NT Workers Compensation Insurance

If the workers' compensation claim is accepted, your injured worker could be eligible for compensation payments including:

• Weekly payments where time off work is required:
  • CGU will reimburse you for these payments upon acceptance of the liability
  • Your employee must obtain an approved workers' compensation medical certificate from their treating doctor and provide it to you
  • The amount your employee will receive is dependent on your employee’s fitness for work and duration of incapacity.
• Reasonable medical and hospital expenses – these are paid in line with NT Workers' Compensation Legislation. Service providers can apply directly to CGU for payment
• Accommodation costs – if your injured worker is required to be away from home for treatment they may be entitled to have accommodation costs paid
• Travel and transportation costs – reasonable public transport and car travel costs (as per NT WorkSafe guidelines) may be reimbursed to your employee for travel to and from medical appointments and treatment. A travel reimbursement form must be submitted, along with any invoices or receipts
• Lump sum payments – if your employee has a permanent impairment as a result of a workplace injury they may be entitled to a lump sum payment.

Whilst entitlements are not limited to the above, we have simply outlined the more common payment groups. If you would like more information please contact CGU.

CGU provides all policy holders with free access to online injury management training via our .Live online tools.

This introductory training is designed to provide you with tips and techniques to help you successfully manage injuries in the workplace. The training includes:

• An overview of injury management
• Legal requirements
• Roles and responsibilities in injury management
• Responding to injuries
• Claims management and early intervention
• Recovery and returning to the workplace.

CGU also offers classroom style training on injury management. More information is available in our Employer WHS risk management and training section.

As the employer you are responsible for providing suitable duties for your injured worker.

In conjunction with the injured worker, their nominated treating doctor and a rehabilitation provider a return to work plan should be drafted that is based on the treating doctor’s recommendations and approval.

If the doctor thinks the employee is fit to work, but not in their normal job, you must consider suitable duties such as:

• Parts of the job the employee was doing before the injury
• The same job, but on reduced hours
• Different duties altogether
• Duties at a different site
• Training opportunities
• A combination of some or all the above.

When considering suitable duties, the following must be taken into account:

• The work capabilities the treating doctor has listed
• The age, education and work skills of the injured worker
• Where the worker lives
• What duties are useful within your business
• If the duties comply with the injury management plan
• They must not be demeaning or token duties.

Contact your case manager for more information.

Although medical treatment can only be administered with the consent of the injured worker by their nominated treating doctor, an employer or CGU may require the employee to be examined by an independent medical examiner.

These reviews aim to provide medical opinion and information to assist the return to work process.

If CGU makes a decision to decline payment, it will be done in consultation with you. If you have concerns about how a liability decision was reached, please contact us immediately and provide any further information you think may be relevant.

While CGU must comply with legislative requirements, we endeavour to partner with you to ensure the best outcomes for you and your injured worker are achieved.

As an employer, you must maintain a readily accessible register of injuries for all incidents, accidents and near misses and make sure all employees are aware of it.

You must also:

• Allow the injured worker to visit a doctor
• Consult with the injured worker, their nominated treating doctor and CGU about the plan for assisting them to return to work
• Take all reasonable steps to provide the injured worker with suitable employment based on their work capacity, until they are able to return to their pre-injury duties
• As far as practicable, participate in efforts to retrain the worker.

For further information about employer obligations, please refer to the Information for Employers Rights and Responsibilities brochure or contact NT WorkSafe on 1800 250 713.

Following an injury an employer must:

• Attend to the injured worker as soon as possible, ensuring they receive medical treatment if required
• Notify CGU as soon as possible
• Complete your register of injuries as soon as possible
• Implement and monitor a Return To Work Plan for the injured worker
• Not dismiss an injured worker whilst they are incapacitated for work as a result of a work injury.

Once a claim form is completed an employer must:

• Forward it to CGU within three working days of receipt
• Forward relevant medical certificates and any other related documentation as soon as possible.

Employers also have a number of obligations relating to workplace health and safety.

An injured worker must:

• Notify their employer of any injury or illness as soon as practicable
• Make a workers' compensation claim (including providing a workers' compensation initial medical certificate) in order to receive payment for medical expenses and any time lost
• Nominate their own treating doctor, usually a GP who agrees to participate in the planning of their return to work
• Actively participate in treatment and planning their return to work
• Participate in assessments to determine their capacity, rehabilitation progress and future employment prospects
• Make every reasonable effort to return to work in suitable employment
• Notify their employer immediately if they are receiving workers' compensation payments and start working for another employer or start their own business.
• If your employee doesn’t meet these obligations, their entitlement to weekly payments and medical and other expenses may be affected.

For more information regarding employee obligations, see the section on Information for Workers Rights and Responsibilities. Further information in relation to NT Workers' compensation claims, or copies of any bulletins, can be found at the NT WorkSafe website.

Employers often think there is nothing they can do to control rising workers' compensation premiums or to resolve difficult claims. The reality is that you can – by understanding what affects your premiums and focusing your efforts in the right areas.

CGU has developed an Employer Toolkit to help medium-sized businesses do just that. It provides a self-assessment to identify focus areas as well as guides and templates to help you better understand and address the areas most critical to your performance.

Included in the toolkit are topics such as:

• How your premium is calculated
• The drivers of controllable workers' compensation costs
• The importance of prompt injury notification
• Identifying suitable duties to help get injured workers back to work
• Active management of your RTW programs
• Management of provider relationships.

CGU can help you to go through the self assessment and take you step-by-step through the toolkit – letting you take the first steps in taking control of your workers' compensation premium.

A growing focus on business transparency and performance metrics has increased the need for excellent reporting tools. We understand that all businesses have unique performance reporting needs, so we’ll work with you to establish your requirements and provide the claims and premium forecasting information to fulfil them.

Workers Compensation Online is a secure, web-based report management tool that:

• Provides you with information on injury and claims management
• Enables you to compare data and actively plan WHS strategies that will help minimise workplace injuries, improve health outcomes for your employees and produce tangible cost benefits for your business
• Lets you manage your reports in the format that suits you – choose between monthly reports that are automatically emailed to you, or develop your own reports that you can access at any time.

The tool covers areas such as:

• Injury notifications
• Claims durations
• Injury types by bodily location
• Injury trends
• Cost of injury by bodily location.

To register for Workers Compensation Online contact your adviser or CGU, or email wc.live@cgu.com.au.

Under the NT Workers' Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2008 (The Act) all employers are required to take out a policy to cover all employees including the following:

• Apprentices
• Sub contractors
• Family members
• Working directors
• Generally anyone performing work or a service who have not notified you of their ABN, in writing, prior to the commencement of working for you.

For further information, see the NT WorkSafe website.

All employees are covered by a workers' compensation policy and are entitled to compensation for any injury that occurs in the course of their employment (where their employment is deemed to have materially contributed to their injury or disease).

If you are a sole proprietor or a member of a partnership, you are not a worker of your own business and therefore you cannot take out a Workers Compensation policy for yourself.

When taking out a policy, you will need to submit a proposal form declaring estimated wages for the period of the policy (usually twelve months) and pay the deposit premium based on the estimate. The premium is adjusted at the end of the period based on actual wages. For further information see the employer information pack and employers indemnity policy.

Premium rates are reviewed by CGU annually. The rate you pay is determined by your industry or occupation. This rate is then applied to your gross estimated wages for the 12 month period. The rate may be varied subject to your previous claims history and wageroll.

If one of your workers has a work related injury or industrial disease and you are uninsured, you will be liable for the cost of that claim. You may also be liable for the cost of any damages awarded by a court. In addition, NT WorkSafe may prosecute any uninsured employer, with fines payable of up to $30,000. For further information see the NT WorkSafe website.

Under the terms of the policy we issue, you have certain policy and claims responsibilities to fulfil. It is important that you take the time to read your policy document so that you are aware of these obligations.

The major obligations you have are to:

• Provide estimated and actual wages declarations for each policy period you are insured with us
• Maintain proper Wages Records for every worker employed
• Allow inspection of your wages records by a duly authorised representative appointed by us
• Give notice of any disability as soon as practicable.

As an employer, you also have obligations when one of your employees is injured at work. For further information, see the claims section for employers.

As a large business, your company structure may mean that you have complex needs when it comes to managing your workers' compensation policy.

We will work with you and your adviser to understand your business structure and strategy and help make the management of your portfolio of policies as effective and efficient as possible.

Please contact us by phone or email and we will arrange for this to be sent to you.