works by excluding (not counting) any wages paid to an apprentice when calculating your premium. This will result in a lower premium because the amount of wages you pay is a big part of calculating your premium. You must still declare any apprentice wages, but we will deduct them from your premium.

The following are the most important things to know:

• To qualify, you must hire and pay at least one apprentice.

• Apprentices must work under an official apprenticeship arrangement or training contract (trainees are not included).

• The discount applies to all wages for all apprentices you hire, as well as only work related to the apprenticeship.

• When you renew your policy, you must still declare your apprentice’s wages as part of your normal wage declaration. They will then be deducted by WorkCover.

• Your policy still covers your apprentices for injury, and any claims made if they are injured count towards your claims experience (claims costs).

Volunteers

Organizations are not required to ensure volunteers for any work-related injury that may occur while volunteering. If desired, certain organisations can obtain a limited policy to cover volunteers. Contact WorkCover to determine whether your company is eligible. Volunteers for a school’s Parents & Citizens (P&C) or Parents & Friends (P&F) organisation are not covered by the school’s Accident Insurance policy. Alternative insurance coverage will be required.

Students on work experience or vocational placement

Students on work experience or vocational placement may be covered by a Work Experience and Vocational Placement policy that only covers death or permanent disability. This policy applies only to private secondary schools and registered training organisations (RTOs), as the following schools are covered by policies held by Education Queensland, Catholic Education, and Independent Schools Queensland:

• State secondary schools
• Catholic private secondary schools
• independent schools providing secondary education that are members of Independent Schools Queensland.

Unpaid internship

Declaring unpaid interns (required as per Schedule 2 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003)

Under workers’ compensation laws, unpaid interns are considered workers and are entitled to compensation for work-related injuries. If you hire an unpaid intern, your workers’ compensation policy or self-insurance arrangements must cover them. If you work without pay to gain practical experience or qualification, you are an intern; if you are paid, you are a worker.

You are not an intern if:

• you are paid
• you volunteer with a non-profit organisation or a religious, charitable or benevolent organisation
• you are a school or university student on work experience or have a vocational placement through a registered training organisation
• you are providing unpaid assistance as a favour.

Vocational placements through a registered training organisation are exempt because, under the National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011, WorkCover Queensland can enter into an insurance contract with a registered training organisation for specific vocational training (Cwlth).

Am I the employer of an unpaid intern?

If you engage or host an unpaid volunteer who is not part of a school, university, registered training organisation, or not-for-profit organization-based work experience program, you are the employer of an unpaid intern for workers’ compensation purposes.

What is my obligation as an employer?

Unpaid interns must be covered by your WorkCover Queensland workers’ compensation policy or your self-insurance arrangements if you are a self-insurer. You must declare the number of unpaid interns when renewing your WorkCover Queensland accident insurance policy. Other types of accident insurance do not replace having a workers’ compensation policy that covers your unpaid interns.

General advice about internships can also be found at fairwork.gov.au.

What’s covered?

This policy protects you if one of your employees sustains a work-related injury or illness and needs to file a workers’ compensation claim. This includes both no-fault statutory claims and damages (at-fault) claims.

More information about these types of claim costs can be found in the sections below.

Types of injury covered

Your accident insurance policy covers you and your worker for any work-related injury or illness a worker might experience.

There are many different types of injuries covered by your policy. They include:

• physical injuries, like lacerations, fractures, burns
• psychological/psychiatric injuries
• injuries that happen over time, like industrial deafness
• injuries that take a long time to show symptoms, like Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis or silicosis
• aggravation of a pre-existing condition
• death from an injury or disease.

Important Notice: Injuries that happen travelling to or from work, while on a break from work, or while working interstate or overseas, may also be covered. Employees might be covered while working from home, as long as their employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury.

Common Law costs covered

When your injured worker files a notice of claim, he or she sues you for damages under common law. This is the point at which they believe you are to blame for their injury. Your accident insurance policy will pay the full amount of any common law claim, which may include your worker’s compensation:

• past and future loss of income
• treatment and other medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses
• legal costs
• pain and suffering.

Compensation is typically paid as a settlement to your employee to cover the aforementioned expenses. Your legal expenses are also covered by your policy.

Statutory claims costs covered

If a claim is accepted, your accident insurance policy covers your workers:

• lost wages
• medical costs, for example, doctor consultations, medication, x-rays
• hospital costs (public and private)
• rehabilitation costs like physiotherapy or returns to work programs
• travel expenses relating to treatment or the claim
• lump-sum payments
• death benefits and funeral expenses.

The only statutory claim cost you’ll have to pay is the excess as outlined above.

Will I have to pay an excess?

You’ll need to pay an excess if:

• your worker has taken time off from work due to their injury, and

• your worker‘s claim is accepted, and they receive weekly compensation

In the case of a WorkCover claim, you will pay your excess to your injured worker as their first weekly payment. We’ll tell you how much you owe. This will be calculated using the employee’s normal weekly earnings or award. The excess must be paid within 10 business days of being notified. If you do not do this, we will pay the worker on your behalf and recover the excess, as well as any penalties imposed by section 66(6) of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.

This excess will be whichever is less out of:

• 100% of Queensland full-time adult’s ordinary time earnings (QOTE), or

• the worker’s weekly compensation (in most cases this is 100% of the award or 85% of normal weekly earnings, whichever is greater).

Your accident insurance policy covers you and your worker for any work-related injury or illness a worker might experience.

There are many different types of injuries covered by your policy. They include:

• physical injuries, like lacerations, fractures, burns
• psychological/psychiatric injuries
• injuries that happen over time, like industrial deafness
• injuries that take a long time to show symptoms, like Coal Workers Pneumoconiosis or silicosis
• aggravation of a pre-existing condition
• death from an injury or disease.

Employers failing to hold insurance in the Queensland workers’ compensation scheme

Employers who do not meet their workers’ compensation obligations for their workers should be aware that there can be very serious consequences. One recent prosecution highlights just how seriously failing to hold insurance is taken in Queensland.

Premium calculation

The cost of your accident insurance policy will be determined by several factors, including the amount your company pays in wages, your claims experience (the cost of any injury claims made against your company), and your industry. You will pay your premium ‘provisionally,’ which means that you will pay it at the beginning of the fiscal year and we will adjust it at the end if necessary.

What do I need to tell WorkCover Queensland?

WorkCover Queensland will calculate your policy based on a number of factors, depending on whether you are purchasing a new policy or renewing an existing one.

New policy

To work out how much you need to pay, WorkCover Queensland will simply ask you to declare your estimated wages for the current financial year. If you need a new policy, myWorkCover can provide a quotation before taking out a policy.

Renewing an existing policy

If you’re renewing your policy, the information below is needed to provide WorkCover Queensland:

• your actual wages for the previous financial year (2021/22)
• your estimated wages for the current financial year (2022/23)

What else is considered in the premium calculation?

Your industry rate and claims costs are also important considerations. The model we use to calculate your premium is determined by the amount of wages you declare. In the sections that follow, we’ll explain how it works. Simply look through the sections that are relevant to your business. Your policy will also include GST and stamp duty.

How can I reduce my premium?

You can reduce your premium costs in a variety of ways, including improving workplace safety and hiring apprentices. Contact myWorkCover for a confidential health check on your policy.

More information can be found here here.

Calculating wages under $1 million dollars

WorkCover Queensland will use a simplified model to calculate your policy premium if your wage costs are less than $1.5 million. Your rating is determined by your claim’s costs from the previous fiscal year. The higher your rating and the lower your premium, the safer your workplace and the more creative your claims management approach is.

What are the benefits of the simplified model?

• 10% movement limit – your policy rating can only go up or down by one (1) rating each year. This means the percentage of industry rate you pay can only increase or decrease by 10%, making changes predictable and easier to manage.

• $500 claim cost protection – the first $500 of claims costs won’t count towards your total claims experience. So, if you have small or simple claims, they won’t affect your premium.

• The better your policy rating, the lower your premium. For example, if you have a policy rating of 1, you only pay 80% of your industry rate.

• No claim discount – if you have no claim costs for the year, your policy rating will automatically improve by 1 rating. This means your premium will go down unless you are already on rating 1 and benefiting from the best rate.

How is my premium calculated?

Your premium is calculated by multiplying your wages by your industry rate. Industry rates are worked out based on the claims costs of all employers in the same industry.

The percentage of industry rate you’ll pay depends on the policy rating you’ve been given.

Policy rating	Industry rate (IR) %
Policy rating 1	80% of IR
Policy rating 2	90% of IR
Policy rating 3	100% of IR
Policy rating 4	110% of IR
Policy rating 5	120% of IR

Maintaining a safer work environment can help you improve your policy rating and lower your premium. If your claims costs rise, your policy rating will suffer and your premium may rise.

Calculating wages greater than $1 million dollars

If you pay more than $1.5 million in wages, your premium will be calculated using an experience-based rating (EBR). This means that your wages, industry rate, and performance are taken into account when calculating what you’ll pay and estimating your claims costs for next year. The only difference between this and the simplified model is the number of years of claims costs considered and the size of your business.

What does performance mean?

When evaluating your performance, WorkCover Queensland considers your claim experience, i.e. the cost of claims made against your business. Total claims costs for four years as follows: statutory claim costs for the previous three years and common law claim costs for the year preceding (before) those three years.

What are the benefits of the experienced-based model?

• Improve your performance to reduce your premium. You can accomplish this by implementing safe work practices to reduce injuries and assisting injured workers in returning to work.

• Annual premium increases are capped at 30%. This is to assist you in managing any increase if your performance falls significantly.

New employers

If you’re a new business and don’t have any claims experience, your premium will be worked out by multiplying your wages by 100% of your industry rate for the first 18 months. Contact myWorkCover for quotation and policy placement.

Succession

Your claims and wage history may be carried over to your new policy if your employing entity changes. This is known as succession. If your policy has succession applied to it and you believe WorkCover Queensland’s decision is incorrect, contact myWorkCover for a free confidential health check.

Follow Us & Connect!

Featuring myWorkCover about-us

Scan our QR Code to connect!

Disclaimer:

The information in this post is strictly for informational and educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. It is not intended to express specific opinions about specific cases. Before acting on any of the issues discussed in this post, seek additional advice. The information provided should not be relied on for any purpose other than to assist you in understanding how Workers’ Compensation insurance works. It is for illustrative purposes only and My WorkCover Solutions Pty Ltd does not accept liability for any loss or damage suffered by any person resulting in any way from the use of or reliance on, the information provided. The information in this article is believed to be correct as of the date of publication. However, changes in the applicable laws may have an impact on the accuracy of the material. This article contains general information that is not tailored to any specific person’s situation. This publication may contain information that relates to the regulation of Workers’ Compensation insurance in your State or Territory. To ensure you comply with your legal obligations, we would recommend you refer to the appropriate legislation as currently in force in the State or Territory you conduct your business. You can find up-to-date legislation by visiting each state’s WorkCover Authority website, alternatively contact myWorkCover for updated information.