O.H.&S.
| http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Pages/default.aspx | ||
| http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/nsw/consol_act/ohasa2000273/ | ||
| How to comply with OHS law | ||
| As an employer in NSW you have the absolute responsibility for the day-to-day health, safety and welfare of your employees and visitors to your workplace. This applies no matter how big or how small your business | ||
| Occupational Health & Safety | ||
| Business owners have responsibilities regarding health and safety in the workplace. This page links to information on: OH&S obligations; OH&S Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice; getting started with OH&S; accidents and injuries and workers compensation requirements. | ||
| Occupational health & safety | ||
| Safety in the workplace is critical to the success of your business, no matter what size it is. As a small business owner you have responsibilities regarding health and safety in your workplace. Even if you don’t have any employees, you must ensure that your business doesn’t create health and safety problems for your customers and the general public. | ||
| Knowing and understanding the Occupational Health and Safety (OH&S) laws will help you avoid the unnecessary costs and damage to your business caused by workplace injury and illness. | ||
| Read more about these topics: | ||
| Getting started with OH&S | ||
| Your OH&S obligations | ||
| OH&S Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice | ||
| Accidents and injuries | ||
| Workers compensation requirements | ||
| Getting started with OH&S | ||
| It’s better to deal with health and safety issues before they become a problem - a planned approach to safety is essential for your business. Safety shouldn't be seen as an additional cost – it is a necessary and essential component of your business. | ||
| State and territory OH&S agencies can give you advice and kits on how to incorporate safety management into your business operations. | ||
| Your OH&S obligations | ||
| Under OH&S legislation you are obliged to provide: | ||
| safe premises | ||
| safe machinery and materials | ||
| safe systems of work | ||
| information, instruction, training and supervision | ||
| a suitable working environment and facilities. | ||
| If you don't comply with these legal requirements you can be prosecuted and fined. | ||
| Workplace health and safety authorities in each state and territory and Safe Work Australia have responsibilities for enforcing the OH&S legislation. They provide information and advice on safety and health at work and education and training. You can get information about your OH&S obligations and other valuable OH&S resources both in hard copy and online from their websites. | ||
| Please note that legal obligations of employers vary according to circumstances. You may wish to seek independent legal advice on what is applicable to your situation. | ||
| OH&S Acts, Regulations and Codes of Practice | ||
| OH&S Acts | ||
| In Australia, states and territories have responsibility for making laws about occupational health and safety (OH&S) and for enforcing those laws. Each state and territory has a principal OH&S Act, setting out requirements for ensuring that workplaces are safe and healthy. These requirements spell out the duties of different groups of people who play a role in workplace health and safety. | ||
| OH&S Regulations and Codes of Practice | ||
| Some workplace hazards have the potential to cause so much injury or disease that specific regulations or codes of practice are warranted. These regulations and codes, adopted under state and territory OH&S Acts, explain the duties of particular groups of people in controlling the risks associated with specific hazards. There is a difference between regulations and codes: | ||
| Regulations are legally enforceable. | ||
| Codes of Practice provide advice on how to meet regulatory requirements. Codes are not legally enforceable, but they can be used in courts as evidence that legal requirements have or have not been met. | ||
| Accidents and injuries | ||
| Workplace injuries can have a big impact on your business. An injured worker is entitled to make a workers compensation claim where the injury occurs during the course of their employment. | ||
| Under state and territory laws, an employer must notify certain events - such as death, serious injury or a dangerous incident that could have caused death or injury. Under these laws you must also take reasonable steps to provide an injured worker with rehabilitation or suitable duties while being paid compensation | ||
| Workers compensation requirements | ||
| Occupational health and safety laws require that injured workers have access to first aid, fair workers compensation and return to work rehabilitation. | ||
| It's your responsibility as an employer to: | ||
| maintain a safe workplace | ||
| maintain current workers compensation insurance | ||
| protect yourself and your workers from financial hardship in the event of a workplace injury. | ||
| Workers Compensation Insurance | ||
| http://www.allianz.com.au/allianz/biwcns+forms.html | ||
| |
||
| The Workers Compensation Commission resolves workers compensation disputes. We encourage workers and employers to discuss ways of resolving their dispute at all stages of the process. | ||
|
||
| The first thing you should do is call the WorkCover Assistance Service on 13 10 50 | ||
| What to do if you’re injured | ||
| Benefits you may be entitled to | ||
| How to make a claim | ||
| Need help resolving a dispute? | ||
| Find out how we can help you resolve your dispute. | ||
| Important Information | ||
| Workers compensation and injury management fact sheets | ||
| http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/Documents/Publications/InjuryManagementRTW/General/what_to_do_if_injury_fact_sheet_03_1292.pdf | ||
| Workers compensation and injury management fact sheets | ||
| Information for Injured Workers | ||
| Your Recovery and Return to Work after a Workplace Injury | ||
| What benefits? | ||
| Important disclaimer | ||
| The following information is provided for general guidance in the assessment of claim payments. It summarises the law and does not purport to be complete or applicable to every case. | ||
| The application of this information to any specific claim will be subject to consideration of all relevant provisions of the legislation. This information may refer to WorkCover NSW legislation that has been amended or repealed. When reading this information, always refer to the latest laws. | ||
| Information on the latest version of relevant laws can be found at the NSW Legislation website, or contact WorkCover NSW on 13 10 50. | ||
| What benefits is an injured worker entitled to? | ||
| Depending on the individual claim and the type, nature and severity of the injury, an injured worker may be eligible for the following benefits: | ||
| weekly benefits | ||
| permanent impairment benefits | ||
| fees for medical or related treatment | ||
| maximum amounts & prescribed rates for other benefits | ||
| death benefits and funeral expenses | ||
| common law damages | ||
| commutations | ||
| Legislation | ||
| Benefits are payable under the following Acts: | ||
| Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 | ||
| Workers Compensation Act 1987 | ||
| Workers Compensation Act 1987 (re 1926 Act) | ||
| Workers Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942. | ||
| The legislation provides different amounts of benefits depending on the period of incapacity, the date of the injury and the date the claim was lodged. | ||
| Most provisions of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 came into force on 30 June 1987 and apply to injuries from that date. Most injuries prior to 30 June 1987 are covered by the provisions of the former Workers Compensation Act 1926, which has been repealed. The Workers Compensation Act 1987 has special rules to ensure that benefits payable under the former Workers Compensation Act 1926 continue to apply, with appropriate adjustments. | ||
| Who is covered by workers compensation insurance? | ||
| If a person or business employs or hires workers on a regular, casual or contract basis, they are considered to be an employer and must have a workers compensation insurance policy. The contract may be expressed or implied, verbal or written, and it may be a contract of service or apprenticeship. | ||
| Trainees and apprentices are also considered workers. | ||
| Generally, a worker is someone who receives wages or commission, regardless of the number of hours worked each week, and includes workers who work away from the employer’s premises. | ||
| As a general rule, if a person is entitled to receive workers compensation benefits if they have a work-related injury, then that person is considered a worker or ‘deemed worker’. | ||
| Contractors | ||
| People working as contractors (including subcontractors and contractors under labour-hire service agreements) may also be ‘deemed workers’. Workers compensation law does not rely on the tax status of the person carrying out the work to determine whether that person is a worker, deemed worker or contractor. | ||
| Following the passage of the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005, WorkCover is preparing to establish a system to make prospective determinations on the status of contractors/workers. The determination will be a binding decision for premium purposes as to whether a person is properly classified as a worker but will not impact on whether or not a person is entitled to claim workers compensation benefits and will be inadmissible in proceedings concerning entitlement to benefit. | ||
| Some of the indicators that assist in determining if a contractor is a deemed worker are: | ||
| the terms of the arrangement | ||
| whether the contractor can employ other people to perform the work | ||
| whether the contractor works at stated hours on usual days and the contract specifies the hours and/or days | ||
| whether the contractor measures and inspects the site and provides a fixed price quotation inclusive of labour and material | ||
| whether the contractor deals directly with the client requesting the work or the principal contractor for whose benefit the work is to be done | ||
| whether the contractor can make a profit or loss over the market rate for a tradesman working in the industry | ||
| whether the contractor supplies the materials, machinery and equipment used in completion of the job | ||
| whether the contractor could be liable for bad work. | ||
| Sole traders and partnerships | ||
| If a sole trader or partnership has workers they must take out a workers compensation insurance policy. However, the sole trader and partners would not be covered by this insurance. | ||
| Sole traders and partnerships should consider taking out a personal accident and illness policy or an income protection policy, in case they are injured and unable to work (Note: this is not a WorkCover requirement). | ||
| Companies | ||
| A proprietary limited company (‘Pty Ltd’) must have a workers compensation insurance policy to cover all its workers. Working directors (directors undertaking employee-type duties) are considered workers of the company. | ||
| Further information on workers, deemed workers and contractors is outlined in the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 and the Wages Definition Manual. | ||
| Workers Compensation | ||
| Premiums | ||
| All employers in NSW are required to pay workers compensation premiums. The NSW Workers Compensation Scheme is funded by the premiums paid by employers and provides medical and financial support of injured workers. | ||
| Workers compensation insurance premiums are based on a number of things, including: | ||
| the industry in which the employer operates (the base industry premium rate reflects the costs of all compensation claims that have occurred in this industry) | ||
| the amount of wages the employer pays to its workers | ||
| the costs of any claims made by their workers (for employers with a basic tariff premium greater than $10,000 and with wages greater than $300,000) | ||
| the dust diseases levy. | ||
| Insurance Premiums Order | ||
| The Insurance Premiums Order (IPO) contains important information on the WorkCover Industry Classification System, premium rates, dust diseases rates and information on the manner in which an employer's claims experience will be incorporated into their premium. | ||
| Insurance Premiums Order 2008-2009 | ||
| The Insurance Premiums Order 2008-09 applies to policies that start or renew on or after 30 June 2008 and sets out the premium rates and formulas used to calculate workers compensation premiums in New South Wales. The Order was published on 6 June 2008. | ||
| WorkCover premium rates have been reduced by an average 30 per cent over the past two years, providing a $785 million annual saving to New South Wales businesses, with the most recent cut delivered in December last year. | ||
| WorkCover premium rates have remained at the same levels for the 2008/09 policy year to allow all New South Wales employers to benefit equally from the December 2007 reduction. This maintains the Scheme’s lowest premium rate level in more than a decade. | ||