Workers compensation insurance

Need workers compensation for your employees? Find out what to look for when comparing cover.

Updated Jan 8, 2021

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If an employee falls sick due to their job, or is injured while at work, workers compensation insurance will cover their lost wages, medical expenses, rehab services - and more.

If you're an employer and you don't have workers compensation insurance, you could face huge fines and even jail time. Here's what you need to know and how to get a quote.

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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.

	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's 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

	VIC
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's 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

	QLD
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's 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

	WA
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's 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

	SA
Who needs it	Any employer in South Australia who pays $13,284 or more in wages for the 2020-21 financial year
Who's doesn't need it	Employers who pay less than $13,284 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

	TAS
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's 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

	ACT
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's 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

	NT
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's 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

💡 Top tip for employers

If you're in the ACT, NT, TAS or WA, workers compensation premiums may vary between insurers. That means it's particularly important to compare policies.

How much does workers compensation insurance cost?

State	How insurers work out the cost
NSW	For 2020-2021, the average premium rate is 1.4%. This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.4% 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.
VIC	For 2020-2021, 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.
QLD	For 2020-2021, the average premium rate is 1.2%. This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.2% 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.
WA	For 2020-2021, the average recommended premium rate is 1.638%. This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.638% 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.
TAS	For 2020-2021, the average recommended premium rate is 2.22% of wages. This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 2.22% 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.
ACT	For 2020-2021, the average receomended 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.
SA	For 2020-2021, the average receomended premium rate is 1.2%. This means you multiply the amount you spend on remuneration by 1.2% 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.
NT	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.

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.

What's covered	More info
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	The ACT covers commutes without restrictions. QLD and NT are generally covered but with limits. NSW and TAS are generally not covered, though there are exceptions. WA, SA and VIC employees are rarely covered at all.
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.

What isn't covered by workers comp?

Workers compensation won't cover everything. Here are a few things that are always excluded, regardless of which state you're in.

Exclusion	More info
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.
False information	If the employee lied about pre-existing conditions, they may be excluded from making a related claim.

What affects the cost of workers compensation?

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

Who needs to get workers compensation insurance?

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 $13,284 or more for the 2020-21 financial year
TAS: All employers
NT: All employers

Workers compensation for cross-border employees

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?

Is workers compensation tax deductible?

Yes! Workers compensation premiums are tax deductible, as long as you claim them in the same year. It can be written off as a revenue expense, just like business insurance.

Does workers comp cover COVID-19?

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.

Thank you for your feedback!

Nicola Middlemiss

Nicola Middlemiss is a senior writer at Finder, focusing on all things insurance. She's been a journalist for over five years and has contributed to a wide range of industry publications including Insurance Business, MoneyMag, the Educator, Your Investment Property, Mortgage Professional Australia, and Wealth Professional. She has written over a thousand articles covering the insurance industry and now uses that insight to help Australian consumers understand their own insurance policies, and make smarter decisions. Nicola has a Tier 1 General Insurance (General Advice) certification and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Leeds.

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