WA Workers Compensation Insurance

• Ensure your employee receives appropriate medical treatment immediately
• Notify CGU as soon as possible after becoming aware of an injury in your workplace. The earlier you notify us, the sooner we can provide assistance with managing the claim.

Providing initial notification of an injury couldn't be easier with CGU's online initial injury notification system. If you're new to online notification you can refer to this quick reference guide or speak to your CGU Account Manager.

You can also notify us of an injury via email, fax or posting a notification of injury form to CGU.

You must complete, sign and date an Employer’s Report Form and send it with the employees completed Workers Compensation Claim Form and their medical certificate to CGU Workers Compensation.

• It’s important that you investigate the incident and identify a solution to ensure a similar injury doesn’t occur again. This should become part of your organisational WHS system
• If the injured worker is unable to immediately return to their pre-injury role, identify suitable duties that you may be able to provide within your workplace.

You must have an Injury Management System (IMS) established in accordance with the Injury Management Code of Practice. If you require assistance in establishing an IMS then please contact your case manager. Please note a $2000.00 penalty applies to employers who do not have an IMS in place.

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

• 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 injury management training section.

You are responsible for preparing a Return To Work Program for your injured worker that:

• Describes how you will help your employee return to work after an injury
• Is based on the treating doctor’s recommendations and approval and co-ordinated with the IMS
• Is developed in consultation with your employee. You must make it available to them on request.

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
• They must not be demeaning or token duties.

Contact your case manager for more information and to obtain an Employer’s Guide and templates for developing a Return To Work Program.

Please note a $2000.00 penalty applies to employers that do not establish a Return to Work program.

CGU offers a range of training courses to help you in the area of Return to Work. More information is available in our Employer WHS risk management and injury training section.

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.

If you disagree with a decision, you can request CGU review the claim. The review will be conducted by a senior member of staff who was not involved in making the original decision.

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 treating doctor and CGU about the plan for assisting them return to work
• Prepare a Return to Work program
• Provide the injured worker with employment that is suitable based on their work capacity, until they are able to return to their pre-injury duties.

For further information about employer obligations, please refer to the Information for Employers Rights and Responsibilities brochure or contact WorkCover WA on (08) 9388 5555.

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 Program for the injured worker
• Not dismiss an injured worker within 12 months of the worker becoming unfit 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 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 they become aware of it
• Make a workers' compensation claim (including providing a WorkCover WA First 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 within seven days 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 or contact WorkCover WA. Copies of any posters, can be found at the WorkCover WA website.

Access online training

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 email wc.live@cgu.com.au.

Under the Workers Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (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 (optional).

For further information, see the WorkCover WA 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 be a significant contributing factor).

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.

Recommended premium rates are set and reviewed (usually on 30 June each year) by WorkCover WA. Insurers may load these rates by no more than 75% of the recommended rate unless permitted by WorkCover WA. The rates are published in a special government gazette available from the State Law Publisher.

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, WorkCover WA may prosecute any uninsured employer, with fines payable of up to $5,000 in respect of each worker employed and impose penalties equal to the total of any insurance premiums avoided during the 5 years before the conviction. For further information see the WorkCover WA 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 advisor 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.

CGU provides quality regular training courses held in CGU training facilities around Australia along with tailored programs, held on customers’ premises. The education sessions are practical, with a key emphasis placed on implementation.

Our Injury Management Training for Employers courses for 2024 are now available. Please email imtrainingrs@cgu.com.au to register your interest.

These courses are run by the Industry Foundation for Accident Prevention (IFAP). They are an independent company and not owned or operated nor does it act as an agent for Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Workers Compensation. Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Workers Compensation accepts no liability for any act or omission of IFAP, in relation to the training courses or resources or any other service that they offer. These courses include:

• WHS Legislation including WHS Harmonisation
• WHS Management
• WHS Leadership
• Hygiene and Air Quality
• Health and Safety (HSR) Representative
• Incident Reporting & Accident Investigation
• Hazard & Risk Management
• Workers Compensation & Injury Management
• Specific industry WHS training including Construction, Manufacturing, Mining, Offshore & Maritime, Education, Community Services, Hospitality, Government and Not-For-Profit sector.

To enrol in one of these courses please contact WHS directly via their website WHS Foundation - Work Health & Safety Foundation.

CGU offers free online courses to all employers holding our workers compensation cover.

CGU, in partnership with Kineo, provides innovative online WHS training solutions. Using a blend of workplace simulations, interactive assessments, audio, images and text, our courses actively engage and involve the user in problem-based learning.

The benefits of online learning include:

• Lower training cost per employee
• Standardised training throughout all business locations
• Reduced administration requirements.

• Free or discounted online training
• An opportunity to trial online learning in your organisation at no cost
• Discounts on future online learning courses.

There is a variety of modules in work health and safety, injury management and industrial relations. The following are an example of the types of courses available:

• Alcohol and other drugs in the workplace
• Duty of care
• Incident investigation
• Injury management
• Manual tasks for workers
• Minimising risk using personal protective equipment
• Risk management
• Work health and safety fundamentals.

If you already have access, log in via CGU Online Learning Portal - Online Training Portal.