WorkSafe Victoria premiums for 2009/10

The Victorian state government has recently confirmed that the average premium rate for 2009/10 (effective from 1 July 2009) will remain at 1.387% of an employer’s payroll.

Maintaining the existing rate will mean Victorian employers continue to pay one of the lowest average premium rates across all of the schemes in Australia.

Five successive annual reductions in the average premium rate since 2004/05 have cut the average premium rate from 2.22% to 1.387%, helping Victorian businesses maintain their competitive edge and saving them over $2 billion collectively.

In addition, reforms to the system in recent years have made it simpler, with premiums paid by employers — particularly larger ones — now exposed to a greater degree of their own safety and return to work performance.

Maintaining the existing average rate does not mean that an employer’s individual rate will remain the same in 2009/10. While the majority of employers will pay either the same or less premium during 2009/10, there will be a minority that can expect to pay more.

For those employers that do pay more in 2009/10, it will be due to a growth in their payroll, or deterioration in their own or their industry’s health and safety and return to work performance.

Maintaining the existing average premium rate will help keep the scheme equitable and competitive at a time of increasing economic uncertainty. A further reduction would have put significant pressure on the scheme’s capacity to support injured workers and keep costs down for Victorian employers over the longer term.

There will be changes to industry rates. WorkSafe expects some movement, either up or down, as rates are updated to reflect changes in each industry’s claims performance. These rates need to reflect the risk of particular industries to make it fairer for all. WorkSafe expects to publish indicative industry rates on its website in June. A simulator tool will also be online to provide an illustration of insurance premiums for 2009/10.

To estimate what an individual’s insurance premium could be for 2009/10, WorkSafe recommend speaking with an agent or use the WorkSafe premium simulator that is available online at www.worksafe.vic.gov.au.

A publication outlining the Workplace Injury Insurance system in 2009/10 in more detail is expected to be made available in the near future from the WorkSafe website.