On 19 March 2014, the Prime Minister announced the amendments to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988. Among other changes, the amendments seek to allow greater access by national employers to the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme, and coverage under the Commonwealth workplace health and safety regime. These changes would allow the option for national employers (those with employees in 2 or more states or territories) to self-insure under the Commonwealth’s workers’ compensation scheme, and be covered by a single workplace health and safety regime. This would eliminate the need for such firms to deal with multiple regulations and regulators. The changes are estimated to result in a reduction in compliance costs averaging $33 million per year over ten years and these costings have been agreed with the Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR). The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) indicates that the impact on state and territory workers’ compensation schemes, and those firms remaining in such schemes, would be minimal. The proposal has been assessed as likely to have a measurable impact on the economy with no impacts on competition. A details-stage RIS has been prepared and certified by the department, and assessed as adequate by the OBPR.
- Comcare national employer details-stage RIS – Word version [
186KB] - Comcare national employer details-stage RIS – PDF version [
590KB]