Do You Need WorkSafe Injury Insurance?

If you engage workers or contractors deemed to be workers and you pay, or expect to pay, more than the current threshold limit per year in rateable remuneration or if you engage apprentices or trainees, you must take out a WorkSafe Injury Insurance Policy. Please go to the WorkSafe web site for more information.

It is important to note that there are a number of definitional differences between 'wages' for payroll tax purposes and 'remuneration' for WorkSafe purposes. Please visit the WorkSafe website for more information about remuneration.

Source State Revenue Office

Remuneration

Your WorkSafe Injury Insurance premium is determined, in part, by the size of your remuneration. This is made up of the wages and certain other benefits you pay to your workers.

Do You Need A WorkSafe Injury Insurance Policy?

Who needs an insurance policy?

If you engage workers or contractors deemed to be workers and you pay, or expect to pay, more than $7,500 a year (at the time of writing this article) in rateable remuneration or if you engage apprentices or trainees, you must take out a WorkSafe Injury Insurance policy.

This applies to you even if you are a small company, partnership or sole trader with only one or a small number of workers

Employer Rights an Responsibilities

As an employer you must provide a safe and healthy workplace for your workers and contractors. This includes:

• providing and maintaining safe plant (such as machinery and equipment) and safe systems of work (such as controlling entry to high risk areas, controlling work pace and frequency and providing systems to prevent falls from heights)
• implementing arrangements for the safe use, handling, storage and transport of chemicals (such as dangerous goods and other harmful materials)
• maintaining the workplace in a safe condition (such as ensuring fire exits are not blocked, emergency equipment is serviceable, and the worksite is generally tidy)
• providing workers and contractors with adequate facilities (such as clean toilets, cool and clean drinking water, and hygienic eating areas)
• making sure workers have adequate information, instruction, training and supervision to work in a safe and healthy manner.

Employer Premium Compliance

An in-house premium compliance programme was introduced early in 2006 to ensure equity and fairness across the scheme.

The programme recognises that there are often complex facets of premium and that employers focusing on their own business may not be fully aware of all factors relevant to calculation of their premium or may lose knowledge and expertise through turnover of staff.

The compliance programme ensures that employers pay their fair share of premium and assists them to better understand their premium obligations.

Source WorkSafe