Comparative Performance Monitoring Report 13th Edition

8/2/2019 Comparative Performance Monitoring Report 13th Edition

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Comparative Performance Monitoring

Report

Comparison of work health and safety and workers

compensation schemes in Australia and New Zealand13th Edition


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SAFE WORK AUSTRALIA

Comparative PerformanceMonitoring Report

Comparison of work health and safety andworkers compensation schemes

in Australia and New Zealand

Thirteenth EditionOctober 2011


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Commonwealth of Australia (Safe Work Australia) 2011.

DISCLAIMER

The information provided in this document can only assist you in the mostgeneral way. This document does not replace any statutory requirements

under any relevant State and Territory legislation. Safe Work Australia acceptsno liability arising from the use of or reliance on the material contained inthis document, which is provided on the basis that Safe Work Australia isnot thereby engaged in rendering professional advice. Before relying onthe material, users should carefully make their own assessment as to itsaccuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, andshould obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particularcircumstances. To the extent that the material in this document includes viewsor recommendations of third parties, such views or recommendations do notnecessarily reect the views of Safe Work Australia nor do they indicate acommitment to a particular course of action.

ISBN No. 978-0-642-33221-9 [PRINT] 978-0-642-33222-6 [PDF]

978-0-642-33217-2 [RTF]

Creative Commons

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 viewa copy of this licence, visit

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en

In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt the work, as long asyou attribute the work to Safe Work Australia and abide by the other licensingterms. The report should be attributed as the Comparative PerformanceMonitoring Report 13th Edition.

Enquiries regarding the licence and any use of the report are welcome at:

Copyright OfcerCommunications, IT and Knowledge ManagementSafe Work AustraliaGPO Box 641 Canberra ACT 2601

Email: [email protected]

Important Notice

Safe Work Australia provides the information given in this document to improvepublic access to information about work health and safety information generally.The vision of Safe Work Australia is Australian workplaces free from injury

and disease. Its mission is to lead and coordinate national efforts to preventworkplace death, injury and disease in Australia.


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Comparative Performance Monitoring 200910 iii

Foreword

The Labour Ministers Council released the rst Comparative Performance Monitoring(CPM) report in December 1998. The CPM project was transferred to Safe Work

Australia when it was established. The CPM reports provide trend analysis on the workhealth and safety and workers compensation schemes operating in Australia and New

Zealand. Information in the report is designed to help gauge the success of differentapproaches undertaken by the various workers compensation and work health andsafety authorities to reduce the incidence of work-related injury and disease. This is thethirteenth annual report of the CPM project.

The CPM is complemented by the Compendium of Workers Compensation Statistics,which provides more detailed analysis of national workers compensation data usingkey variables such as occupation, industry, age and gender with supporting informationon the circumstances surrounding work-related injury and disease occurrences. TheCompendium series can be found at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Statement of purpose

Provide measurable information to support policy making and program development bygovernments on work health and safety and workers compensation, to meet the goalof Australian and New Zealand workplaces free from injury and disease and to enabledurable return to work and rehabilitation for injured and ill workers. The informationshould provide:

(a) measurement of progress against national strategies

(b) identication of factors contributing to improved work health and safety andworkers compensation performance (which includes consideration ofresources), and

(c) measurement of changes in work health and safety and workers compensation

over time, including benchmarking where appropriate.


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iv Safe Work Australia

Data

Data used in this report were most recently supplied by jurisdictions for the 200910nancial year plus updates back to 200506. Readers should be aware that datapresented here may differ from jurisdictional annual reports due to the use of differentdenitions and the application of adjustment factors to aid the comparability of data.Explanatory commentary on the data items are contained within each chapter with

additional information included in Appendix 1 - Explanatory Notes, at the end of thispublication.

Data for this report are collected from:

the various workers compensation schemes and work health and safetyauthorities as follows:

- New South Wales WorkCover New South Wales- Victoria WorkSafe Victoria- Queensland Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Department of

Justice and Attorney General, Q-COMP and WorkCover Queensland

- Western Australia WorkCover Western Australia and WorkSafe Division,Department of Commerce

- South Australia WorkCover Corporation South Australia and SafeWork SA- Tasmania Workplace Standards Tasmania and WorkCover Tasmania- Northern Territory NT WorkSafe and Department of Justice- Australian Capital Territory WorkSafe ACT and the Ofce of Regulatory

Services within the Department of Justice and Community Services

- Australian Government Comcare- Seacare Seacare Authority (Seafarers Safety, Rehabilitation and

Compensation Authority), and

- New Zealand Accident Rehabilitation and Compensation InsuranceCorporation and New Zealand Department of Labour

the Australian Heads of Workers Compensation Authorities Return to WorkMonitor, the full results of which can be accessed at hwca.org.au/reports_rtw.phpand,

the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which provides denominator data, basedon the Labour Force Survey, the Survey of Employment and Earnings and theSurvey of Employment, Earnings and Hours.

Coordination

This report has been compiled and coordinated by Safe Work Australia with assistancefrom 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 WorkAustralia drives national policy development on work health and safety and workerscompensation matters to:

achieve signicant and continual reductions in the incidence of death, injury anddisease in the workplace

achieve national uniformity of the work health and safety legislative frameworkcomplemented by a nationally consistent approach to compliance policy andenforcement policy, and

improve national workers compensation arrangements.


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Comparative Performance Monitoring 200910 v

Contents

Foreword ...................................................................................... III

Summary of ndings.................................................................... VII

Chapter 1 Progress against the National OHS Strategy .............1

Injury and musculoskeletal target .............................................................................. 2Jurisdictional progress ............................................................................................... 2Fatalities target ...........................................................................................................3International comparison ............................................................................................ 4

Chapter 2 Work health and safety performance ......................... 6

Serious claims ............................................................................................................6Long term claims .......................................................................................................8

Duration of absence ...................................................................................................9Compensated fatalities .............................................................................................10Notied fatalities ....................................................................................................... 12Work-related traumatic injury fatalities .....................................................................13Claims by mechanism of injury/disease ................................................................... 14Claims by size of business .......................................................................................15

Chapter 3 Work health and safety compliance and enforcementactivities .......................................................................................17

Chapter 4 Workers compensation premiums and entitlements . 23Standardised average premium rates.....................................................................................23Entitlements under workers compensation .............................................................. 25

Chapter 5 Workers compensation scheme performance......... 29

Assets to liabilities ratio ............................................................................................29Scheme expenditure ................................................................................................ 32Durable return to work .............................................................................................. 36Disputation rate ........................................................................................................ 37Dispute resolution .....................................................................................................39

Chapter 6 Industry information ..................................................41Claims by industry .................................................................................................... 41Premium rates by industry ........................................................................................ 41

Appendix 1 Explanatory notes .................................................. 44

Appendix 2 Key features of Australian Workers CompensationSchemes ................................................................ 56

Appendix 3 Jurisdictional contact information ..........................58


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Comparative Performance Monitoring 200910 vii

Summary of ndings

Performance against the National OHS Strategy 20022012The reduction in the incidence rate of injury and musculoskeletal claims between thebase period (200001 to 200203) and 200910 was 25%, which is below the raterequired to meet the 20022012 National OHS Strategytarget of a 40% improvement

by 30 June 2012. South Australia was the only jurisdiction which met the required rateof improvement with 39% improvement. Seacare and the Australian Capital Territorywere the only jurisdictions to record an increase in the incidence of serious injury andmusculoskeletal claims from the base period.

The number of compensated fatalities recorded for 200910 is lower than in previousyears, increasing the percentage improvement from the base period. The incidenceof compensated fatalities from injury and musculoskeletal disorders decreased by42% from the base period to 200910. The national incidence rate has exceeded the20% reduction required by 30 June 2012, however there is a considerable amount ofvolatility in this measure and consistent improvement is required.

The National OHS Strategy also includes an aspirational target for Australia to have thelowest work-related traumatic fatality rate in the world by 2009.Analysis of internationaldata indicates that in 200709, Australia recorded the seventh lowest injury fatality rate.

Australias work-related fatality rate decreased from 200103 to 200406, and hasincreased slightly during 200507 to 200608 to decrease again in 200709. Australiadid not meet this target.

Work health and safety performanceThere has been a fall of 9% in the rate of serious injury and disease claims over thepast four years from 14.9 serious claims per 1000 employees reported in 200506to 13.5 serious claims per 1000 employees reported in 200809. The preliminaryworkers compensation claims data for Australia indicate that in 200910 the incidenceof serious injury and disease claims was 12.6 serious claims per 1000 employees. Itis expected that this rate will increase by around 2% when the liability on all the claimssubmitted in 200910 is determined.

There have been 194 compensated fatalities recorded so far for Australia for 200910,of which 136 were from injury and musculoskeletal disorders and 58 were from otherdiseases. It is expected that this number will rise slightly when all claims are processed.The number of compensated fatalities decreased from 294 recorded in 200506 to 254recorded in 200809.

The preliminary workers compensation claims data for New Zealand indicate that in200910 the incidence of serious injury and disease claims was 10.7 serious claims

per 1000 employees. New Zealand recorded a 11% decrease in incidence rates from200506 to 200809.

There were 101 compensated fatalities in New Zealand in 200910. This represents a16% drop since 200506.

Body stressingcontinued to be the mechanism of injury/disease which accounted forthe greatest proportion of claims (41%). Claim numbers for this group have decreasedby 9% since 200506. This mechanism is receiving attention under the National OHSStrategy. Claims forSound & pressure recorded the largest increase of all mechanismgroups: 43% over the period from 200506 to 200910. However, these claimsrepresented only 4% of all serious claims in 200910.


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viii Safe Work Australia

Summary of ndings

The highest incidence rate was recorded in the Transport & storage industry (23.9serious claims per 1000 employees) followed by the Manufacturing industry (22.1)and the Agriculture, forestry & shing industry (21.6), while the Construction industryrecorded a rate of 18.0 claims per 1000 employees.These industries together with theHealth & community services industry are receiving attention under the National OHSStrategy.

In 200910 close to 200 000 workplace interventions were undertaken by work healthand safety authorities around Australia. Australian jurisdictions issued 63 000 notices,448 legal proceedings against businesses were nalised and $19 million in nes werehanded out by the courts.

Workers compensation scheme performance

Australias standardised average premium rate fell 24% from 2.01% of payroll in200506 to 1.53% of payroll in 200910. All Australian jurisdictions recorded falls overthis period. The Australian Government scheme recorded the lowest premium rate ofall jurisdictions at 0.93% of payroll in 200910, while the Seacare scheme recorded the

highest premium rate at 3.59% of payroll.

The New Zealand standardised average premium rate was 0.93% of payroll in200910, a 9% increase from the previous year. The New Zealand rate remainslower than Australias rate. One reason for the lower rate in New Zealand is that itdoes not provide the same level of coverage for mental disorders as the Australianschemes provide.

In 200910 the Australian average funding ratio for centrally funded schemes droppedto 101% from 105% in 200809. This decrease was mainly the result of an 11% dropin the funding ratio of the Queensland scheme. The Australian average funding ratio forprivately underwritten schemes has fallen to 108% from 115% in 200809 Tasmania

recorded a decrease from 134% to 118% during this period.In 200910, Australian workers compensation schemes spent $7 302 million, of which56% was paid direct to the injured worker in compensation for their injury or illness and22% was spent on medical and other services costs. Insurance operations expensesmade up 17% of the total expenditure by schemes, down from 23% in 200506.Regulation costs made up 1.5% of total scheme expenditure, while dispute resolutionexpenses accounted for 1.1% and other administration expenses accounted for 1.9%.

The 200910 durable return to work rate increased from last year with 75% of workersreturning to work in 200910 following a work-related injury or disease. This islower than the peak of 80% seen in 200506. Victoria and Queensland recorded themost substantial increase in the durable return to work rate (6% and 5% increaserespectively); improvements were also recorded in Tasmania, New South Wales andSouth Australia. Comcare, the Northern Territory and Seacare recorded a drop in thedurable return to work rate (7%, 4% and 5% decrease respectively).

The rate of disputation on claims remained steady at 4.7% of all claims lodged in200910 compared to 200809. South Australia recorded the greatest differenceduring this time, decreasing from 9.4% to 6.9%. While the percentage of disputesresolved within 3, 6 and 9 months remained stable during the past ve years, therewas an 11% increase in the proportion of disputes resolved within one month.


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Comparative Performance Monitoring 200910 1

Chapter 1 Progress against the National OHS Strategy

The National OHS Strategy provides the framework for collective efforts to improveAustralias work health and safety performance. The National OHS Strategy set

national targets to reduce the incidence of work-related injury fatalities by at least 20%and reduce the incidence of workplace injury (including musculoskeletal disorders) byat least 40% by 30 June 2012.

A standard denition of serious claims due to injury or musculoskeletal disordershas been used for analysis to enable greater comparability between jurisdictions.Serious claims include all fatalities, all permanent incapacity claims (as dened by thejurisdictions) and temporary claims for which one or more weeks of compensation hasbeen recorded. This denition takes into account the different employer excesses thatexist in the various schemes.

Achievements against the national targets for injury and fatality are measured usingthe National Data Set for Compensation-based Statistics (NDS). The baseline for the

national targets is taken from the data for the three-year period 200001 to 200203.This move was motivated by the desire to publish jurisdictional level data where oneyear of data may not be typical. A three-year base period smooths much of this volatility,resulting in a more typical starting point at which to measure progress against thetargets. While the base period data are considered stable, revisions are likely for themore recent years. To ensure a more accurate measure of improvement is calculated,the most recent year of data have been projected forward to indicate the likelyincidence rate once updated data are received.

Since its adoption in May 2002, the National OHS Strategy has informed the workand strategic plans of all Australian work health and safety authorities as well asdriving the work of Safe Work Australia in the area of work health and safety. SafeWork Australia is working to achieve the goals of the National OHS Strategy througha variety of means including driving national harmonisation of work health and safetylegislation, developing a compliance and enforcement policy to ensure nationallyconsistent regulatory approaches across all jurisdictions, encouraging excellence inwork health and safety through the National Safe Work Australia Awards and improvingthe collection and analysis of work health and safety data and research to inform thedevelopment or evaluation of work health and safety policies and programs.

National compliance and intervention campaigns initiated by the Heads of WorkplaceSafety Authorities (HWSA) demonstrate the continuation of coordinated nationalprograms relating to the priority injury risks and industries under the National OHS

Strategy. National campaigns undertaken in recent years covered a range of areasincluding: Safe Steps campaign (targeting manual handling and slips and trips inhospitals); Forklift safety in primary industries; Construction scaffolding campaign; andNew and young workers in hospitality

Campaigns currently being implemented by HWSA are targeting: Worker safety on ornear public roads; Safe design, manufacture and supply of plant; and Quad bike safety.

Further information about HWSA campaigns can be found on its website www.hwsa.org.au.

All parties to the National OHS Strategy are committed to achieving a steadyimprovement in work health and safety practices and performance and a corresponding

decline in both incidence and severity of work-related injuries.


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2 Safe Work Australia

Progress against the National OHS Strategy

Injury and musculoskeletal target

Indicator 1 shows there was a 25% decrease in the incidence rate of injury andmusculoskeletal claims between the base period (200001 to 200203) and theprojected 200910 data, which is still below the rate of 32% improvement required to

meet the long term target of a 40% improvement by 30 June 2012. It is unlikely thatAustralia will meet the target.

Indicator 1 Incidence rate of serious* compensated injury and musculoskeletal claims,Australia, base period (200001 to 200203) to 200910

* Includes accepted workers compensation claims for temporary incapacity involving one or more weeks compensationplus all claims for fatality and permanent incapacity.

Jurisdictional progress

Indicator 2 shows how the jurisdictions are progressing towards the injury target. Tobe on target, jurisdictions would need to have recorded a 32% improvement from thebase period.

The Tasmanian data for 200910 has been affected by an issue with the lodgementof lost time data by some Agencies within the Tasmanian State Service. The data hasbeen supplied as at 30 November 2010 for some claims and as at 30 June 2011 forothers. Caution should be taken when comparing Tasmanian data in this Chapter andin Chapter two to previous years data or data from other jurisdictions.

Only South Australia exceeded the required rate of improvement to meet the target. Allother jurisdictions with the exception of the Australian Capital Territory and Seacare

recorded decreases in incidence rates since the introduction of the National OHSStrategy.

Changes to scheme operations since the base period can affect the percentageimprovements shown in this indicator. Achievement of the target may be more difcultin the Australian Capital Territory Private Scheme due to reforms introduced during thebase period that resulted in a higher level of reporting of claims since 200102.

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

baseperiod

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Claims

per1000employees

Actual Reduction required to meet target Projection

Actual 14.78 14.39 14.16 13.82 12.90 12.40 12.10 11.62 10.77


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Indicator 2 Incidence rates (serious claims per 1000 employees) and percentageimprovement of serious* compensated injury and musculoskeletal claims by jurisdiction.

JurisdictionBase

period200607 200708 200809

200910Preliminary

200910projected

Percentageimprovement

(%)**

South Australia 18.3 14.6 12.4 11.4 10.7 11.2 38.8

New South Wales 17.1 12.6 12.6 12.4 11.8 12.2 28.7

Victoria 11.3 9.5 9.0 8.6 7.9. 8.1 28.3

Australian Government 8.8 6.9 5.5 6.7 5.9 6.4 27.3

Queensland 16.6 15.9 16.3 15.0 13.6 13.8 16.9

Tasmania 16.2 15.7 14.7 14.8 13.4 13.7 12.3

Western Australia 12.5 12.3 12.3 11.7 10.5 11.0 12.0

Northern Territory 12.4 11.4 12.1 11.0 10.7 11.2 9.7

Australian Capital Territory 11.4 11.6 11.5 11.9 11.9 12.2 -7.0

Seacare 36.3 27.1 26.8 34.3 36.6 36.6 -0.8

Australia 14.8 12.4 12.1 11.6 10.8 11.1 25.0

*Includes accepted workers compensation claims for temporary incapacity involving one or more weeks compensationplus all claims for fatality and permanent incapacity.** Percentage improvement from base period (200001 to 200203) to 200910 projected.

Fatalities target

Indicator 3 shows progress towards the fatalities target. The substantial drop in thenumber of fatalities for New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia in 200910resulted in a 25% decrease in the Australian incidence rate from the previous year.Since the base period, there has been a 42% decrease in the incidence rate ofcompensated injury plus musculoskeletal claims. This improvement is more than twicethe required result to meet the target of a 20% reduction by 30 June 2012. The volatilityin this measure means that this improvement should be interpreted with caution andconsistent improvement is still required to ensure the target is actually achieved.

Note that a table of jurisdictional improvements in fatalities has not been included dueto the volatility of these data. Information on the number of fatalities recorded by eachjurisdiction can be found in Indicator 10.

Indicator 3 Incidence rates of compensated injury & musculoskeletal fatalities,Australia, base period (200001 to 200203) to 200910

1.20

1.40

1.60

1.80

2.00

2.20

2.40

2.60

2.80

baseperiod

2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

Claimsper100000employees

Actual Reduction required to meet target Projection

Actual 2.44 2.30 2.09 2.07 2.14 2.09 2.22 1.88 1.34


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Progress against the National OHS Strategy

International comparison

Following the rst triennial review of the National OHS Strategy, the WorkplaceRelations Ministers Council (WRMC) adopted an additional aspirational goal of havingthe lowest rate of traumatic fatalities in the world by 2009. Analysis of injury fatality datausing information published on the International Labor Ofce (ILO) website at laborsta.ilo.orgwas undertaken in 2004. The results of this analysis were published in a report titledFatal Occupational Injuries How does Australia compare internationally?, which canbe accessed atsafeworkaustralia.gov.au/swa/AboutUs/Publications/.

The aim of this report was to obtain a measure of the gap in performance betweenAustralia and the best performing countries. Countries were included in this analysisif they had a lower incidence rate of fatalities than Australia as reported to the ILO.This resulted in most of the countries included in this comparison being European.The analysis undertaken in the report only used fatalities from injuries, makingadjustments where possible for differences in scope and coverage. The data were thenstandardised against Australia to take account of different industry mixes and nallya three-year average was calculated to remove some of the volatility that results from

working with small numbers.This methodology has been used to calculate fatality incidence rates for Indicator 4. Asin the previous edition of the CPM report, Traumatic Injury Fatalities data, which arecomparable with the data sources used in other countries have been used. Australiaswork-related fatality rate decreased from 200103 to 200406 and has increasedslightly from 200507 to 200608 to decrease again in 200709.While the gapbetween Australia and the better performing countries has slightly reduced, Australiaremains in seventh place and did not meet this aspirational goal.

Other countries with a similar economic prole to Australia are not included in thisindicator due to their higher incidence rate of fatality. For example, the unstandardisedfatality rate for Canada is above 6 deaths per 100 000 employees, while the

unstandardised fatality rate for the United States of America is close to 4.

It should be noted that due to differences in scope and methodology, comparisonsof occupational injury fatalities data between countries have many limitations. Theareas of concern lie in the coverage of self-employed workers, the lack of data relatingto road trafc fatalities and the incomplete coverage within the data of the workingpopulation. The adopted methodology has attempted to address these concerns butsome issues have not been fully resolved and may impact on the nal results.


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Indicator 4 Comparison of Australias work-related injury fatality rate with the bestperforming countries

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

2001-2003 2002-2004 2003-2005 2004-2006 2005-2007 2006-2008 2007-2009

Fatalitiesper100000w

orkers

Australia Sweden UK DenmarkFinland Norway Switzerland New Zealand


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Work health and safety performance


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Chapter 2 Work health and safety performance

The data used in this chapter are mainly accepted workers compensation claimslodged in each nancial year. Workers compensation data are currently themost comprehensive source of information for measuring work health and safetyperformance. While there are some limitations, most notably that the data reect

the injury experience of employees only and under-report the incidence of disease,workers compensation data still provide a good indication of work health and safetytrends. For fatalities, these data are supplemented with the data from the NotiedFatalities dataset and the National Coroners Information System (NCIS).

Serious claims

As there are different employer excesses across the various schemes, a standardreporting denition of a serious claim has been adopted for analysis. Serious claimsinclude all fatalities, all permanent incapacity claims (as dened by the jurisdictions)and temporary incapacity claims for which one or more weeks of compensationhas been recorded. Refer to page 44of Appendix 1 - Explanatory notes forfurther information.

Due to the different number of employees in each jurisdiction, rates have beencalculated to assist with comparisons. Incidence rates compare jurisdictions on a peremployee basis and frequency rates allow a comparison on a per hour worked basis.

Indicator 5 shows that the Australian incidence rate for serious claims has steadilydeclined over the past four years, decreasing 9% from 14.9 to 13.5 claims per 1000employees between 200506 and 200809. Preliminary data for 200910 indicates anincidence rate of 12.6 claims per 1000 employees. While it is expected that this ratewill rise when updated data are available, the preliminary data indicate a continuingimprovement in incidence rates.

Substantial falls in incidence rates from 200506 to 200809 were recorded by SouthAustralia (down 30%),the Australian Government (down 20%),Northern Territory(down 15%),Victoria (down 14%), Tasmania (down 7%), Western Australia (down6%) and New South Wales (down 5%). Seacare was the only jurisdiction to record anincrease in incidence rate during the same period (up by 12%). Also Seacare recordedthe highest incidence rate for 200809 at 39.4 claims per 1000 employees with the

Australian Government recording the lowest rate at 8.0 claims per 1000 employees.

For the Seacare scheme, 200809 and 200910 were disappointing years with a23% and 9% increase in the incidence rates of serious claims from the year beforerespectively. In 2008-09 the scheme recorded a 43% increase in the number of

compensated claims while the number of employees increased by only 17%. Theincrease in the incidence of serious claims represents a signicant challenge for theindustry and the authority.

These data are higher than those shown in Chapter 1 as they include all injury andall disease claims. The National OHS Strategy measurement only includes injury andmusculoskeletal disorder claims, however these two indicators show similar levelsof improvement.

Over the period 200506 to 200809, New Zealand recorded an 11% decreasein incidence rates, dropping from 14.5 to 12.9 claims per 1000 employees. Thepreliminary data show a further 17% decrease to 10.7 claims per 1000 employees.


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Indicator 5 Incidence rates of serious* injury and disease claims by jurisdiction

* Includes all accepted workers compensation claims involving temporary incapacity of one or more weekscompensation plus all claims for fatality and permanent incapacity.

Indicator 6 shows that in the 200910 preliminary data, the Australian frequency ratewas 7.6 claims per one million hours worked. While the frequency rate data show asimilar level of improvement for Australia, there are differences in the order of thejurisdictions: Tasmania recorded the highest frequency rate of 9.9 claims per onemillion hours worked but only the third highest incidence rate. Seacare also changedposition due to the 24-hour basis on which their frequency rates are calculated. Refer

to page 45 of Appendix 1 - Explanatory notes for further information.

Indicator 6 Frequency rates of serious* injury and disease claims by jurisdiction


15

20

25

emp

loyees

5

10

15

Claimsper1000emp

loy

0

5

S'care Qld Tas NSW ACT SA NT WA VicAusGov

AusTotal

NZ

2005-06 35.1 17.8 18.1 15.5 13.8 18.9 14.5 13.6 11.9 10.0 14.9 14.5

2006-07 29.9 17.9 17.6 14.7 12.8 17.0 12.7 13.4 11.3 8.8 14.3 14.7

Claims

2006-07 29.9 17.9 17.6 14.7 12.8 17.0 12.7 13.4 11.3 8.8 14.3 14.7

2007-08 32.1 18.2 16.7 14.8 12.7 14.7 13.5 13.6 10.7 6.8 14.0 14.1

2008-09 39.4 17.0 16.9 14.8 13.2 13.3 12.3 12.7 10.3 8.0 13.5 12.92009-10p 42.8 15.5 15.4 14.2 13.1 12.5 11.9 11.5 9.5 7.5 12.6 10.7

2009-10p Aus 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6 12.6

9

12

15

hoursworked

3

6

9

aimspermillionhoursw

0

Tas S'care Qld NSW ACT SA WA NT Vic AusGov

AusTotal

NZ

2005-06 11.5 8.1 10.7 9.0 8.7 11.4 7.9 8.2 7.2 5.6 8.9 8.0

2006-07 11.0 6.4 10.8 8.6 7.8 10.3 7.8 7.0 6.8 4.9 8.5 8.1

2007-08 10.4 6.2 10.9 8.6 8.0 9.0 7.8 7.5 6.5 3.8 8.3 7.8

C

laimsp

2006-07 11.0 6.4 10.8 8.6 7.8 10.3 7.8 7.0 6.8 4.9 8.5 8.1

2007-08 10.4 6.2 10.9 8.6 8.0 9.0 7.8 7.5 6.5 3.8 8.3 7.8

2008-09 10.8 8.8 10.3 8.8 8.3 8.3 7.4 6.8 6.3 4.4 8.1 7.2

2009-10p 9.9 9.5 9.4 8.5 8.3 7.8 6.8 6.8 5.8 4.2 7.6 6.0

2009-10p Aus 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6 7.6


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Long term claims - twelve or more weeks of compensation

Indicator 7 shows that the incidence rate for long term injury and disease claims inAustralia decreased by 5% from 3.8 claims per 1000 employees in 200506 to 3.6claims per 1000 employees in 200809. While the 200910 data show a continuing

decrease these data should be treated with caution due to the shorter developmenttime these claims have had compared to claims from previous years. On average, 26%of serious claims result in twelve or more weeks of compensation.

Indicator 7 Incidence rates of long term (12 weeks or more compensation) injury anddisease claims by jurisdiction

Tasmania, Western Australia, New South Wales and Seacare were the only Australianjurisdictions to record increases in the incidence rate of long term claims over the

period 200506 to 200809. New Zealand recorded a 4% decrease over this period,with its rate remaining lower than that of Australia.

The frequency rates of long term claims in Indicator 8 show a similar pattern to theincidence rates. There are no differences in order between the jurisdictions.

Indicator 8 Frequency rates of long term (12 weeks or more compensation) injury anddisease claims by jurisdiction

3

4

5

6

00employees

0

1

2

3

Aus AusClaimsper1000em

0

S'care ACT SA Qld Tas WA NSW Vic NTAusGov

AusTotal

NZ

2005-06 17.2 4.5 5.3 4.0 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.6 3.4 3.0 3.8 2.8

2006-07 14.1 3.6 5.2 4.2 3.7 3.7 3.5 3.4 2.8 2.6 3.7 3.0

2007-08 16.9 3.7 4.3 4.2 3.9 3.9 3.7 3.4 3.3 1.9 3.7 3.0

2008-09 19.8 4.1 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.3 2.9 2.2 3.6 2.7

Clai

- . . . . . . . . . . . .

2008-09 19.8 4.1 3.9 4.0 3.9 3.8 3.6 3.3 2.9 2.2 3.6 2.7

2009-10p 21.9 3.8 3.7 3.5 3.3 3.1 2.9 2.9 2.4 1.9 3.1 1.9

2009-10p Aus 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.1

3

4

5

oursworked

0

1

2

3

aimspermillion

hours

0

S'care ACT SA Qld Tas WA Vic NSW NTAusGov

AusTotal

NZ

2005-06 4.0 2.8 3.2 2.4 2.3 2.2 2.2 2.1 1.9 1.7 2.3 1.5

2006-07 3.0 2.2 3.1 2.5 2.4 2.1 2.1 2.1 1.6 1.4 2.2 1.6

2007-08 3.3 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.0 2.2 1.7

2008-09 4.4 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 2.1 1.6 1.2 2.2 1.5

Claimsp

2007-08 3.3 2.4 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.2 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.0 2.2 1.7

2008-09 4.4 2.6 2.5 2.4 2.5 2.2 2.0 2.1 1.6 1.2 2.2 1.5

2009-10p 4.9 2.4 2.3 2.1 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.7 1.3 1.1 1.9 1.1

2009-10p Aus 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9 1.9


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Duration of absence

The duration of absence for claims provides one indicator of the severity of injuriesoccurring in Australia. Indicator 9 shows the variation across the jurisdictions in thepercentage of claims involving selected periods of compensation. These data are

based on claims lodged in 200708, which is the most recent year that reliable dataare available for this indicator.

Indicator 9 Serious* claims: Percentage involving selected periods of compensation,

200708

Jurisdiction Less than6 weeks6 weeksor more

12 weeksor more

26 weeksor more

52 weeksor more

% % % % %

New South Wales 62 38 25 15 9

Victoria 52 48 32 19 12

Queensland 61 39 23 10 3

Western Australia 58 42 28 1710

South Australia 58 42 29 19 12

Tasmania 60 40 23 12 6

Northern Territory 58 42 24 11 4

Australian Capital Territory 55 45 29 16 8

Australian Government 57 43 27 16 7

Seacare 29 71 53 26 15

Australian Average 59 41 27 15 8

New Zealand 67 33 21 12 6


These data show that 59% of claims in Australia resulted in less than six weeks ofcompensation. The jurisdictional rates were similar except for Seacare, which recorded29% of claims being resolved in this time. Injured workers in the Seacare scheme faceunique problems in return to work, which need to be considered when interpreting theSeacare results in this indicator. Refer to page 52 of Appendix 1 - Explanatory notesfor further information.

Seacare had the highest percentage of claims continuing past 52 weeks ofcompensation (15% of claims) followed by South Australia and Victoria (12% each).Queensland had 3% of claims continuing past 52 weeks of compensation, partly dueto the nature of the Queensland scheme, followed by the Northern Territory (4%) and

Tasmania (6%).The New Zealand scheme nalised a higher proportion of claims within six weeks thandid Australia. However, their scheme recorded a 21% drop in this proportion whencompared to the previous year.


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Compensated fatalities

Indicator 10 shows that in 200910 in Australia there were 194 accepted compensatedclaims for a work-related fatality, of which 136 fatalities were due to injury andmusculoskeletal disorders and 58 due to other diseases. The number of fatalities is

expected to rise as more claims lodged in 200910 are accepted. There was a 14%decrease in the number of compensated fatalities in Australia from 200506 to 200809.

New Zealand recorded 101 compensated fatalities in 200910. Over the periodfrom 200506 to 200809 New Zealand recorded a drop of 18% in the number ofcompensated fatalities.

Fatalities are recorded in the NDS against the date of lodgement of the claim, not thedate of death. Data revisions from previous years can occur where a claim is lodgedin one year but not accepted until after the data are collected for that year or for aninjury or disease in one year where the employee dies from that injury or diseasein a subsequent year. This is particularly the case with disease fatalities, where

considerable time could elapse between diagnosis resulting in a claim being lodgedand death.

Workers compensation data are known to understate the true number of fatalitiesfrom work-related causes, particularly deaths from occupational diseases such asasbestosis and mesothelioma where compensation is often sought through separatemechanisms including common law.

Safe Work Australia is currently reporting annually on mesothelioma using data fromthe National Cancer Statistics Clearing House. The most recent of these publicationsMesothelioma in Australia: Incidence 1982 to 2006, Mortality 1997 to 2007is availablefromsafeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Deaths in the agricultural and construction sectors are also likely to be understated inthe NDS data due to the higher proportion of self-employed workers in these industrieswho are not covered by workers compensation. A more accurate representationof injury fatalities is available in the Work-Related Traumatic Injury Fatalities,

Australia 200809 report, which in addition to workers compensation data usescoronial information and notied fatalities data to provide a more accurate estimateof the number of fatalities from work-related injuries. The report is available fromsafeworkaustralia.gov.au. See also indicator 11b.

As compensation may be sought through the Compulsory Third Party insurancescheme for motor vehicles, work-related deaths from road trafc accidents may alsobe understated. Note that fatalities occurring from a journey to or from work are not

included in these statistics.Detailed information on the causes and other characteristics of fatalities reportedthrough the NDS is contained in the Compendium of Workers Compensation Statistics,which can be found at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.


21/69



Indicator 10 Compensated Fatalities by jurisdiction

Jurisdiction 200506 200607 200708 200809 200910p 5yrAverage

Injury and musculoskeletal disorders

New South Wales 64 48 46 49 34 48

Victoria 48 60 48 34 32 44

Queensland 44 43 67 56 29 48

Western Australia 16 26 21 22 13 20

South Australia 13 7 8 8 7 9

Tasmania 6 4 7 5 4 5

Northern Territory 3 2 9 6 4 5

Australian Capital Territory 0 1 4 2 1 2

Australian Government 2 7 6 3 12 6

Seacare 0 0 0 1 0 1

Australian Total 196 198 216 186 136 186

New Zealand 64 67 62 65 66 65

Other diseases

New South Wales 14 9 14 18 10 13

Victoria 16 14 12 10 7 12

Queensland* 47 57 48 29 15 39

Western Australia 5 1 2 4 5 3

South Australia 2 3 1 0 0 2

Tasmania 1 0 2 0 0 2

Northern Territory 1 0 1 1 0 1

Australian Capital Territory 2 0 0 1 2 1

Australian Government 10 8 15 5 19 11

Seacare 0 0 0 0 0 0

Australian Total 98 92 95 68 58 82

New Zealand 56 71 39 33 35 47

Total

Australia 294 290 311 254 194 269

New Zealand 120 138 101 98 101 112

* The majority of compensated fatalities for other diseases in Queensland are due to mesothelioma or asbestosis.Queensland compensates more of these fatalities through its scheme than is the case in other jurisdictions wherecompensation is more often sought through separate mechanisms including common law.


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Notied fatalities

While workers compensation data are currently the most extensive source ofinformation for measuring work health and safety performance, there are somelimitations. Other data sources can be used to supplement workers compensation data

and provide a more complete picture of work-related fatalities. One alternative datasource is the Notied Fatalities dataset.

These data are collated from the work-related traumatic fatalities that are notied tojurisdictional work health and safety authorities under their legislation. The use of thesedata addresses some of the limitations of the compensated data by capturing fatalitiesoccurring in categories of workers not covered for workers compensation, such as theself-employed. This data source was established in July 2003. More information aboutthe Notied Fatalities collection can be found at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Indicator 11a shows that the number of notied fatalities for workers decreased by12% between 200405 and 200910. The volatility of work-related notiable fatalities

in Australia is highlighted by the decrease in the number of worker fatalities from thehighest recorded over the collection period of 151 in 200809, to the lowest recordedof 111 in 200910.

Indicator 11a Notied work-related traumatic fatalities, Australia

200405 200506 200607 200708 200809 200910change since200405

Worker 126 143 149 134 151 111 -12%

Note that Indicator 11a under reports work-related road trafc fatalities as thesefatalities are not notiable in all jurisdictions, whereas Indicator 10 does not includedeaths of persons who are not classed as employees, such as self-employed workersand bystanders. The NDS data for 200910 are preliminary and likely to increase asmore claims are accepted, while the Notied Fatalities data are not likely to increase.Itis important to note that Indicator 11a is a volatile measure and can change from yearto year.


23/69



Work-related traumatic injury fatalities

There is currently no single national data collection system that identies all work-relatedinjury fatalities. This means that the exact number of people who die as a result ofwork-related activities in Australia is difcult to accurately establish. The Traumatic

Injury Fatalities dataset provides the best estimate of work-related injury deaths inAustralia.

The Traumatic Injury Fatalities dataset incorporates information from three datasetsthat contain information on work-related injury fatalities to determine an estimate of thenumber of workers and bystanders killed each year from work-related injury. Thesedatasets are the NDS, the Notied Fatalities dataset and the NCIS. Information frommedia articles is also used to identify additional deaths which may be work-related.These deaths tend to come from incidents investigated by Commonwealth agenciesi.e. plane and rail crashes and incidents involving the maritime industry. All such casesare matched with information in the NCIS to determine work-relatedness. This datasource was established in 2003. Further information on the Traumatic Injury Fatalities

collection along with annual reports can be found at safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Indicator 11b shows between 200304 and 200809 there was a 9% increase in thenumber of workers killed while working due to an increase in road crash fatalities.Between 200304 and 200809, there was a 1% decrease in non-road crash fatalitiesand a 33% increase in fatalities as a result of a road crash.

Indicator 11b Number of worker fatalities, Australia

200304 200405 200506 200607 200708 200809 % change

Non-road crash 190 162 197 195 199 188 -1

Road crash 76 90 91 105 94 101 33

Total 266 252 288 300 293 289 9


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Claims by mechanism of injury/disease

Claim patterns can be analysed using the Type of Occurrence Classication System(TOOCS) which is a series of codes providing information on the cause of the incidentand the type of injury or disease sustained. One part of this system is the Mechanism

of injury/disease which is intended to identify the action, exposure or event which wasthe direct cause of the most serious injury or disease. More information on the TOOCScan be found on safeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Indicator 12 shows the number of serious claims by Mechanism of injury or diseaseover the past ve years. Under the National OHS Strategy the following are prioritymechanisms: Body stressing; Falls, trips & slips of a person; Being hit by movingobjects; and Hitting objects with a part of the body. The serious claims data indicatethat the priority mechanisms account for82% of claims.In particular, Body stressingstill remains the most common cause of claims, accounting for 41% of the 127 566serious claims in 200910.The largest decrease in claims among the prioritymechanisms over the four years from 200506 to 200809was recorded for the

mechanism Hitting objects with a part of the body(down by 6%), followed by Bodystressing(down by 5%). Claims for the mechanisms Being hit by moving objects andFalls, trips & slips of a person were decreased by 3% and 2% respectively. Claimsdue to the mechanism ofSound & pressure increased 30%, however this categoryaccounted for 4% of all claims in 200809. More information on the progress of thesepriority mechanisms against the National OHS Strategy targets can be found atsafeworkaustralia.gov.au.

More detailed information on claims by Mechanism of injury or disease can be foundin the Compendium of Workers Compensation Statistics, which can be found atsafeworkaustralia.gov.au.

Indicator 12 Mechanism of injury or disease: number of serious* claims by year, Australia


** Includes vehicle accidents.

Heat, radiation & electricity

Sound & pressure

Mental stress

Other & unspecified mechanisms of injury

Hitting objects with a part of the body

Being hit by moving objects

Falls, trips & slips of a person

Body stressing

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

2009-10p

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

Biological factors

Chemicals & other substances

Number of Claims ('000)


25/69



Claims by size of business (in the private sector)

Indicator 13 compares the incidence of serious compensated claims by size ofbusiness for 200506 and 200910. Eight Australian jurisdictions and New Zealandcollect compensation data by size of business; however there are differences in the

methodologies used by schemes to collect this information and caution should beexercised when making jurisdictional comparisons. This indicator reports on the privatesector only and excludes those industry sectors which are wholly or substantially publicsector industries i.e. Government, administration & defence, Health & communityservices, Education & nance and Insurance.

In 200506, the lowest incidence rates were recorded for businesses with 500 ormore employees for all jurisdictions with the exception of Tasmania and Seacare,where the lowest incidence rates were recorded for businesses with 14 and 2099employees respectively. In 200910, for all jurisdictions except Seacare, businesseswith 500 or more employees had the lowest incidence rates of compensated claims.Furthermore, with the exception of New South Wales and the Australian Capital

Territory, all jurisdictions recorded a decrease in the incidence rate of claims for thissize of business during this period. For all size of business groups in New Zealand, theincidence rate of claims remained stable between 200506 and 200910.

Indicator 13 Size of business: incidence rates (claims per 1000 employees) of serious*claims by jurisdiction**

14employees

519employees

2099employees

100499employees

500 or moreemployees

200506

New South Wales 24.4 20.7 24.5 25.3 7.4

Victoria 10.0 10.1 17.1 24.0 8.4

Western Australia 22.4 15.1 18.6 20.1 5.8

South Australia 22.1 19.8 31.3 33.9 10.9

Tasmania 10.6 17.4 22.1 31.1 11.5

Northern Territory 26.1 29.9 21.3 16.4 1.2

Aus Capital Territory 8.0 13.3 24.6 25.2 5.6

Seacare n.p n.p 31.1 33.4 41.9

Australia*** 18.7 16.3 21.9 25.0 7.9

New Zealand 20.1 13.7 15.3 14.1 14.8

200910p

New South Wales 25.1 20.3 23.4 24.8 8.2

Victoria 7.3 7.3 13.5 20.2 8.1

Western Australia 16.1 13.7 18.5 28.6 1.7

South Australia 12.6 13.6 21.4 25.4 6.6

Tasmania 10.8 17.1 23.3 26.9 9.8

Northern Territory 26.1 25.9 19.9 10.3 1.1

Aus Capital Territory 7.1 13.4 23.8 22.7 5.9

Seacare n.p n.p 19.1 51.7 23.8

Australia*** 16.4 14.4 19.3 23.8 7.0

New Zealand 17.3 13.0 13.2 11.9 13.7

* Includes all accepted workers compensation claims involving temporary incapacity of one or more weekscompensation plus all claims for fatality and permanent incapacity in the private sector.

** This indicator shows patterns at two points in time. Selecting different points may show a different pattern.

*** Consists only of Australian jurisdictions listed above.


26/69


Chapter 3 Work health and safety compliance andenforcement activities

Jurisdictions encourage work health and safety compliance using a variety of

mechanisms ranging from education, advice and information through to prosecution.Inspectors appointed under legislation may visit workplaces for the purpose ofproviding advice, investigating incidents or dangerous occurrences and ensuringcompliance with work health and safety legislation. Where breaches are detected theinspector, based on risk, may issue notices or escalate the action to formal procedures,which are addressed through the courts for serious contravention of the legislation.

Indicator 14 provides details on specic work health and safety compliance andenforcement activity undertaken by jurisdictions for each year from 200506 to200910. The reader should note that compliance enforcement data for Indicator 14does not include the mining sector. Mines inspectors have a different mechanism

for enforcement measures and have been excluded from the data due to differentlegislation operating across jurisdictions. Due to this denition it is possible thatthe number of eld active inspectors shown in this report may differ to inspectoratenumbers shown in jurisdictional reports.

A summary of the compliance and enforcement activities show that in 200910 therewere:

80 549 proactive workplace visits around Australia 60 186 reactive workplace visits around Australia 1088 eld active inspectors employed around Australia 62 785 notices were issued by Australian jurisdictions

448 legal proceedings against businesses were nalised, and; $19 million in nes were handed out by Australia courts.

Readers should be aware that in this edition of the CPM report, new denitionsfor eld active inspectors and proactive and reactive workplace interventions wereimplemented. Data on the proactive and reactive interventions and the number of eldactive inspectors in this report are not comparable with enforcement data in previouseditions of the report. See page 47 of the Explanatory notes for further details.

There are now two measures which replace the former single measure of proactiveworkplace interventions. These are:

the number of proactive workplace visits (which describe workplace visits thathave not resulted from a complaint or workplace incident), and

the number of workshops/presentations/seminars/forums (which includeall planned activities that are conducted solely for an ofcer to delivereducational advice or information).

The former single measure, reactive workplace interventions has also been replaced.Reactive interventions are now measured by:

the count of workplace visits that were undertaken to resolve a workplaceincident or complaint, and

the count of other reactive interventions (not including workplace visits) thatwere undertaken to resolve a workplace incident or complaint.


27/69


Work health and safety compliance and enforcement activities

Interventions

Some jurisdictions, while able to provide the 200910 gures according to the newdenitions, were unable to provide data for the previous four years. Queensland wasthe only jurisdiction that supplied proactive and reactive workplace intervention data forthe ve nancial years. Where jurisdictions were unable to supply data according to thenew denition the table shows u/a (for unavailable).

The revised denitions for proactive and reactive interventions have enabled NewSouth Wales to provide data across all categories. A high proportion of the activityin New South Wales aligns to resolving issues raised by the community throughworkplace visits, ofce based follow up activities and stakeholder engagementmechanisms. In addition, New South Wales integrates components of proactiveprevention programs (for example verication activities involving high risk licence orregistration activities) within reactive or response activity to ensure greater coverage ofhigh risk workplaces is achieved.

In Queensland, a substantial increase in proactive workplace visits and a slightdecrease in reactive workplace visits was recorded in 200910. The Queensland

inspectorate is now focusing on strategies that will enhance its reach and effectivenessacross industries. Greater emphasis is being directed to engage with workplaces,develop networks and provide advice to workplaces. This shift in focus is manifestedby the substantial increase in the number of workshops/presentations/seminars/forumsconducted during 200910.

The Northern Territory reported a 50% decrease in its number of proactive workplacevisits. Limited resources in the Northern Territory impacted on its ability to conductworkplace visits resulting in a focus on reactive workplace visits.

InspectorsThe number of eld active inspectors employed around Australia has remained

relatively stable between 200506 and 200910. Field active inspectors are denedas gazetted inspectors whose role is to spend the majority of their time enforcingprovisions of the work health and safety legislation directly with workplaces. Inaddition in some jurisdictions inspectors engage in other activities to improve workhealth and safety capabilities of businesses and workplaces i.e. a compliance eldrole. They include investigators (where applicable) who are appointed to work withthe enforcement provisions by doing worksite visits, gathering evidence and makingconclusions. They also include current vacancies and staff on extended leave,managers of the inspectorate regardless of whether undertaking eld active work,auditors (who are gazetted as inspectors) who are responsible for creating an audittemplate, completing the auditing process and providing feedback. Staff involved in

giving advice and information packs from the ofce have been excluded. Businessadvisory ofcers and community education ofcers have been also excluded.

The number of eld active inspectors employed by the Australian Government droppedin 200910. The decrease is due to the introduction of the new category numberof other staff undertaking non-inspectorate activities. The number of eld activeinspectors and number of other staff undertaking non-inspectorate activities is nowshared across these two denitions.

Readers should note that although repeat visits and the number of inspectorsin attendance are counted separately for both proactive and reactive workplaceintervention measures, this is not so for Western Australia where inspectors in

attendance are not counted separately. Please refer to page 47 of Appendix 1 -Explanatory notes for more details about this.


28/69


NoticesWhere inspectors identify a breach under their work health and safety legislation, anotice may be issued. Australian jurisdictions issued 62 785 notices in 200910, a 10%increase from last year. In 200910, 1143 infringement notices were issued around

Australia, compared to 5 744 prohibition notices and 55 898 improvement notices.Data for notices cannot be directly compared across jurisdictions as notices are dened

by the separate legislation of each jurisdiction. For example, in some instances a singlenotice may be issued for multiple breaches of the legislation, while in other instancesmultiple notices are issued for each breach identied.

In 200910, the Australian Government issued an increased number of noticescompared with last nancial year. This is in line with directions issued by the Ministerfor Workplace Relations to adopt a more proactive approach to compliance andenforcement, including undertaking a greater number of investigations each year.

Legal ProceedingsIt is important to note that a conviction, order or agreement is dened (with or withoutpenalty) once it has been recorded against a company or individual in the judicial

system. All legal proceedings recorded in the reference year are counted regardlessof when the initial legal action commenced. Data for Victoria and the Australian CapitalTerritory is limited to the number of successful prosecutions resulting in a conviction,ne or both. Queensland legislation does not allow for agreements, while Western

Australian legislation does not provide for orders or agreements.

In 2009-10 New South Wales recorded a drop in the number of legal proceedingsnalised and legal proceedings resulting in a conviction, order or agreement. Thenalisation of some proceedings was temporarily delayed in 200910 due to the HighCourt Kirk Group judgement in February 2010. The court judgement resulted in alarge number of interlocutory applications being made including strike out motionsand adjournment applications. This consequently caused a decrease in the number ofnalised legal proceedings and outcomes reported by New South Wales.

FinesThe total amount of nes awarded by the courts in 200910 reached $19 million, an 8%increase from the previous year. Information on penalty provisions can be found in thepublication Comparison of OHS Arrangements in Australia and New Zealandavailableon the web at deewr.gov.au/WorkplaceRelations/WRMC/Pages/Reports.aspx. In someinstances the courts declare that penalty amounts are to remain condential. Thereforethe data recorded in Indicator 14 are only those amounts known publicly.

In 200910, the Australian Capital Territory recorded a signicant decrease in theamount of nes awarded by the courts in comparison to the previous year. The

Australian Capital Territory assess this as a reection of year on year variations, andnot representative of any decline in enforcement activity involving prosecutions or nes.

The Northern Territory reported that the total amount of nes awarded by the courts wasalso signicantly lower than the previous year, from $693 000 in 200809 to $60 000in 200910. This drop corresponds with a decrease in the number of legal proceedingsthat occurred in the Northern Territory in 200910 compared with the previous year.The large decrease was also due to a particularly large ne that was imposed duringthe previous year which inated the gure compared to 200708 and 200910. TheNorthern Territory has made a strategic decision to focus on capacity building andeducation through improvement and advisory notices rather than infringement notices.This strategy has been effective in lifting knowledge and compliance in a co-operativeway.


29/69


Work health and safety compliance and enforcement activities

Indicator14Workhealthandsafety

complianceandenforcementactivitybyjurisdiction

NSW

Vic

Qld

WA

SA

Tas

NT

ACTaAusGov

Seacare

bTot

alAus

NZ

Num

bero

f

workp

lace

visits:

proact

ive

2005

06

u/a

c27834

c24781

d8841

9075

e2953

299

u/a

d113

44

79827

1121

2006

07

u/a

c27103

c24287

d6715

6075

2378

287

u/a

d93

27

66872

3445

2007

08

u/a

c23836

c27565

d5984

5745

2375

280

u/a

d142

31

65816

3153

2008

09

u/a

c25370

c20242

d6502

7468

4518

110

u/a

d107

38

64428

5194

2009

10

8915

c28104

c25558

d6253

7208

4218

55

u/a

d195

43

80549

5409

Num

bero

f

works

hops

/

presen

tations

/

sem

inars

/

forums

:

proact

ive

2005

06

u/a

u/a

1778

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

n/a

1778

598

2006

07

u/a

u/a

1667

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

n/a

1667

731

2007

08

u/a

u/a

1306

f861

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

u/a

n/a

2167

589

2008

09

u/a

u/a

2579

f944

226

359

u/av

u/a

u/a

n/a

4120

814

2009

10

631

u/a

g3628

f1111

295

222

20

u/a

85

n/a

5994

873

Num

bero

f

workp

lace

visits:reac

tive

2005

06

u/a

13329

3573

d6415

9832

e3553

5104

u/a

d76

5

41811

9266

2006

07

u/a

15821

3682

d6253

h13818

1159

5022

u/a

d171

11

45766

3415

2007

08

u/a

14626

3386

d6189

12007

1466

4174

u/a

d431

23

41871

6104

2008

09

u/a

16814

2639

d4850

15871

1524

3449

u/a

d767

12

45159

6923

2009

10

15661

16514

i2302

d4646

13871

2741

3996

u/a

d425

30

60186

6465

Otherreac

tive

interve

ntions

2005

06

u/a

u/a

15679

9518

u/a

0

u/a

u/a

u/a

0

25197

10079

2006

07

u/a

u/a

14982

10918

u/a

0

u/a

u/a

u/a

0

25900

9849

2007

08

u/a

u/a

16641

10918

u/a

0

u/a

u/a

u/a

0

27559

10837

2008

09

u/a

u/a

15781

11919

u/a

0

u/a

u/a

u/a

0

27700

11269

2009

10

19138

u/a

i14391

13379

2673

0

u/a

u/a

906

0

50487

9685

Num

bero

f

e

ldac

tive

inspec

tors

2005

06

301

g227

229

j101

93

29

12

12

22

3

1029

157

2006

07

313

g225

225

j103

93

30

12

6

45

3

1055

144

2007

08

314

g212

217

j103

93

29

12

14

47

3

1044

156

2008

09

314

g253

235

j103

93

31

12

12

60

3

1116

151

2009

10

315

g255

221

j103

93

31

12

16

39

3

1088

k145

Num

bero

f

e

ldac

tive

inspec

tors

per

10

000

employees

2005

06

1.0

1.0

1.4

1.1

1.4

1.5

1.3

0.9

0.8

8.2

1.1

0.9

2006

07

1.1

1.0

1.3

1.1

1.4

1.5

1.2

0.4

1.4

8.5

1.1

0.8

2007

08

1.0

0.9

1.2

1.1

1.3

1.4

1.2

1.0

1.3

7.5

1.1

0.9

2008

09

1.1

1.0

1.3

1.0

1.3

1.5

1.1

0.9

1.7

6.4

1.1

0.8

2009

10

1.0

1.0

1.2

1.0

1.3

1.5

1.1

1.2

1.1

6.6

1.1

0.8


30/69


Indica

tor14Workhealthandsafety

complianceandenforcementa

ctivitybyjurisdictioncontinued

NSW

Vic

Qld

WA

SA

Tas

NT

ACTAusGova

Seacare

bTotalAus

NZ

Num

bero

f

others

taff

un

de

rta

king

non-

inspe

ctora

te

ac

tivities

2005

06

u/a

u/a

53

u/a

ln/a

0

0

mu

/a

u/a

1

54

u/a

2006

07

u/a

u/a

41

u/a

10

0

0

mu

/a

u/a

1

52

9

2007

08

u/a

u/a

38

n4

12

0

0

mu

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u/a

2

56

13

2008

09

u/a

u/a

49

n5

13

0

0

mu

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u/a

2

68

12

2009

10

34

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57

n6

13

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2

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11

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2005

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1195

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486

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47

28

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1756

20

2006

07

726

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612

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173

8

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1519

23

2007

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620

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643

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37

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1514

9

2008

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686

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506

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1251

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2009

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688

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1143

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14832

11168

16347

11679

3573

297

49

427

12

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58403

1743

2006

07

13243

12040

14631

10249

3258

188

30

137

37

17

53830

1345

2007

08

13109

10279

14390

9724

2328

161

136

129

18

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50290

356

2008

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10832

18363

8149

9833

2396

169

209

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31

17

50081

747

2009

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12161

21600

9057

10640

1841

224

132

187

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55898

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1127

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629

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105

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6

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6697

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2007

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994

1043

2784

676

588

113

61

94

19

3

6375

246

2008

09

767

1078

2278

721

630

112

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101

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240

2009

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856

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705

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259


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Chapter4Workerscompensationpremiumsandentitlements

StandardisedaveragepremiumratesTheratesinthischapterareforpoliciesthatprovidedcoverageduringthereferencenancialyears.Thepremiumratesreportedareearnedpremium,exceptforWestern

Australiawhichsuppliespremiumsdataonawrittenbasis.Earnedpremiumisdenedastheamountallocatedforcoverinanancialyearfrompremiumscollectedduringthepreviousandcurrentnancialyears,whilewrittenpremiumisdenedastheamountofpremiumrecordedforapolicyatthetimeitisissued.Thepremiumsreportedareallocatedfordenedperiodsofrisk,irrespectiveofwhentheywereactuallypaid,enablingratestobecomparedforeachnancialyear.GoodsandServicesTax(GSTchargedonpremiumsisnotincludedinthereportedratesasmost

Australianemployersrecouppart,orall,ofthistaxthroughinputtaxcredits.

Indicator15showsthatin200910thestandardisedAustralianaveragepremiumratewas1.53%ofpayroll,exactlythesameasthepreviousnancialyear.

TheSeacareschemerecordedthelargestpercentagedecrease(6%)fromthepreviousnancialyearfollowedbytheAustralianCapitalterritoryPrivatewitha5%decrease.

Seacarealsorecordedthehighestpremiumratein200910at3.59%ofpayrollduetothehighrisknatureofthisindustry.However,thisisstillasubstantialdropof39%fromthe200506premiumrateof5.86%.

TheAustralianGovernmentschemerecordedthelowestpremiumrateofalljurisdictionsat0.93%ofpayroll,a3%dropfromthepreviousnancialyear.Datafor

theAustralianGovernmentdoesnotincludetheAustralianCapitalTerritoryPublicService.

Despitea5%increasefrompreviousnancialyear,Queenslandrecordedthesecondlowestpremiumrateofalljurisdictionsat1.12%ofpayroll.Loweradministrativecostsalongwithstrongnancialandclaimsmanagement,andbusinessefcienciesallowsforlowerpremiums.


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Indicator 15 Standardised average premium rates (including insured and self-insuredsectors) by jurisdiction

TobeconsistentwiththeAustralianjurisdictions,theNewZealandpremiuminformationincludesthelevyonemployerstofundtheworkerscompensationportionoftheResidualClaimsAccount.Thisaccountrelatestoworkerscompensationclaimsincurredpriorto1July1999butexcludestheliabilityforpre-1992non-workinjuriesforearners.Asinthepreviousnancialyear,35%ofallemployercontributionswereleviestofundtheResidualClaimsAccount.TheNewZealandstandardisedaveragepremiumratewas0.93%ofpayroll,a9%increasefromthepreviousnancialyear.Thisrate

continuestobemuchlowerthantheraterecordedforAustralia.OnereasonforthelowerrateinNewZealandisthatitsschemedoesnotprovidecoverageforthesamerangeofmentaldisordersasdotheAustralianschemes.

Notethatthesedatawillbedifferenttopremiumratespublisheddirectlybythejurisdictionsduetotheadjustmentsmadetothedatatoenablemoreaccuratejurisdictionalcomparisons.Theprincipalregulatorydifferencesthataffectcomparabilityandforwhichadjustmentshavebeenappliedinthisindicatorare:theexclusionofprovisionforcoverageofjourneyclaims;theinclusionofself-insurers;theinclusionofsuperannuationaspartofremuneration;andthestandardisationofnon-compensableexcessesimposedbyeachscheme.TheeffectofeachoftheseadjustmentsisshowninAppendixTable3onpage51intheExplanatoryNotes.InformationonpublishedratescanbefoundintheComparison of Workers Compensation Arrangementspublicationatsafeworkaustralia.gov.au.

0

1

2

3

4

S'care SAACT

PrivateNSW NT Tas Vic WA Qld

Aus

GovAust NZ

2005-06 5.86 2.88 2.93 2.50 2.03 1.90 1.77 1.69 1.36 1.20 2.01 0.88

2006-07 5.68 2.84 2.66 2.14 1.81 1.77 1.60 1.64 1.13 1.15 1.78 0.93

2007-08 4.87 2.83 2.28 1.93 1.81 1.49 1.46 1.38 1.09 0.97 1.61 0.92

2008-09 3.81 2.81 2.14 1.83 1.77 1.38 1.38 1.22 1.06 0.95 1.53 0.85

2009-10 3.59 2.76 2.03 1.82 1.82 1.40 1.39 1.22 1.12 0.93 1.53 0.93

2009-10 Aus av 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53 1.53

%o

fpayroll


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Entitlementsunderworkerscompensation

Premiumratesaresetataleveltoensuresufcientfundsareavailabletocovertheentitlementspayableunderworkerscompensationintheeventanemployeeisinjuredordevelopsawork-relateddisease.Differententitlementlevelsacrossthejurisdictions

canexplainsomeofthedifferencesinpremiumrates.Dataprovidedinotherchaptersofthisreportshouldalsobeconsideredwhencomparingentitlementsprovidedunderthevariousworkerscompensationschemes.

Thefollowingexampleshavebeenincludedtoprovideindicativeentitlementspayableineachjurisdiction.AbriefsummaryonhowentitlementsarecalculatediscontainedinAppendix2:Table7.MoredetailedinformationcanbefoundintheComparison ofWorkers Compensation Arrangementspublicationatsafeworkaustralia.gov.au.Theseentitlementsarebasedonlegislationcurrentasat1January2010.

Temporaryimpairment

Thisexampledetailshowjurisdictionscompensatelow,middleandhighincomeemployeesduringselectedperiodsoftemporaryimpairment.Entitlementsforaninjuredemployeeareshowninthefollowingtableusingpre-injuryearningsof$600grossperweek(awardwage),$1000grossperweek(non-awardwage)and$2000grossperweek(non-awardwage).Theseproleshavebeenchosentohighlightthestatutorymaximumentitlementspayableaswellasjurisdictionaldifferencesinentitlementstoworkersemployedunderanaward.

ScenarioTheemployeeremainsunabletoworkforaperiodoftimebeforereturningtotheirpreviousdutiesonafull-timebasis.Theemployeehasadependentspouseandtwochildren(aged7and8).Theemployeeinjuredtheirback

andhaslowerbackstrainasaresult.

Indicator 16 Percentage of pre-injury earnings for selected periods of impairment, as at1 January 2010

Level of pre-injury income NSW Vic Qld WA SA Tas NT ACT

AusGov NZ

13weeksofimpairment

Lowincome 100 95 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 80

Middleincome 80 95 91 100 100 100 100 100 100 80

Highincome 80 65 85 100 100 100 100 100 100 80

26weeksofimpairment

Lowincome 100 88 100 100 95 93 100 100 100 80Middleincome 80 88 91 93 95 93 100 100 100 80

Highincome 80 65 85 93 95 93 100 100 100 80

52weeksofimpairment

Lowincome 100 84 100 100 88 89 95 95 99 80

Middleincome 73 84 85 89 88 89 93 83 97 80

Highincome 57 66 80 89 88 89 88 83 97 80

104weeksofimpairment

Lowincome 100 82 100 100 84 87 93 93 94 80

Middleincome 70 82 82 87 84 87 90 74 86 80

Highincome45 66 78 (a)87 84 87 81 74 86 80

(a) In Western Australia there is a cap on weekly earnings set at twice the annual Average Weekly Earnings (WA) aspublished by the ABS each year. The weekly cap as at 30 June 2010 was $2026.10 and applied to all income levels. Inaddition, for a high income earner (e.g. $2000 per week), the prescribed amount for weekly benet ($178 047) would beexhausted by 102 weeks of compensation.


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Forlowincomeearners(workingunderawards),NewSouthWales,QueenslandandWesternAustraliaprovidedthehighestpercentage,at100%,ofpre-injuryearningsfor104weeksofimpairment.Thesejurisdictionsprovidefullcoverageofearningsforsuchemployeesunderthisscenario.Reductionsinweeklycompensationpaymentswouldhaveoccurredfornon-awardemployees.TheAustralianGovernmentprovided

thesecondhighestpercentage:94%ofpre-injuryearningsincompensation.Victoriaprovidedthelowestpercentageofpre-injuryearningsfor104weeksofimpairment(82%)dueinparttothestep-downinbenetsto75%ofpre-injuryearningsafter13weeksofcompensation(seeAppendix2:Table7formoredetails).

Formiddleincomeearnerswith104weeksofimpairment,theNorthernTerritoryprovidedthehighestpercentageofpre-injuryearnings(90%)followedbyWestern

AustraliaandTasmania(87%each),theAustralianGovernment(86%),andSouthAustralia(84%).NewSouthWalesprovidedthelowestpercentageofpre-injuryearningsforthefullperiodofimpairment(70%)duetothelowerpaymentsfromtherstdayofinjuryfornon-awardworkersandtherestrictionsappliedafter26weeks.IntheNewSouthWalessystem,once26weeksofcompensationhavebeenpaid,the

injuredworkerisentitledtothelesserof90%oftheiraverageweeklyearningsortheindexedstatutoryrate,plusextraentitlementsfordependants(seeAppendix2:Table7formoredetails).

Incontrasttothelowincomescenario,whereeightofthenineAustralianjurisdictionsprovidedfullincomeprotectionfortherst13weeks,thehighincomescenarioshowsthatonlysixjurisdictionsprovidedfullincomeprotectionforhighincomeearnersforthisperiodofincapacity.

Permanentimpairment

Thisscenarioshowstheentitlementspayableforadegreeofpermanentimpairment

causedbyaworkplaceinjury.Eachjurisdictionhasapredeterminedstatutorymaximumlumpsumpaymentforinjuriescausingpermanentimpairment.Maximumamountsarepayableincasesoffullandpermanentimpairment.AppendixTable7listsentitlementsunderworkerscompensationschemesforeachjurisdiction.Thefollowingscenarioisindicativeonlyforthesetypesofpayments.

ScenarioAsaresultoftheworkplaceincident,theemployeewasdiagnosedwithcompleteTetraplegiabelowthe6thcervicalneurologicalsegment.Thisresultedinparalysisofhishands,impairedupperbodymovementandparalysisofthetrunkandlowerlimbs.Helostalllowerbodyfunctionand

waswheelchair-bound.Impairmentwastotalandpermanentandtherewasnorealprospectofreturningtowork.

Theemployeespre-injuryearningswere$1000grossperweek.Theemployeeis35yearsofageandhasadependentspouseandtwochildrenaged7and8theyoungerchildenteredtheworkforceat16andtheolderchildremainedinfull-timeeducationuntilage25.Theemployeecontributedtoasuperannuationfund.Therewasnocontributorynegligenceonhispart,howevertherewasnegligenceonthepartoftheemployer.


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Indicator17detailstheentitlementspayabletotheinjuredemployee.Thestatutorycomponentincludestheweeklybenetspayablefortheremainderoftheemployeesworkinglife(30yearsinthisinstance)andalllumpsumpaymentsforpermanentimpairment.Thecommonlawcomponentisanestimateoftheadditionalpaymentavailableunderacommonlawsettlement,whereapplicable.Allguresexclude

medicalandlikeservicessuchasattendantcare.AppendixTable6identiesthejurisdictionsthathaveaccesstocommonlaw.IntheAustralianCapitalTerritory,ifcommonlawdamagesareawarded,statutorybenetspaidwillbedeductedinordertoensurethattheprincipleofnocompensationbenetpaidtwiceismaintained.Similarly,workersfortheAustralianGovernmentaremorelikelytoacceptthestatutorylumpsumpaymentthantopursueacommonlawsettlement.

Totalentitlementsrangedfrom$1.2millionintheAustralianCapitalTerritoryto$5.2millioninNewSouthWales.

InWesternAustralia,NewSouthWales,Queensland,TasmaniaandtheAustralianCapitalTerritorythereisnoupperlimitoncompensationthatcouldbeexpectedfrom

acommonlawclaimunderthisscenario.WesternAustraliaprovidedagureforthisscenarioof$1037781whichisbasedonestimatesfromapprovedinsurerswithintheWesternAustralianworkerscompensationscheme.Agureof$4millionwasprovidedbyNewSouthWalesandisconsideredtobeentitlementspayableundercommonlawforsimilarscenarios.Queenslandprovidedagureof$1130000,whichisbasedonanexamplesimilartothisscenario.Tasmaniaprovidedagureof$1520150whichwasestimatedbasedongrossearningsratherthannetguresasperpreviousyears.Statutorybenetsarerepaidbytheworkertocompensationschemesifcommonlawdamagesareawarded.

InSouthAustralia,legislationchangesenactedfromApril2009provideforasignicantincreaseinthemaximumamountpayabletoworkerswhosufferapermanentserious

injuryorillness,from$230982to$426255.Thesystemisnowweightedsothatmorecompensationispaidtothosewithmoderatetoseriouspermanentinjuries,ratherthanthosewithminorpermanentinjuries.

TheentitlementsprovidedbytheNewZealandschemeinthisscenarioarecomparabletothoseprovidedbytheAustralianjurisdictions.However,thereisnoaccesstocommonlawundertheNewZealandscheme.

Workplacefatality

Thisexampleexaminestheentitlementspayabletodependantsofanemployeewhodiedfollowingaworkplaceincident.Entitlementstodependantsarepaidbywayofa

lumpsumand/orweeklybenets,dependingontheemployeescircumstancesandschemedesign.T

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