SWA releases Comparative Performance Monitoring report

Safe Work Australia has published the Comparative Performance Monitoring report 23rd edition, which provides the latest trend analyses on WHS and workers compensation schemes operating in Australia and New Zealand. The report includes analysis of work health and safety performance, compliance and enforcement activities and entitlements under workers compensation (scenarios). The report also addresses workers compensation premiums, workers compensation funding (assets, liabilities and expenditure) and workers compensation disputes.

Key findings in the latest report revealed that WHS authorities across Australia undertook 234,917 workplace interventions, issued 55,210 WHS breach notices and finalised 283 legal proceedings, resulting in $23.73 million in fines ordered by the courts. The average funding ratio for all Australian schemes continues to be above 100% in 2019–20, indicating that all schemes have sufficient assets to meet predicted future liabilities. Over the past five years, the total expenditure for workers compensation schemes across Australia has increased by 19%, reaching $9.884 billion in 2019–20. The disputation rate has decreased by 26% since 2015–16, although the disputes received have taken longer to resolve.

The report complements the comparison of workers compensation arrangements in Australia and New Zealand report and the agency’s annual statistical reports. These statistics should be considered in the broader context of the COVID-19 pandemic when comparing data over previous periods. The COVID-19 and Safe Work Australia data report addresses the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this data.

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