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Workers’ compensation insurance

Workers' compensation insurance is compulsory in Australia, but the cost and benefit levels differ in each state and territory.

Alex Reid

James Martin

Updated

Jan 17, 2023

Fact checked

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What you need to know

If an employee falls sick due to their job, or is injured while at work, workers compensation insurance will cover their lost wages and more.
If you are an employer and you dont have workers compensation insurance, you could face fines and even jail time.
The prices of workers compensation insurance varies by state and territory, because it is regulated differently.

How much is workers' compensation insurance?

New South Wales icon

New South Wales

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 1.47%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.47% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate. Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history.

Victoria icon

Victoria

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 1.272%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.272% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate. Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history.

Queensland icon

Queensland

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 1.23%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.23% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate. Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history.

Western Australia icon

Western Australia

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 1.822%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.822% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate.

Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history and even which insurer you choose. It's particularly important to compare prices if you live in WA.

South Australia icon

South Australia

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 1.8%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.8% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate. Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history.

Tasmania icon

Tasmania

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 2.08%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 2.08% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate.

Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history and even which insurer you choose. It's particularly important to compare prices if you live in TAS.

Australian Capital Territory icon

Australian Capital Territory

For 2022-2023, the average premium rate is 2.33%.

This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 2.33% to get a rough idea of your workers' comp premium.

However, the premium rate can vary depending on industry. The more dangerous the industry, the higher the premium rate.

Your premium may also be impacted by your claims history and even which insurer you choose. It's particularly important to compare prices if you live in ACT.

Northern Territory icon

Northern Territory

Each business is assigned a rate relative to the risk of their industry. Your gross annual spend on wages is then multiplied by this rate to get your premium.

However, your premium may also be impacted by claims history or even which insurer you choose.

An overview of workers' compensation across Australia

Choose the tab with your state to see who needs workers' compensation, whether you might be exempt, and where you can find more information.

Who needs it	Any employer who pays annual wages over $7,500. Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers who pay $7,500 or less in annual wages, unless they have an apprentice or trainee. Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Sole traders
Benefits	Weekly payments for loss of income Payment for permanent impairment Medical and hospital expenses Rehabilitation expenses Property damage expenses Family benefit following work-related death
More information	State Insurance Regulatory Authority or SafeWork NSW

Who needs it	Any employer who pays annual wages over $7,500. Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers who pay $7,500 or less in annual wages, unless they have an apprentice or trainee. Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Weekly payments for loss of income Payment for permanent impairment Medical and hospital expenses Rehabilitation expenses Superannuation contributions Family benefit following work-related death
More information	WorkSafe Victoria

Who needs it	All employers in Queensland Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Lost wages (weekly compensation) Medical and rehabilitation costs Travel (treatment/claim related) Permanent impairment benefit Family benefit following work-related death Common law damages
More information	WorkSafe Queensland

Who needs it	All employers in Western Australia Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Loss of wages Medical and allied health treatment expenses Workplace rehabilitation expenses Travel and accommodation expenses Benefit for permanent impairment Family benefit following work-related death Common law damages
More information	WorkCoverWA

Who needs it	Any employer in South Australia who pays $13,760 or more in wages for the 2022-23 financial year
Who doesn't need it	Employers who pay less than $13,760 in total for the 2020-21 financial year. (However, if your employee is injured at work, you must report the injury, register and pay the minimum premium.) Self employed people with no employees or apprentices Self-insured employers, usually very large companies
Benefits	Loss of earnings Medical expenses Rehabilitation costs Return to work services Permanent and partial impairment benefits Common law claims Family benefits following workplace death
More information	ReturnToWorkSA

Who needs it	All employers in Tasmania Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Loss of wages Medical and rehabilitation costs Nursing and household services Permanent impairment benefit Family benefits following work-related death Common law damages
More information	WorkSafe Tasmania

Who needs it	All employers in the Australian Capital Territory Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Lost wages (weekly compensation) Medical and rehabilitation costs Total or partial incapacity benefits Permanent injury benefits Travel (treatment/claim related) Benefit permanent impairment Death benefits and funeral costs
More information	WorkSafe ACT

Who needs it	All employers in the Northern Territory Employees can be full time, part time or casual and the agreement can be written or oral. This includes apprenticeships or traineeships.
Who doesn't need it	Employers that have registered as self-insured, usually very large companies. Self-employed people with no employees or apprentices.
Benefits	Lost wages (weekly compensation) Medical and rehabilitation costs Return to work expenses Travel and accommodation expenses Family benefits following work-related death
More information	NT WorkSafe

Did you know?

The number of serious workers' compensation claims in 2020-2021 was 130,195. Of these, 12,155 were for mental health conditions. 474 claims were for COVID. Read more statistics here.

What's covered by workers' compensation?

Workers' compensation claims are decided on a case by case basis and rules vary between states. Here's a general overview:

Covered

On-site breaks. Employees are generally covered if they're on-site
Off-site breaks. Employees are covered in NSW, VIC, QLD and NT. They're usually not covered in TAS though, although there are some exceptions. They're not covered at all in SA.
Commuting (ACT, QLD, NT). The ACT covers commutes without restrictions. QLD and NT are generally covered, but with limits.
Illnesses and injuries outside of work. Employees can still make claims for illnesses and injuries that happen outside the workplace, but they'll have to prove their employment was a main contributing factor.
Work-related travel. Employees are covered while undertaking work-related travel. Conditions are stricter in VIC than in other states.

Not Covered

Serious and wilful misconduct. This includes being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, committing a crime. However, death and serious injury benefits may still apply
Self-inflicted injuries. Employees can't make a claim for death, injury or illness that was self-inflicted.
Commuting (NSW, TAS, WA, SA, VIC). NSW and TAS are generally not covered, though there are exceptions. WA, SA and VIC employees are rarely covered at all.
False information. If the employee lied about pre-existing conditions, they may be excluded from making a related claim.

Get a quote for workers' compensation insurance

In Australia, there are 11 workers' compensation schemes. All 8 states or territories have their own one and there are 3 Commonwealth schemes. Find a quote below based on where your business operates.

Frequently asked questions

Workers' compensation insurance is a type of insurance paid to employees if they get injured or sick as a result of their work. Payouts can cover an employee's wages, medical expenses and rehab. A lump sum payment can be made following permanent disablement.
Most employers must have a workers' comp policy in place. In Australia, the rules for this type of cover are fixed by states and territories.
The cost of workers' compensation can vary depending on the type of industry, history, size and more.
- Industry. Employers in dangerous industries have to pay a higher rate
- Payroll. The greater your payroll, the more you'll have to spend on workers' comp
- Claims history. In some cases, a good claims history will be rewarded with discounts while employers with a bad claims history may face penalties
- Company size. Larger companies may have different pricing models applied
The vast majority of employers in Australia will need workers' compensation insurance. That includes employers for business and non-business reasons.
- NSW. Any employer who pays annual wages over $7,500
- VIC. Any employer who pays annual wages over $7,500
- QLD. All employers
- WA. All employers
- SA. Any employer who pays annual wages of $13,760 or more for the 2022-23 financial year
- TAS. All employers
- NT. All employers

If you have employees who work across multiple states, you should get workers' compensation for the state they are usually based in.

If that's not clear, you can continue through the following tests until you reach an answer.

Test	Key question
A	Where does the worker usually work?
B	Where is the worker usually based?
C	Where is the employer's principal place of business?
D	If the employee works on a ship, where was it most recently registered?

Possibly, yes. The employee would have to prove that their job was the main contributing factor to contracting COVID-19 but it's certainly possible.
In fact, according to NSW's Workers' Compensation Independent Review Office, some jobs will be presumed as the cause of the worker's COVID-19 - unless it can be proved otherwise.
These jobs include those in the retail industry, healthcare sector, aged care facilities, public transport, hospitality, education, emergency services, construction, and cleaning.
You may need to provide:
- General business details (such as your name, ABN and operating addresses)
- The type of company you run
- How many employees you have
- Details on previous workers' comprehensive insurance
- An estimate of your wage costs

Thank you for your feedback!

Alex Reid

Alex Reid is Finder’s business insurance cadet. He has a Master of Marketing from the University of Technology Sydney, with a background in business and sales. When not writing about business insurance for Finder he's a keen scuba diver, recently completed his 200th hour underwater and his PADI Divemaster certification. Before working at Finder he lived in Hangzhou China, where he studied Mandarin and Chinese culture.

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Workers’ compensation insurance