Home | WorkSafe.qld.gov.au · Web view2020. 7. 22. · Nick commenced at WorkCover in July 2017 and leads teams across strategy development, strategic projects and portfolio management,

WELCOME...........................................................................................................................1ABOUT THIS REPORT....................................................................................................................................... 1LETTER OF COMPLIANCE.................................................................................................................................. 2

ABOUT WORKCOVER.......................................................................................................3WHO WE ARE.................................................................................................................................................. 3WORKING TOGETHER...................................................................................................................................... 3CUSTOMER SERVICE COMMITMENT................................................................................................................... 4CORPORATE PLAN 2017–2021....................................................................................................................... 5STATEMENT OF CORPORATE INTENT 2017-2018..............................................................................................7

HIGHLIGHTS 20172018...................................................................................................11PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW............................................................................................................................. 12

STATISTICS......................................................................................................................13LEADERSHIP....................................................................................................................16

CHAIR AND CEO REPORT............................................................................................................................. 16BOARD OF DIRECTORS.................................................................................................................................. 19EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM......................................................................................................................21

ENGAGED PEOPLE..........................................................................................................23CORPORATE GOVERNANCE..........................................................................................26

ETHICS, COMPLIANCE AND RISK MANAGEMENT..............................................................................................29

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE...........................................................................................33FINANCIAL STATEMENTS...............................................................................................35COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST..............................................................................................85GLOSSARY.......................................................................................................................86

CONTENTS

WELCOMEWelcome to WorkCover Queensland’s annual report. WorkCover is committed to open communication with our customers and stakeholders. This report summarises WorkCover’s results, performance, outlook and financial position for 2017–2018.

About this reportUnder the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003, WorkCover is required to produce an annual report. This report has been prepared to meet the needs of stakeholders and the accountability requirements under the Financial Accountability Act 2009 .

WorkCover is committed to providing accessible services to Queenslanders from all culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. If you have difficulty in understanding the annual report, you can contact us on 1300 362 128 and we will arrange an interpreter to effectively communicate the report to you.

To view previous reports, please visit our website worksafe.qld.gov.au.

If you wish to speak to us about this report, please contact:

CommunicationsWorkCover QueenslandGPO Box 2459Brisbane Qld 40011300 362 [email protected]

ISSN 1329-6539

© WorkCover Queensland 2018

Licence:

This annual report is licensed by WorkCover Queensland under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 3.0 Australia licence.

CC BY Licence Summary Statement:

In essence, you are free to copy, communicate and adapt this annual report, as long as you attribute the work to WorkCover Queensland.

To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/deed.en

Attribution:

Content from this annual report should be attributed as: WorkCover Queensland annual report 2017–2018.

WorkCover Queensland annual report 2017–2018 1

http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/3.0/au/deed.en

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/

https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2009-009


Letter of compliance

28 August 2018

The Honourable Grace Grace MPMinister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations1 William StreetBRISBANE QLD 4000

Dear Minister

I am pleased to submit for presentation to the Parliament the 2017–2018 WorkCover Queensland annual report.

I am pleased to acknowledge both the contribution of our Board as well as the care and dedication of our people in providing excellent workers’ compensation cover in Queensland.

I certify that this annual report complies with:

the requirements under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 the prescribed requirements of the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the Financial and

Performance Management Standard 2009, and the detailed requirements set out in the Annual report requirements for Queensland

Government agencies.

A checklist outlining the annual reporting requirements can be found at page 85.

Yours sincerely

Flavia GobboChair

1.

2 WorkCover Queensland annual report 2017–2018

https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/file/37306/download?token=sfzYQvvb

https://www.forgov.qld.gov.au/file/37306/download?token=sfzYQvvb

https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/sl-2009-0104




ABOUT WORKCOVER

Who we areWorkCover Queensland is a self-funded statutory body providing workers’ compensation insurance since 1997. Over the 2017–2018 year, we provided tailored insurance solutions to more than 162,500 Queensland businesses.

WorkCover strives to maintain the lowest possible average premium rate by continuously investing in efficient online customer services and experienced in-house claims management capability to support employers and make a positive difference to the lives of injured workers.

We maintain high return to work rates by partnering with our customers, unions, industry associations, medical and allied health providers and legal industry.

We are passionate about striking the right balance between keeping premium costs low for employers and providing injured workers with access to rehabilitation and the best possible return to work support.

Working togetherWorkCover partners with various government agencies and key stakeholders to give Queensland businesses and the broader community efficient access to specialist advice on safety, rehabilitation, return to work and workers’ compensation matters.


Customer service commitmentWorkCover Queensland is committed to putting the customer first and providing quality experiences. We partner with our customers and stakeholders to deliver innovative and sustainable outcomes, creating value for Queensland businesses and workers.

Our values of excellence, integrity, responsiveness and respect are incorporated into everything we do. Our people also aim to live our customer strategy principles – easy, fair and transparent, empowered, consistent and valued – with every customer interaction.

ServiceWorkCover’s aim is to deliver excellent customer service and to make doing business with us easy. We will always strive to meet our customers’ expectations by:

personally answering calls during business hours listening first, then responding in a timely way communicating openly and in plain language providing contact details of a person to assist being fair and impartial in all our interactions.

EngagementWorkCover cares about its customers and stakeholders and wants to engage with them in a positive way for mutual benefit through:

understanding individual requirements asking how we can improve providing regular updates proactively building relationships offering value added services.

Recovery from injuryWorkCover is here to support the often difficult and emotional experience of a work-related injury. We are committed to assisting people to recover at work and liaising with all parties involved to achieve the best possible outcome by:

communicating regularly with everyone involved undertaking necessary rehabilitation facilitating an early as possible safe return to work, subject to fitness and capability providing support to reduce the impact of the injury assisting to reduce the disruption an injury can cause.

Information and feedbackWorkCover values customer and stakeholder feedback to help continually improve services. We are also committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. We take all reasonable precautions to protect the information given to us by:

storing personal information securely allowing access to information quickly and easily.


Corporate Plan 2017–2021

Who we areWorkCover Queensland is the main provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Queensland. We are a government owned statutory body established under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003.

Our visionTo be the best workers’ compensation insurer, providing a customer experience that delivers excellent return to work outcomes for workers at the lowest cost for Queensland businesses.

Our values

ExcellenceTo deliver outcomes that are highly valued by our customers

IntegrityTo always do the right thing

ResponsivenessTo provide an experience that meets the individual needs of our customers

RespectTo be considerate of the rights and dignity of everyone

Our customersOur customers are injured workers and employers, supported by various stakeholder groups.

Challenges retaining our customer base designing and delivering an experience that is valued by our customers, now and in the future engaging with customers and stakeholders to achieve mutually beneficial outcomes influencing employers to prevent and better manage injuries achieving optimal stay at/return to work outcomes whilst managing the cost of claims maintaining an engaged workforce.




Our goals, strategies and performance indicators

1 Financial

Goal Be financially strong, balancing injured worker and employer needsStrategies Appropriately price and collect premium to cover costs Monitor claim numbers, trends and costs and implement innovative strategies to optimise claim

outcomes and reduce claims costs Manage and monitor the investment strategy to maximise investment returns Retain and grow customer basePerformance indicators Capital adequacy requirements Average premium rate

2 Customer/stakeholder

Goal Be an innovative insurer that puts the customer firstStrategies Engage with customers, stakeholders and our people to understand customer expectations Implement the customer experience design framework to redesign the end to end customer

journey based on customer insights Research and test innovative claims management strategies, including data analytics, to improve

outcomes for workers and employers Improve communication and education to customersPerformance indicators Customer experience measure for workers and employers Final return to work percentage

3 People

Goal Be an organisation of committed, creative people with strong leadership

Strategies Ensure ongoing capability and capacity, through ongoing investment in our people, including

development of our leadership and technical competencies Implement ongoing workforce planning strategies (including flexible working arrangements) Be a role model employer that promotes workplace health and safety and early return to work

practices Continue with the WorkCover employee engagement and wellness initiatives

Performance indicators Employee engagement index


Statement of Corporate Intent 2017-2018

IntroductionThis Statement of Corporate Intent has been prepared under the direction of, and is submitted by, the Board of Directors of WorkCover Queensland (WorkCover), in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (the Act).

This Statement of Corporate Intent should be read in conjunction with the 2017−2021 WorkCover Queensland Corporate Plan.

1 GoalsWorkCover’s goals are to be:

an innovative insurer that puts the customer first financially strong, balancing injured worker and employer needs an organisation of committed, creative people with strong leadership.

2 Main undertakingsWorkCover is a government owned statutory body and is the main provider of workers’ compensation insurance in Queensland. A WorkCover accident insurance policy covers injured workers for their lost wages and medical and rehabilitation costs after a workplace accident, and covers employers against these costs and possible common law claims.

The main provisions of the Act provide the following for workers and employers:

compensation appropriate access to damages employers’ liability for compensation employers’ obligation to be covered against liability for compensation and damages under a

WorkCover insurance policy management of compensation claims by WorkCover injury management, emphasising rehabilitation of workers particularly for return to work (RTW).

It is intended that WorkCover will:

maintain a balance between:— providing the best possible benefits and RTW programs for injured workers, and— ensuring the lowest possible sustainable premiums for employers

ensure that injured workers or dependants are treated fairly provide for employers and injured workers to participate in effective RTW programs provide flexible insurance arrangements suited to the particular needs of industry.




3 Nature and scope of activities during 2017−2018

Goal Key business objective

Strategies

Financial Be financially strong, balancing injured worker and employer needs

Appropriately price and collect premium, considering: Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis, firefighters, National Injury

Insurance Scheme and other emerging trends small business model and incentives tailored solutions for large employers focus on education so that Queensland businesses have the

right level of insurance coverage

Monitor claim numbers, trends and costs and implement innovative strategies to optimise claim outcomes and reduce claims costs, including: respond to legislative changes work with external researchers to develop innovative RTW

strategies research RTW sustainability measures and outcomes

Manage and monitor the investment strategy to deliver sustainable investment returns

Retain and grow the customer base

Customer/stakeholder

Be an innovative insurer that puts the customer first

Engage with customers, stakeholders and our people to understand customer expectations, including: continue to work with Office of Industrial Relations on joint

initiatives review and improve RTW outcomes

Implement the customer experience design framework to redesign the end to end customer journey based on customer insights

Research and test innovative claims management strategies, including data analytics, to improve outcomes for workers and employers

Enhance and improve communication and education to customers, including: enhance the one stop shop Communication plan (including Household Worker campaign) promote safety and RTW events

People Be an organisation of committed, creative people with strong leadership

Ensure our workforce has the capability, both now and into the future, to meet the needs of our customers

Implement ongoing workforce planning strategies (including flexible working arrangements)

Be a role model employer that promotes workplace health and safety and early RTW practices

Continue with the WorkCover employee engagement and wellness initiatives


4 Financial and non-financial performance targetsPerformance indicators are focused at the corporate level. As part of WorkCover’s performance management system, managers and their people have indicators specifically directed to theirbusiness units.

Indicator 2017–2018 target

Financial

Funding ratio

Average premium rate

>120%

$1.20

Customer/stakeholder

Overall customer experience measure

employers

workers

Final RTW

>6.7 / 10

>6.9 / 10

> 92%

People

Employee engagement index >8.1 / 10

5 Capital structure and payments to the consolidated fundIn accordance with the Act, WorkCover is taken to be fully funded if it is able to meet its liabilities for compensation and damages payable from its funds and accounts and maintain capital adequacy as required under the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014 (the Regulation). The Regulation states that in order to maintain capital adequacy, WorkCover’s total assets must at least be equal to total liabilities (this correlates to a funding ratio of 100%).

The Act allows for payments to be made to the consolidated fund. The WorkCover Board will make a recommendation to the Minister with respect to such a payment (if any) following certification of the 2016−2017 financial statements.

WorkCover will also contribute to levies administered by the Regulator by way of an annual levy.

6 Borrowings made, proposed to be madeWorkCover currently has no borrowings and there are none planned for the immediate future. Investment funds are used to manage all cash flow requirements. WorkCover’s borrowing policy is outlined in 7.3.

7 Policies adopted to minimise and manage risk of investments and borrowings that may adversely affect financial stability7.1 Investment riskWorkCover currently invests all excess funds with QIC. WorkCover maintains a balanced investment profile with a long-term outlook commensurate with being a long-term insurance operation. Derivative instruments are used as part of the investment strategy to hedge foreign exchange risks and rebalance asset classes.

An Investment Management Agreement governs the arrangement. In addition, the WorkCover Board monitors investment on a monthly basis and receives at least quarterly presentations from QIC. The Board reviews the investment strategy annually.



7.2 Business riskWorkCover has a risk management program in place. Risk registers are maintained and monitored by each business division. Strategies to manage risk are incorporated into each division’s business planning process. The WorkCover Risk and Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing the risk management program, including reviewing and monitoring WorkCover’s top strategic risks on a quarterly basis.

7.3 Borrowing riskThe Act provides the framework for WorkCover’s procedures for borrowing. WorkCover may enter into such arrangements to procure equipment up to an amount and on such terms as it considers appropriate. All financing arrangements will be made in conjunction with Queensland Treasury Corporation in order to establish that applicable rates are competitive and conditions are appropriate. Board approval will be required for all financing arrangements over pre-defined expenditure limits. All limits are as stated in the WorkCover delegation manual.

8 Policies and procedures relating to acquisition and disposal of major assetsIn acquiring or disposing of major assets, WorkCover complies with the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009 and Queensland Treasury guideline—Non-Current Asset Policies for the Queensland Public Sector.

Major assets may be acquired via purchase, finance lease agreement, donations, or transfer from other government entities. A business case must be submitted to the CEO and/or General Manager Finance seeking approval. The CEO will present any major initiatives to the Board for approval. Approval limits are as stated in the WorkCover delegation manual.

In disposing of major assets, approval must be sought from the appropriate delegated authority. Approval limits are as stated in the WorkCover delegation manual.

9 Accounting policies applying to preparation of accountsWorkCover’s accounting policies are outlined each year in the Annual Report and are reviewed as part of the financial statements audit process. Further information on accounting policies is provided in WorkCover’s Financial Management Practice Manual (FMPM).

10 Community service obligationsIt is not envisaged that the government will require WorkCover to perform any specific community service obligations.

11 Employment and industrial relations planWorkCover prepares an employment and industrial relations plan annually in accordance with the Act.

12 Information to be reported to the Minister12.1 Quarterly reportingA quarterly report will be provided to the Minister within one month of the end of the relevant quarter as required by the Act. The report will contain information regarding WorkCover’s performance against the Statement of Corporate Intent.

12.2 Annual reportingA full annual report will be provided to the Minister in accordance with the Act and in compliance with the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009, which requires WorkCover to give the annual report to the Minister to allow the report to be tabled in the Legislative Assembly within three months after the conclusion of each financial year.





HIGHLIGHTS 20172018


Performance overviewThe following scorecard provides an overview of our performance, including targets from ourStatement of Corporate Intent.

Aim What did we achieve?

Customer/Stakeholder

>92% final return to work 93.6%

Overall customer experience metricemployers > 6.7 / 10workers > 6.9 / 10

Average for 20172018employers 7.0 / 10workers 7.2 / 10

Most recent quarter results (June 2018)employers 7.3 / 10workers 7.2 / 10

Financial

Funding ratio (excl DTA) > 120% 181%

Average premium rate $1.20 $1.20

People

Employee engagement index: > 8.1 / 10 7.8


STATISTICS

Injury nature% No. % $M % $M %

Burns 1 555 2.3% 1 475 2.2% 9.4 1.1% 9.9 1.2%Fractures 4 779 7.1% 4 633 7.0% 121.8 14.8% 115.4 14.4%

Intracranial injuries and injuries to nerves and spinal cord

482 0.7% 384 0.6% 13.2 1.6% 22.5 2.8%

Mental disorders 982 1.5% 959 1.4% 49.5 6.0% 48.1 6.0%Musculoskeletal injuries and diseases 35 028 52.1% 33 850 51.0% 392.2 47.6% 365.0 45.7%Nervous system and sense organ diseases 1 359 2.0% 1 300 2.0% 22.6 2.7% 21.9 2.7%Other injuries and diseases 6 627 9.9% 6 991 10.5% 114.1 13.9% 120.5 15.2%Respiratory system diseases 180 0.3% 190 0.3% 10.0 1.2% 10.0 1.2%Skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases 336 0.5% 258 0.4% 1.6 0.2% 1.8 0.2%

Wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage

15 866 23.6% 16 390 24.6% 88.9 10.9% 85.2 10.6%

Total 67 194 100.0% 66 430 100.0% 823.3 100.0% 800.3 100.0%

Injury location% No. % $M % $M %

Back 11 433 17.0% 11 257 16.9% 134.2 16.3% 126.9 15.9%Foot and toes 2 326 3.5% 2 241 3.4% 23.2 2.8% 19.7 2.5%Hand and fingers 12 037 17.9% 12 148 18.3% 70.7 8.6% 68.1 8.5%Head and face 6 574 9.8% 6 600 9.9% 51.2 6.2% 55.4 6.9%Lower limbs 11 925 17.7% 11 517 17.3% 134.7 16.4% 128.3 16.0%Multiple Locations 1 491 2.2% 1 752 2.6% 24.8 3.0% 29.8 3.7%Neck 2 345 3.5% 2 383 3.6% 27.2 3.3% 28.2 3.5%Systemic 1 392 2.1% 1 397 2.1% 51.9 6.3% 50.9 6.4%Trunk 2 998 4.5% 2 952 4.4% 83.2 10.1% 80.9 10.1%Unspecified location 1 211 1.8% 1 331 2.0% 22.2 2.7% 26.2 3.3%Upper limbs 13 462 20.0% 12 852 19.5% 200.0 24.3% 185.9 23.2%Total 67 194 100.0% 66 430 100.0% 823.3 100.0% 800.3 100.0%

Industry% No. % $M % $M %

Accommodation and Food Services 4 318 6.4% 4 479 6.7% 36.1 4.4% 38.6 4.8%Administrative and Support Services 2 355 3.5% 2 205 3.3% 32.2 3.9% 30.0 3.7%Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 2 061 3.1% 2 135 3.2% 29.0 3.5% 31.3 3.9%Arts and Recreation Services 1 000 1.5% 983 1.5% 11.0 1.3% 9.5 1.2%Construction 8 849 13.2% 8 917 13.4% 139.4 16.8% 138.1 17.3%Education and Training 5 587 8.3% 5 440 8.2% 48.4 5.9% 48.5 6.1%Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 956 1.4% 1 044 1.6% 12.0 1.5% 13.2 1.6%Financial and Insurance Services 390 0.6% 393 0.6% 5.6 0.7% 6.5 0.8%Health Care and Social Assistance 9 633 14.3% 9 353 14.1% 103.2 12.5% 98.9 12.4%Information Media and Telecommunications 292 0.4% 377 0.6% 4.0 0.5% 3.1 0.4%Manufacturing 11 466 17.2% 10 920 16.4% 101.7 12.4% 98.0 12.2%Mining 1 132 1.7% 1 071 1.6% 35.4 4.3% 31.8 4.0%Other 357 0.5% 340 0.5% 11.2 1.4% 10.2 1.3%Other Services 2 163 3.2% 1 985 3.0% 30.0 3.6% 23.1 2.9%Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 1 203 1.8% 1 264 1.9% 13.8 1.7% 16.5 2.1%Public Administration and Safety 3 903 5.8% 3 633 5.5% 55.8 6.8% 53.3 6.7%Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 799 1.2% 775 1.2% 11.2 1.4% 9.9 1.2%Retail Trade 4 237 6.3% 4 429 6.7% 40.0 4.9% 36.7 4.6%Transport, Postal and Warehousing 3 185 4.7% 3 449 5.2% 63.5 7.7% 67.6 8.4%Wholesale Trade 3 308 4.9% 3 238 4.8% 39.8 4.8% 35.5 4.4%Total 67 194 100.0% 66 430 100.0% 823.3 100.0% 800.3 100.0%Note: Other includes Household worker, WPII, Voluntary etc

20182018 2017 2017

2018 2017 2018 2017

2018 2017

Number of accepted claims Financial year costs



2018 2017

Statutory claims and payments by industry

Statutory claims and payments by injury nature

Statutory claims and payments by injury location


Injury natureNo. % No. % $M % $M %

Burns 22 0.9% 19 0.8% 2.9 0.8% 5.3 1.4%Fractures 226 9.3% 221 9.4% 43.8 11.8% 37.9 10.3%

Intracranial injuries and injuries to nerves and spinal cord

17 0.7% 23 1.0% 7.1 1.9% 13.3 3.6%

Mental disorders 222 9.2% 161 6.9% 36.1 9.7% 34.2 9.2%Musculoskeletal injuries and diseases 1 462 60.3% 1 456 62.0% 216.5 58.0% 207.1 56.1%Nervous system and sense organ diseases 43 1.8% 39 1.7% 5.8 1.6% 5.5 1.5%Other injuries and diseases 164 6.8% 155 6.6% 23.5 6.3% 24.2 6.5%Respiratory system diseases 36 1.5% 24 1.0% 3.0 0.8% 4.9 1.3%Skin and subcutaneous tissue diseases 6 0.2% 2 0.1% 0.4 0.1% 0.5 0.1%

Wounds, lacerations, amputations and internal organ damage

226 9.3% 247 10.5% 33.5 9.0% 37.1 10.0%

Total 2 424 100.0% 2 347 100.0% 372.6 100.0% 370.0 100.0%

Injury locationNo. % No. % $M % $M %

Back 715 29.6% 729 31.1% 115.9 31.0% 110.7 30.0%Foot and toes 46 1.9% 54 2.3% 9.8 2.6% 9.0 2.4%Hand and fingers 190 7.8% 183 7.8% 24.2 6.5% 23.6 6.4%Head and face 78 3.2% 76 3.2% 17.7 4.8% 21.5 5.8%Lower limbs 295 12.2% 301 12.8% 44.4 11.9% 41.6 11.2%Multiple Locations 43 1.8% 49 2.1% 7.3 2.0% 9.1 2.5%Neck 87 3.6% 82 3.5% 15.0 4.0% 18.1 4.9%Systemic 231 9.5% 166 7.1% 37.5 10.1% 36.8 9.9%Trunk 117 4.8% 105 4.5% 17.0 4.6% 16.8 4.5%Unspecified location 18 0.7% 16 0.7% 2.2 0.6% 1.7 0.5%Upper limbs 604 24.9% 586 25.0% 81.6 21.9% 81.1 21.9%Total 2 424 100.0% 2 347 100.0% 372.6 100.0% 370.0 100.0%

IndustryNo. % No. % $M % $M %

Accommodation and Food Services 122 5.0% 146 6.2% 19.9 5.3% 16.0 4.3%Administrative and Support Services 71 2.9% 68 2.9% 9.6 2.6% 11.0 3.0%Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing 78 3.2% 62 2.6% 10.3 2.8% 12.4 3.4%Arts and Recreation Services 21 0.9% 22 0.9% 2.7 0.7% 2.8 0.8%Construction 370 15.3% 385 16.4% 70.8 19.0% 69.5 18.8%Education and Training 90 3.7% 60 2.6% 11.4 3.1% 10.7 2.9%Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services 46 1.9% 40 1.7% 6.9 1.9% 9.5 2.6%Financial and Insurance Services 13 0.5% 11 0.5% 1.9 0.5% 0.4 0.1%Health Care and Social Assistance 320 13.2% 263 11.2% 40.0 10.7% 31.2 8.4%Information Media and Telecommunications 15 0.6% 8 0.3% 1.2 0.3% 0.9 0.2%Manufacturing 401 16.5% 383 16.3% 65.4 17.6% 57.7 15.6%Mining 103 4.2% 86 3.7% 23.7 6.4% 29.7 8.0%Other 106 4.4% 84 3.6% 10.1 2.7% 13.1 3.5%Other Services 80 3.3% 68 2.9% 7.8 2.1% 12.6 3.4%Professional, Scientific and Technical Services 29 1.2% 24 1.0% 3.8 1.0% 4.2 1.1%Public Administration and Safety 104 4.3% 86 3.7% 17.6 4.7% 13.8 3.7%Rental, Hiring and Real Estate Services 29 1.2% 31 1.3% 5.7 1.5% 3.8 1.0%Retail Trade 141 5.8% 169 7.2% 17.5 4.7% 22.8 6.2%Transport, Postal and Warehousing 154 6.4% 225 9.6% 26.9 7.2% 30.0 8.1%Wholesale Trade 131 5.5% 126 5.4% 19.4 5.2% 17.9 4.9%Total 2 424 100.0% 2 347 100.0% 372.6 100.0% 370.0 100.0%

20182018 2017

2017 20172018

20182018 2017

Common law claims and payments by industry

Common law claims and payments by injury nature

Common law claims and payments by injury location

2017

Number of new common law claims



2017

2018


Payment type$M % of gross $M % of gross

Statutory claims

Weekly Compensation 344.2 28.8% 314.4 26.9%Medical/Rehabilitation 226.4 18.9% 206.2 17.6%Lump sum

Permanent impairment 98.7 8.3% 111.6 9.5%

Fatal lump sum 18.3 1.5% 24.0 2.1%Latent onset lump sum 43.6 3.6% 46.5 4.0%

Hospital 78.7 6.6% 81.2 6.9%Statutory adjustments scheme 3.1 0.3% 7.1 0.6%Other 10.3 0.9% 9.3 0.8%Gross statutory payments 823.3 68.9% 800.3 68.4%

Common law claimsSettlements 317.3 26.5% 316.8 27.1%Legals and investigations 55.3 4.6% 53.2 4.5%Gross common law payments 372.6 31.1% 370.0 31.6%

Total gross payments 1195.9 100.0% 1170.3 100%

2018 2017

Statutory and common law payments


LEADERSHIP

Chair and CEO ReportWe are pleased to present the WorkCover Queensland annual report for 20172018.

This year has seen us continue our drive to become a customer centric organisation, putting our customers at the heart of everything we do. To ensure we achieve this, we established formal organisational structures and processes during the year to better align our operations with customer needs.

Working together with customers and stakeholders to provide a customer experience that delivers excellent return to work outcomes for workers at the lowest cost for Queensland businesses is a vision our organisation and people are committed to.

Maintained Australia’s lowest average premium rateFor the fourth consecutive year, WorkCover offered Australia’s lowest average premium rate at $1.20 per $100 of wages for the 20172018 year. This was achieved through continued prudent investment and cost control measures together with continued employer education on the benefits of maintaining a safe and healthy workplace.

Queensland employers will continue to enjoy the financial benefits of one of our lowest average premium rates for the 20182019 financial year. This is in addition to our ongoing apprentice discount and increased early premium payment discount of 5%.

The following diagram illustrates the breakdown of our $1.20 average premium rate.

*Other, under statutory claims includes asbestos and firefighters allowance.


Delivering experiences our customers valueOur goal and driving force is to be an innovative insurer that puts the customer at the heart of everything we do. During the year, we continued to gather feedback and insights from our customers through a quarterly performance survey.

The survey asks our customers about their experience with us and measures our performance against five customer strategy principles – easy, fair and transparent, empowered, consistent and valued - which our customers have indicated are important to them.

The 2017-2018 financial year saw an overall improvement in the customer experience metric, highlighted by ratings of 7.3 out of 10 for employers and 7.2 out of 10 for workers during the quarter ending June 2018. We conducted four surveys throughout the year, reaching almost 80,000 employers and 40,000 injured workers.

We will continue to use these ratings and insights to design and implement tailored online and advisory services which will improve the experience for our customers and help us achieve our corporate goals and vision.

Enhancing our service deliveryWe continued to deliver secure, intuitive, and reliable digital services that truly meet the needs of our customers and our people.

Protecting the security and privacy of our customer data is a high priority for WorkCover. During the year, we completed comprehensive risk and threat assessments of our critical information technology systems and services and delivered user education and awareness training to mitigate the potential for a security breach.

Our strong focus on user experience continued, with user research and feedback informing every customer facing digital service enhancement we deliver. Initiatives delivered this year included:

an online lung disease examination application that allows workers to track their application, submit expense claims and other documents through our Worker Assist app and browser services

enhanced visibility and accessibility of our Worker Assist app direct, online submission of expenses meaning faster payment for workers new automation technology to help public hospitals streamline the submission of injured worker

claims through accident and emergency departments.

Strategy development focusAs part of fine-tuning our organisational structure, we established a Strategic Development Group in July 2017 that comprises five core functions: strategy development, portfolio management office, customer experience design, stakeholder relations and communications.

This group collaborates across the organisation to coordinate the planning and delivery of corporate-wide projects, strengthen our experience design and customer insights capability and expand our stakeholder engagement and customer education activities.

Partnering with research institutesDuring the year, we partnered with Monash University to design and test an evidence-based approach to identifying and supporting injured workers who are at risk of poor return to work outcomes and/or pursuing common law against their employer.

This research project will investigate the barriers and enablers of return to work, the factors influencing an injured worker’s reasons for suing their employer and innovative claim management strategies to mitigate these risks.

We also partnered with the University of Queensland and a select group of customers on a project to better understand people’s experience of the common law process. Findings from this research will inform enhancements to the common law claim process and provide more clarity for injured workers and employers.


5-year scheme reviewAn independent review of Queensland’s workers’ compensation scheme, conducted by Professor David Peetz, was undertaken during the year and tabled in Parliament on 29 June 2018. Pleasingly, the review found the scheme is performing well and no major reforms were recommended.

The report recommended improvement opportunities including better support for workers suffering psychological injury and enhanced return to work programs. The need for clarification of coverage for 'gig' economy workers was also recommended.

Encouragingly, we have already commenced projects addressing some of these opportunities and we will continue to work with the Office of Industrial Relations and all stakeholders to investigate and implement reforms and appropriate recommendations to ensure the long term viability of the scheme.

Financial and investment performanceWorkCover’s operating profit for 2017–2018 was $324 million after tax.

The net return on investments for the year was 7.56% (2016–2017: 9.96%). Another strong result for the ninth consecutive year. We will continue to work with QIC, our fund manager, on sound investment strategies for the future.

WorkCover continues to be fully funded and will maintain a strong financial position as a direct result of our disciplined financial management, prudent investment approach and cost control focus.

OutlookWe will continue to build on the strategies and programs implemented in 2017–2018 to improve our service delivery, ensuring our customers and our people are supported by advanced technology and data analytics services which can support sustainable return to work outcomes.

While we are committed to being the best workers’ compensation insurer, we also want to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Keeping the customer at the heart of everything we do and continuing to use feedback and insights to deeply understand their needs, we will deliver the experiences that matter.

Building on our trusted partnerships with our medical, allied health and industry associations, unions and the legal industry, will continue to underpin our focus on sustainable return to work outcomes, ensuring we help keep Queenslanders working.

We are also keen to keep Queenslanders safe and together with the help of the Office of Industrial Relations, we will pursue safer workplaces through education and promotion of injury prevention best practices.

Key to our success is our people. Listening and supporting them will help us create an organisation of remarkable people who are inspired to make a difference.

Our financial security is paramount to achieving our goals and through continued prudent financial management, we remain committed to ensuring the financial stability of our workers’ compensation scheme. Maintaining adequate reserves ensures premium stability for our employers and provides them with a competitive advantage. At the same time, it is important we keep a constant focus on facilitating the best possible rehabilitation outcomes for injured workers ensuring their sustainable return to work.

Thank youWe would like to thank and acknowledge the hard work of our Board members, executive management team and all our people. Because of their commitment and dedication, WorkCover can look positively to the future.

We would also like to thank the Honourable Grace Grace MP, Minister for Education and Minister for Industrial Relations and the Queensland Government for their ongoing support.

Flavia Gobbo Bruce WatsonChair CEO


Board of Directors

Flavia Gobbo BA/LLB, GAICD Chair

Flavia is a Solicitor of the High Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of Queensland and has extensive experience as a senior corporate lawyer with one of Australia's top publicly listed companies. She is Chair of the Emergency Services Telecommunication Authority, a Director of Employers Mutual Limited, Deputy Chair of Rowing Australia and Deputy Chair of SecondBite, a not for profit national food rescue organisation. Flavia was Chairperson of the former Queensland workers' compensation regulatory authority.

Roslyn McLennan BEconDeputy Chair

Roslyn is General Secretary of the Queensland Council of Unions. She is a Director of Safe Work (Queensland), a Trustee of Sunsuper and is a Member of the ACTU Executive. Roslyn was formerly Assistant General Secretary of the Queensland Independent Education Union.

John Crittall BEcon (Hons), MAdmin (IR) Director

John has extensive experience providing strategic guidance in the key areas of industrial relations, workplace health and safety and legislative compliance. He is currently the Chair of the Building Employees Redundancy Trust, Director of Mates in Construction, Chair of Construction Income Protection Limited and Chair of Electro Group. John was formerly a Director at Master Builders, a role he held for over 10 years.

Kerriann Dear BSc, BSocWk (Hons)Director

Kerriann has worked in the field of industrial social work since 1999. She has overseen the development and operations at a number of industrial advisory programs for vulnerable people including Working Women Queensland, Young Workers Advisory Service and Domestic Violence Work Aware and is also on the Social and Community Services Industry Committee for the Services Union. Kerriann was formerly a Board member and CEO of the Queensland Working Women's Service Inc.

Ian Leavers Director

Ian is General President and CEO of the Queensland Police Union, a position he has held since 2009. He has been involved with the Queensland Police Union and as a union official since 1997. Ian is also a Director of QBank.


Sarah Morris BEcon, GDip Applied Finance and Investment, GDip Applied Corporate Governance, ACA, FGIA, GAICD Director

Sarah Morris is Executive Manager – Strategy and Finance at TUH Health Fund. Sarah has held senior and executive positions with several organisations across defence services, finance, insurance, resources and professional services industries. She is a former state and national councilor of the Governance Institute of Australia.

Michael Roche BComm (Hons), MComm (Hons), GAICD Director

Michael has had extensive senior executive experience in the government and private sectors, including 11 years as Chief Executive of the Queensland Resources Council. He is now a Strategic Adviser to law firm McCullough Robertson and is Principal of Michael Roche Advisory. He is the Chair of disability services group Multicap Ltd. He was a Director and Investment Committee Chair of industry superannuation fund Mine Super. Michael is also the WorkCover Risk and Audit Committee Chair.

Lyn Rowland BA, PostGradDipHR/IRDirector

Lyn’s career has spanned both public and private sectors with 35 years’ experience in human resources management and industrial relations, providing strategic and transformational leadership in executive roles in Normandy Mining, Queensland Rail, MacMahon Holdings, Limitless Holdings (UAE) and Queensland Health. Lyn has held Director roles with the Queensland Museum, Southern Cross Soloists and the Normandy Mining Superannuation Fund.

Ben Swan GradDipStrategicLeadership, DipSuperannuation, CertChangeLeadership, GAICD Director

For over 20 years, Ben has represented workers in industrial tribunals, boards and committees across a diverse range of national industries, including mining, oil and gas, pastoral, aviation, retail, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, engineering and refining and smelting. Ben is the former Secretary of The Australian Workers’ Union (AWU) in Queensland, and had previously held the positions of AWU Assistant National Secretary, AWU Assistant Secretary (Qld) and AWU National Industrial Officer.



Executive Leadership Team

Bruce Watson MOL, Dip Fin Services, FAICD, FASFA Chief Executive Officer

Bruce commenced as WorkCover Queensland CEO on 1 January 2017. He was previously CEO of Mine Wealth and Wellbeing Super Fund for 11 years and was awarded ‘Executive of the Year’ in 2010 by the Fund Executive Association for his contributions to business and industry. Bruce is a highly experienced and proven CEO, recognised by industry for delivering sustainable financial performance and customer service excellence in the financial services sector. Bruce is committed to achieving WorkCover’s vision of being Australia’s leading workers’ compensation insurer by driving the delivery of technologically advanced claims management platforms and outstanding customer experience.

Trevor Barrenger BA, GAICD Chief Information Officer

Trevor has had extensive experience in the delivery of business solutions and technology systems in a number of global consulting organisations. He has had the opportunity to work on large projects across Europe, America and Australia, and his experience supports his ability to deliver technology solutions to meet WorkCover's business needs and customer service outcomes.

Christina Carras BComm, ACA, SIA (Aff), AGIA, GAICD Chief Customer Officer

Christina leads the Customer Group to ensure the end-to-end claims management process meets WorkCover’s corporate goals and balances the interests of both Queensland employers and injured workers. She oversees the claims, premium and relationship management of our industry aligned customer service model. She plays an integral role in delivery changes that benefit both our employers and injured workers, while at the same time engaging with our people to deliver the best outcomes.

David Heley BAdmin, FCPA, DFP, AGIA, GAICD Chief People and Finance Officer

David has more than 21 years' experience in the finance and insurance sector. As Chief People and Finance Officer, David's focus is on ensuring a strong financial position and a committed and capable workforce both now and for the future. His group provides people and financial strategies to secure WorkCover as Australia's best workers' compensation insurer. These strategies are underpinned by learning and development, IR and ER, reporting and analysis, taxation, treasury, compliance, and audit functions that support the business. David is also the Company Secretary.


Janine Reid BLaws, MBA, GIA (Cert), GAICD Legal Counsel

Janine has worked in personal injuries for over 21 years. Her knowledge and experience in personal injuries support her ability to manage our common law strategy and legal panel. She is also responsible for providing legal advice to the business and the WorkCover Board and engaging with external stakeholders.

Nick Wenck BBus and Law Chief Strategic Development Officer

Nick commenced at WorkCover in July 2017 and leads teams across strategy development, strategic projects and portfolio management, experience design, communications and stakeholder relations. Nick’s career spans strategic leadership roles across financial services, insurance, health, government, and management consultancy. Nick is passionate about the delivery of world leading customer experiences and claims outcomes underpinned by a clear, coherent strategy and business change program, and fully engaged and talented people.


ENGAGED PEOPLETo achieve our vision of being the best workers’ compensation insurer, WorkCover Queensland has continued to develop an organisation of committed, creative people with strong leadership.

Through ongoing investment in our people—developing their leadership and technical competencies; providing flexible working arrangements; wellness initiatives; and a safe and comfortable working environment, we ensure our people have the capability and capacity to meet the needs of our customers now and into the future. We also create a workforce that is dedicated to delivering positive experiences for our customers and committed to WorkCover’s success.

Workforce overview 755 full time employees 69% of workforce is female 8.3% employee attrition rate

People surveyDuring the year, we continued our confidential employee engagement survey, measuring sustainable engagement of our people. The survey provides insights into our culture by gathering feedback on our values, learning framework, customer orientation, leadership and teamwork.

We achieved an excellent response rate of 85% for our March–April 2018 survey. Our management team encourage our people to complete the survey and this response rate confirms our people’s commitment to have their say.

WorkCover met or outperformed the Australian benchmark on 12 of the 13 categories within the engagement survey, achieving a sustainable engagement index of 78 out of 100. These results have been used throughout WorkCover to celebrate our strengths, identify opportunities for improvement and develop action plans.

WellbeingOur wellness program, WorkWell is designed to allow us to maintain a work culture that continuously educates and reinforces the importance of health and safety at WorkCover. The program drives safety and wellness through education and initiatives including:

mental health and wellbeing programs ‘Mindful May’ campaign with free yoga and mindfulness sessions ‘Conscious acts of kindness’ month to encourage true kindness and the act of giving information and support through our Employee Assistance Program, with free counselling

sessions for our people and their immediate family nutrition and physical health sessions and cooking demonstrations free influenza vaccinations bowel screening kits free skin checks and sun smart campaign monthly workplace health and safety toolbox sessions.

Financial wellbeingWe partnered with various external specialists to provide independent educational options for our people. During the year, employees were invited to optional financial sessions or provided educational tools and online resources on topics including:

understanding and growing super managing loans and debt planning for retirement.


Flexible working arrangementsWe recognise that flexible working arrangements play an important role in diversity, inclusiveness and wellbeing and allow us to attract and retain high quality, capable people. During the year, we broadened our flexible working arrangements across WorkCover to allow people to better balance work and life. Work life options, such as flexible start and finish times, access to additional banked time and part-time arrangements are available to our people.

We are exploring the possibilities of remote working through our Contemporary Mobile Workforce pilot project. This pilot project, which will be completed in late 2018, aims to give our people seamless remote access to the tools they need to do their job.

Parental leave and keeping in touch allow parents to take time off for family while staying connected to the workplace. We have made a positive impact on the way we work by allowing our people to return to work through part-time and job share opportunities.

RecruitmentDuring the year, 105 new starters joined WorkCover. Through innovative strategies, such as engaging advertising, realistic job previews, psychometric assessments for best fit candidate profiling, we are attracting, recruiting and selecting the right people to join our organisation.

To support the recruitment process and make all transitions at WorkCover a positive experience, we have designed:

a 12-month cultural on-boarding program for new starters a return from maternity leave program a new leaders’ program an emerging leaders’ program.

These programs help our people transition smoothly to their new roles, whether that is before their first day with us, when they are returning after a period of leave, or when they are heading into a leadership role for the first time.

Improving online experienceUser experience has been a key focus over the last 12 months, ensuring our digital platforms support our people in delivering the best outcomes for customers. User research, modern technology, and data and analytics are helping to create a core platform that better guides our people. Some of the improvements delivered during the year include:

a robust site visit tool to help our customer compliance team when visiting employers and recording site visits

a new return to work provider referral tool to help our people through the panel referral process and ensures a fairer allocation of work across all referral types

more intuitive claim management screens to help guide our people to the next best action that is tailored to a customer and their recovery.

Data security remains a strong focus, with regular security awareness training to ensure our staff remain vigilant against security incidents and to reduce the likelihood and impacts of a security breach.

Casual for a Cause FridaysWorkCover’s successful Casual for a Cause Friday program has raised almost $29,000 in donations to selected charities since the program’s inception in March 2017. Our people have chosen charities close to their hearts across health care, social enterprise and animal protection services.

This charitable program strengthens WorkCover’s corporate and social responsibility credentials and helps our people make a real difference to these worthy community causes.

Industrial and employee relationsEnsuring our people have a voice and feel supported in raising employment concerns is a priority for WorkCover. We believe that creating an environment of openness and transparency fosters more productive working relationships and business outcomes. WorkCover invests in the relationship with Together Union and engages in a consultative process on workplace matters.


The Workplace Consultative Committee, management, Together Union and internal delegates are afforded a forum to openly raise and quickly resolve employment matters including: organisational change, benefits, policy, initiatives and wellbeing and safety.

During the second half of 2018, the consultative committee will focus on the renewal of WorkCover Queensland’s Certified Agreement, which expires in September 2018.

Learning and developmentWorkCover’s learning framework supports a shared understanding across the organisation of what skills, behaviours and abilities we need for the future and how we can deliver these. It helps attract, recruit and sustain a capable workforce and is designed to inform learning and development initiatives. It starts with employees doing some individual reflection and based on their review against the learning framework, and together with their manager, a development plan is created.

Our leadership team, People and Finance and Solutions and Technology groups have utilised the learning framework to identify opportunities for capability growth and created individual development plans designed to ensure capability for current and future roles. The remaining groups in the organisation will adopt the learning framework over the coming months.

An appropriate technology platform will also be introduced in the coming 12 months to support these activities and make our people processes, such as performance objectives and development planning, easy.

Learning cultureAt WorkCover, how we learn plays an important role in development and improving capability. Our focus has been on establishing a learning culture that provides opportunities for learning in line with the 70:20:10 model: 70% of our learning is on the job, experience based; 20% of our learning is coaching or developing through others; 10% is formal learning and structured courses.

Leadership and management developmentStrong leadership at WorkCover is created through alignment with an authentic leadership approach that supports high fulfilment and achievement of goals. All leaders have now completed a 360 degree assessment program to better understand their current leadership competencies and effectiveness.

Management expertise is developed in-house through our monthly Enlightened Bites program. This collaborative leadership learning approach helps our managers stay up-to-date on important and topical management issues such as career conversations, on-the-job development and creating a healthy team culture. The program also gives our managers the opportunity to collaborate and leverage knowledge on taking actions and generating new approaches to managing teams.

Mental Health First Aid (MHFA)During the year, 593 employees completed a two-day evidenced-based MHFA program. The program aims to increase awareness of mental health issues and provides guidance for our people on managing conversations with customers, colleagues or friends and family who may have or are at risk of developing a mental health illness and helping them seek appropriate treatment and support.

Personal Injury Education Foundation (PIEF)During the year, eight Customer Group employees completed the Certificate III in Personal Injury Management (Claims Management) with PIEF. In total, 90 WorkCover employees have graduated from the Certificate III program. Our future skills and capability planning has identified the need for a different blend of learning and study options. Three employees have engaged in Diploma-level qualifications with PIEF and we are evaluating PIEF’s new approach of using Skill Pods to deliver modular learning.

OnboardingAll new leaders completed a new onboarding program over the first 90 days of employment. The aim of the program is to support our new managers to understand the relationships, structure and purpose of WorkCover along with alignment to the strategy and practices of our business.


CORPORATE GOVERNANCEStrategic planningA four-year corporate plan and one-year statement of corporate intent are prepared annually and approved by the Minister in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (the ‘Act’). The corporate plan summarises our vision, values, goals, strategies and performance indicators. The plan forms the basis for the group operational business plans, which outline how we will achieve our business objectives. Group business plans include the key financial and operational performance indicators, which are used to measure and monitor our performance. Our statement of corporate intent outlines our objectives and major activities, and specifies various financial and non-financial performance targets for the financial year.

Board of DirectorsChapter 8 of the Act outlines the functions and powers of WorkCover. Section 424(1) of the Act provides for the establishment of the WorkCover Board (the ‘Board’). The Board’s role is set out in section 427 of the Act. The Board charter specifies the responsibilities of the Board collectively and individually, and has been made available on our website.

The Board consists of a maximum of nine independent non-executive directors appointed by the Governor in Council for a term of not more than five years. The Governor in Council also appoints the Board Chair and Deputy Chair and determines the terms of appointment including remuneration. Directors are appointed on the basis of their experience and knowledge.

Information on directors’ and executives’ benefits is detailed in note E3 of the financial statements.

Directors’ length of serviceDirector First appointed End date

Flavia Gobbo, Chair 1/07/2014 30/06/2020

Roslyn McLennan, Deputy Chair 7/07/2016 30/06/2020

John Crittall 1/07/2012 30/06/2020

Kerriann Dear 1/07/2017 30/06/2020

Ian Leavers 1/07/2012 30/06/2020

Michael Roche, Risk and Audit Committee Chair 1/07/2017 30/06/2020

Lyn Rowland 1/07/2017 30/06/2020

Ben Swan 1/07/2017 30/06/2020

Sarah Morris 16/02/2018 30/06/2020

Alison Quinn 1/07/2017 12/07/2017



https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about-us/workcover-queensland/board-of-directors/board-charter


Risk and Audit CommitteeThe role of the Risk and Audit Committee is to assist the Board in fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities. The committee reports directly to the Board on matters pertaining to WorkCover’s risk governance framework, including:

the reliability and integrity of financial information for inclusion in annual reports the integrity of internal control framework compliance with legislative, regulatory, and governance requirements oversight of the risk management framework, and safeguarding the independence of the internal and external auditors.

The Risk and Audit Committee charter guides the committee, its structure and its specific roles and responsibilities under the Financial Accountability Act 2009 and the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009. The committee monitors its performance against the terms of the charter, with due regard to Queensland Treasury’s Audit Committee Guidelines: Improving Accountability and Performance. In discharging its duties, the committee has considered all audit recommendations as made by the external auditor.

Committee membershipThe committee consists of a minimum of three and a maximum of six independent non-executive directors, drawn from the Board, that meet quarterly. A summary of committee membership is set out below.

Risk and Audit Committee

Committee member Committee role

Michael Roche Committee Chair

Flavia Gobbo Independent non-executive member

Roslyn McLennan Independent non-executive member

Sarah Morris Independent non-executive member


https://s3.treasury.qld.gov.au/files/improving-performance.pdf




https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about-us/workcover-queensland/board-of-directors/audit-committee

Directors’ meetingsDuring the year, WorkCover held eight formal Board meetings and four Risk and Audit Committee meetings. The CEO attends all Board meetings and members of the executive leadership team are invited to present and discuss relevant issues. A register of directors’ interests is updated at each Board meeting to avoid any conflicts of interests and minutes are recorded and maintained in accordance with best practice.

A summary of attendance of directors at meetings is set out below:

Board meetings Risk and Audit Committee meetings

Director Meetings attended Eligible to attend Meetings

attendedEligible to

attend

Flavia Gobbo, Chair 8 8 4 4

Michael Roche, Risk and Audit Committee Chair

8 8 4 4

Roslyn McLennan 6 8 3 4

Sarah Morris 4 4 1 1

John Crittall 7 8 - -

Kerriann Dear 8 8 - -

Ian Leavers 6 8 - -

Lyn Rowland 6 8 - -

Ben Swan 8 8 - -

Alison Quinn - - - -

Senior executivesThe CEO assesses performance of senior executives on an annual basis as part of the organisation’s performance review process. The Board also assesses the performance of the CEO as part of this process.

Customer and stakeholder feedbackWorkCover recognises the importance of complaints management as being inherent to delivering a quality customer experience. We support the rights of our customers and stakeholders to have their complaints heard and actioned appropriately. We are committed to resolving complaints quickly and objectively and believe that all customer and stakeholder feedback, both positive and negative, presents opportunities for continuous improvement.

WorkCover maintains a complaints management framework in accordance with section 219A of the Public Service Act 2008 and the AS/NZS ISO10002–2014: Guidelines for complaints management in organisations. A copy of WorkCover’s complaints management policy has been made available on the WorkCover website. WorkCover’s management of complaints is monitored to ensure compliance with the statutory, policy and reporting requirements concerning stakeholder feedback.

Mandatory open data reportingWorkCover has reported online information concerning the amount incurred for consultancies, overseas travel and the provision of language services, as per the mandatory open data reporting requirements.



https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about-us/workcover-queensland/corporate-governance/complaints-policy

https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/html/asmade/act-2008-038


Ethics, Compliance and Risk ManagementEthicsEthics provide the overarching principles and rules that govern the behaviour of WorkCover’s people and also considers the impact on the community and environment. WorkCover has well established policies, procedures and practices that seek to promote ethical standards of behaviour and a culture of compliance that embraces compliance with organisational, legal and regulatory obligations. The expectation that employees and officers act with integrity, honesty and accountability are reflected in WorkCover’s Code of conduct .

Code of conductBoard members and employees are expected to maintain the highest level of ethical standards whilst performing their duties. WorkCover’s Code of conduct supports our values providing a framework for high ethical standards and has been written to align with the requirements of the Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 (PSEA). The assertions of integrity and accountability are integrated into WorkCover’s strategies, objectives and actions. The Code of conduct is communicated to our people through the corporate induction program and is available on the WorkCover intranet and website. Our people receive annual refresher training on this document and the PSEA in general. All relevant internal policies and practices align with the code and the PSEA, including the ethical principles and values as detailed in the PSEA. All employees are required to comply with the code and any non-compliance may result in disciplinary action, which could include termination of employment.

The Board is bound by ethical standards outlined in the Act, which requires directors to act honestly, disclose interests, exercise diligence and not use information or their position inappropriately. Directors are also bound by the PSEA and WorkCover’s Code of conduct, on which they annually receive the same training as staff. Additionally, the Board follows the guidelines set out in Welcome Aboard: A Guide for Members of Queensland Government Boards, Committees and Statutory Authorities as issued by the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.

ComplianceWorkCover maintains a number of policies and procedures detailing our compliance obligations in accordance with relevant legislation, regulations and codes of practice. We continually monitor our systems and processes to ensure we maintain compliance with these obligations via an annual compliance calendar. Progress against the annual compliance calendar is reported to the Risk and Audit Committee on a quarterly basis.

Risk managementWorkCover is committed to effectively managing risk in the pursuit of our objectives. Our risk management framework is consistent with the principles set out in AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009 Risk Management – Principles and Guidelines and meets the requirements of the Financial and Performance Management Standard 2009.

Our approach to risk management is aimed at embedding a risk aware culture throughout the organisation. This includes establishing an appropriate structure and clear lines of responsibility designed to systematically identify, evaluate and manage key risks associated with our activities.

Our Risk management policy is available on our website.



https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about-us/workcover-queensland/corporate-governance/risk-management



https://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/policies-and-codes/handbooks/welcome-aboard.aspx

https://www.premiers.qld.gov.au/publications/categories/policies-and-codes/handbooks/welcome-aboard.aspx

https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/about-us/workcover-queensland/corporate-governance/code-of-conduct







Internal auditThe internal audit function supports the Risk and Audit Committee by providing independent and objective risk-based assurance advice, with the purpose of evaluating and improving the effectiveness of WorkCover’s risk management, control and governance processes.

The internal audit function operates under an approved Internal audit charter which formalises the role, authority, responsibility, scope and operational framework of WorkCover’s internal audit function, consistent with relevant assurance and professional ethical standards. The internal audit function is currently outsourced to an internal audit contractor, appointed by the Risk and Audit Committee. The internal audit function operates independently from management and WorkCover’s external auditor.

Each year the internal audit contractor prepares a strategic internal audit plan, which outlines the assurance activities to be performed during a financial year. The Risk and Audit Committee approve the internal audit plan and monitor the performance of the internal audit function, with due regard to the Audit Committee Guidelines: Improving Accountability and Performance.

During the 2017–2018 financial year, 11 internal audit engagements were completed as per the annual internal audit plan. At the completion of each engagement, internal audit report their findings and recommendations to the Risk and Audit Committee, including risks that have been identified during fieldwork. All recommendations arising from the completed internal audit engagements have either been implemented or, are on track to be implemented within agreed timeframes. The internal audit plan’s coverage over WorkCover’s key risks is reviewed regularly through the use of an assurance map.

External scrutinyA number of state bodies have been established by legislation to provide independent scrutiny of government (and statutory body) performance, including assurance of WorkCover’s performance. These include the Office of the Auditor-General, the Queensland Ombudsman and the Crime and Corruption Commission (the ‘CCC’).

During the year, the CCC completed an audit on the way WorkCover conducts corruption risk assessments. The objectives of the audit were to determine whether WorkCover is identifying corruption risks (other than or beyond, fraud) and to assess the effectiveness of corruption risk assessment processes, aimed at reducing the potential for corruption within and against WorkCover. All recommendations arising from the CCC findings have been accepted and are either implemented, or are on track to being implemented as agreed.

Section 584 of the Act requires that a review of the workers’ compensation scheme’s operational effectiveness be undertaken at least once every five years. During the 2017–2018 financial year a review was conducted with the key outcomes, findings and recommendations arising from the review tabled by Parliament in June 2018. The objective of the review is to report on scheme performance in meeting the objectives outlined under section 5 of the Act. Additionally, the review also intends to affirm emerging issues that may impact the scheme and the effectiveness of current rehabilitation and return to work programs, return to work rate and policy settings.

Quality assurance reviewsOur quality assurance reviews form part of our compliance and risk management frameworks. The quality assurance programs emphasise continuous improvement and align with AS/ISO 19600:2015 Compliance management system. The quality assurance reviews are designed to assess the effectiveness of controls implemented to manage risks and to identify potential areas for improvement to our processes.

Training and developmentWorkCover is committed to ensuring the ongoing capability and capacity of our people through the continued investment and development of our leadership and technical training competencies delivered throughout the year.

As part of this commitment, all employees complete regular training to keep up to date with compliance and industry requirements and for professional development.




Customer audit and intelligenceWorkCover has a dedicated customer audit and intelligence team who work with Queensland employers, to ensure they are aware of their obligations to maintain adequate cover when engaging workers. The team is both responsible for auditing Queensland businesses, as well as managing WorkCover’s uninsured employer compliance.

The team maintains a balanced compliance strategy by providing targeted education and monitoring of employer compliance across the state.

Audit targets and site visit selection occurs using detailed data analysis and data sharing initiatives to best focus the team’s attention on non-compliant businesses throughout Queensland. This includes strong working relationships with the Australian Taxation Office and the Queensland Office of State Revenue to ensure a uniform compliance approach across Queensland.

The following activities were undertaken throughout the year:

Compliance audits

797 targeted employer audits These audits found 501 employers that were non-compliant with the Act representing a 63%

non-compliance rate Total amount raised from compliance audits was: $9.5M

Site visits and uninsured employers

1,324 random site visits were conducted including 603 in regional locations Industry trend information and data mining on business locations and growth were used to select

these site visits Total amount raised from uninsured claims was: $5.9M

RecordkeepingAll employees at WorkCover are responsible for keeping and maintaining records which are stored through WorkCover’s Claims and Policy Information System for our claims and policy records and through an integrated electronic records system for all corporate records. Annual compliance training is completed to ensure all employees are aware of their obligations under the Public Records Act 2002. This is essential training given all claims and policy records have been digitised since 2008 and corporate records since 2014.

The approach to recordkeeping was reviewed throughout the year to ensure continuous improvement strategies are implemented to maintain the quality and compliance of all records.

Public records are being retained in line with WorkCover’s recordkeeping policy, the Queensland State Archives’ General Retention and Disposal Schedule for Administrative Records and WorkCover’s Queensland State Archives approved Retention and Disposal Schedule, which was last reviewed in May 2014. No records were transferred to the Queensland State Archives during the 2018 financial year. Additionally, no breaches of the retention and disposal schedules were noted during the year, with no records being reported as missing or lost during this same period.

PrivacyWorkCover is committed to protecting the privacy of customers, staff and third parties in accordance with the Information Privacy Act 2009 (‘IP Act’), which governs how information is collected, used, stored and disclosed by Queensland Government agencies. All disclosures of private and personal information by WorkCover are managed under this IP Act, the Right to Information Act 2009 (‘RTI Act’) or the Act. WorkCover has a Privacy Committee responsible for the promotion of privacy principles throughout the organisation. The committee actively encourages privacy awareness through initiatives such as the participation in Privacy Awareness Week, which highlights to our employees, the importance and value of protecting personal information, and how to achieve compliance with the Information Privacy Principles. Additionally, employees undertake annual privacy training in accordance with our compliance program.





Workplace Health and SafetyWorkCover is committed to maintaining a safe working environment, preventing workplace injuries and appropriately managing injuries should they occur. The focus on a zero harm at work safety culture and early intervention resulted in all workers’ compensation claimants returning to work.

WorkCover provides and maintains safe equipment for employees and undertakes scheduled safety inspections throughout the year. WorkCover continues to monitor our compliance with the Work Health and Safety Act 2011.

The Workplace Health and Safety Committee maintains its commitment to foster open communication with workers and transparency with executive management. Throughout the year, the committee has continued to engage employees on the obligations, expectations, and due-diligence required of those who work within the organisation.

Refer to the Engaged people section of our annual report for more information on other initiatives WorkCover delivered in 2017–2018 to promote a safe and healthy working environment for employees.

Business continuity managementBusiness Continuity Management is the proactive approach of managing processes and resources for continued achievement of critical objectives, during a time of crisis and or disruption. WorkCover’s business continuity and disaster recovery plans have been developed to minimise the impact of a crisis on our customers, stakeholders and employees, and are reviewed and tested on a regular basis.




FINANCIAL PERFORMANCEWorkCover’s operating profit for 2017–2018 was $324 million, after tax.

Financial results 20172018$M

20162017$M

Statement of comprehensive income

Net premium revenue 1,451 1,416

Net claims incurred (1,322) (1,264)

Underwriting expenses (net of claims handling) (37) (32)

Net investment and other income 353 413

Income tax equivalents (121) (152)

Operating result for the year after income tax equivalents 324 381

Statement of financial position

Total assets 5,469 5,086

Total liabilities 3,026 2,971

Net assets 2,443 2,115

Statement of changes in equity

Reserves 1,835 1,518

Contributed equity 3 3

Accumulated surplus 605 594

Total equity 2,443 2,115

Premium revenue Our net premium revenue was $1.451 billion for the year, increasing from 2016–2017 due to strong wages growth across Queensland.

The target premium rate for 2017–2018 remained unchanged at $1.20 and continues to be one of the lowest average rates for workers’ compensation insurance in Australia for the 2018–2019 financial year.

Net claims incurredNet claims incurred were $1.322 billion (2016–2017: $1.264 billion) for 2017–2018.

Net claims costs increased in 2017–2018 predominantly due to an increase in statutory claims expenses, linked to WorkCover’s focus on delivering improved return to work outcomes. Common law expenses have remained stable in comparison to the 2016–2017 year, and this positive experience has been reflected in the outstanding claims provision movement for the year.


Underwriting expensesUnderwriting expenses include WorkCover’s management and operational expenses and the annual levy payable to the Workers’ Compensation Regulator and Workplace Health and Safety Queensland. To meet disclosure requirements under accounting standards, the claims handling expense portion of underwriting expenses is added to gross claims expense to reflect the total cost of administering claims during the year.

Investment portfolioWorkCover’s investment portfolio is managed by QIC. The net market value in funds invested as at 30 June 2018 was $4.898 billion (30 June 2017: $4.409 billion).

The net return on this investment portfolio for the year was 7.56% (2016–2017: 9.96%), positive for the ninth consecutive year. This is a strong result and we will continue to work with our investment fund manager to effectively manage our investment risk to ensure our portfolio achieves its long term objectives.

Capital adequacyThe Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 and Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Regulation 2014 outline specific requirements WorkCover must meet to be considered fully funded.

As with other workers’ compensation schemes in Australia, WorkCover is fully funded if total assets are at least equal to its total liabilities. WorkCover is currently achieving both our legislative requirements and management’s aim of maintaining a funding ratio of at least 120%.

Looking to the futureWorkCover continues to use prudent financial management to ensure a balanced, financially viable scheme for all customers and stakeholders. Part of this continuing prudent financial management entails a focus by WorkCover in continuing to operate within budget, achieving value for money, and more generally, ensuring WorkCover continues to minimise its costs and risks in relation to its liabilities. Premiums will be set, claims and operational expenses carefully managed in order to deliver this balance and we will continue our long term investment strategy built around a balanced portfolio.





Summary of requirement Annual report reference

Letter of compliance

A letter of compliance from the accountable officer or statutory body to the relevant Minister/s

Welcome

Accessibility Table of contentsGlossary

ContentsGlossary

Public availability Welcome

Interpreter service statement Welcome

Copyright notice Welcome

Information Licensing Welcome

General information

Introductory Information About WorkCover

Agency role and main functions About WorkCover

Operating environment About WorkCover

Non-financial performance

Government’s objectives for the community Chair and CEO report

Agency objectives and performance indicators Highlights

Agency service areas and service standards Highlights

Financial performance

Summary of financial performance Financial performance

Governance – management and structure

Organisational structure About WorkCover

Executive management Leadership

Government bodies (statutory bodies and other entities)

Financial Performance

Public Sector Ethics Act 1994 Ethics, Compliance and Risk Management

Governance – risk management and accountability

Risk management Ethics, Compliance and Risk Management

Audit committee Corporate Governance

Internal audit Ethics, Compliance and Risk Management

External scrutiny Ethics, Compliance and Risk Management

Information systems and recordkeeping Ethics, Compliance and Risk Management

Governance – human resources

Strategic workforce planning and performance Engaged People

Open data Statement advising publication of information Corporate Governance

Consultancies Corporate Governance

Overseas travel Corporate Governance

Queensland Language Services Policy Corporate Governance

Financial statements

Certification of financial statements Actuarial certificate on net outstanding claim liabilities

Certificate of WorkCover Queensland

Independent Auditor’s Report Independent Auditor’s Report


COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST


Term Definition

A

Accepted claim When the first decision about the application for compensation is to accept the claim. This excludes claim decisions where the first decision is rejected, cancelled, withdrawn, report only or common law only.

Accident insurance policy

An accident insurance policy is a workers’ compensation insurance policy, compulsory for employers engaging workers. The policy covers the employer’s liability for workers’ compensation and damages arising out of a work-related injury sustained by their worker, no matter who or what caused it.

Asbestos-related diseases

Asbestos-related diseases are caused by the inhalation of asbestos fibres over a period of time. Asbestos-related diseases typically have long latency periods, that is, 10 to 40 years from exposure to onset of the disease.

Average premium rate The average premium rate is a rate per $100 of wages, expressed as a percentage, calculated by averaging net premium assessed for the year as a proportion of total wages declared by all employers for that year.

C

Claims experience An employer’s claims experience is used when calculating premium and is comprised of the statutory claims amounts paid under an employer’s accident insurance policy for the preceding three years and the damages claims amounts paid under the policy for the two years preceding that.

Common law claim A common law claim is the claim made by an injured worker who commences common law action through the courts against their employer for negligence (they are ’suing’ their employer). The courts award common law damages payments for economic loss, pain and suffering, legal costs, and medical and hospital costs. WorkCover may pay all damages awarded to the injured worker, including legal and investigative costs as part of the employer’s accident insurance policy.

Customer experience measure / metric

Measures customers’ overall perception of WorkCover and performance against the five customer strategy principles.

Customer strategy principles

These principles are the benchmark for the experience WorkCover wants customers to have across all interactions. There are five principles: easy, fair and transparent, empowered, consistent and valued, and they are based on customer research that identified what customers expect from WorkCover.

D

Damages Damages are payments made under a common law claim that are classified as ‘heads of damage’. These are different types of damage that may be suffered by an injured worker.Examples are: general damages (compensation for pain and suffering) economic loss (compensation for loss of past earnings or future earning

capacity).

G

Gig economy A gig economy connects sellers and buyers via a facilitator who operates an app or website. Temporary positions are common and organisations contract with independent workers for short-term engagements.

Goods and services tax (GST)

GST is payable by employers on their accident insurance policy premium. Most Queensland employers are likely to be eligible to claim an input tax credit from


GLOSSARY

Term Definition

the Australian Taxation Office. To enable WorkCover to meet its GST requirements, WorkCover requires employers to provide their ABN and their percentage entitlement to input tax credits (see input tax credit for further information about this). Payments of weekly compensation do not attract GST.

H

Health provider Health provider refers to any medical or allied health provider (for example a doctor, medical specialist, physiotherapist, chiropractor or occupational therapist) who is registered with the relevant professional board (eg. Physiotherapist Board of Queensland).

Household worker A person employed solely in and about, or in connection with, a private dwelling, or the grounds of the private dwelling.

Household workers’ insurance policy

A household workers’ insurance policy covers the owner of a private dwelling, against the costs of compensating a household worker who is injured while working for the private dwelling owner.

I

Injury An injury, as defined by the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 is, ’A personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, employment if the employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury’. Some examples of injuries include: a cut or fracture a disease (example asbestos or Qfever) industrial deafness psychiatric or psychological disorders such as stress or depression aggravation of a pre-existing condition death from an injury, disease or aggravation of a disease.

Injury Prevention and Management program

WorkCover’s program in partnership with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland which helps employers who have a high frequency of claims bring about a workplace culture change and achieve a better standard of workplace health and safety and injury management.

P

Policyholder Is an individual or entity that holds an insurance policy with WorkCover.

Premium rate The rate per $100 of wages for an individual employer.

R

Rehabilitation Under workers’ compensation legislation, the purpose of rehabilitation is to ensure the injured worker’s safest and earliest possible return to work or to maximise the worker’s independent functioning. Rehabilitation for return to work (sometimes called occupational, vocational or workplace rehabilitation) can include treatment from a range of health providers, assessments of work capacity and suitable duties programs. Under legislation, workers and employers must take every reasonable step to participate in rehabilitation and return to work programs.

Return to work The worker’s timely, safe and medically structured return to preinjury duties, or other employment, following a workplace injury.

S

Self-insurer An employer who meets certain criteria to manage their own workers’ compensation issues. Contact the Workers’ Compensation Regulator for more information.

Stamp duty Stamp duty is payable to the Queensland Government on many property and business transactions, including workers’ compensation insurance premiums. Stamp duty has been included in premiums since 1916. WorkCover clearly lists




Term Definition

the stamp duty payable as a separate item on premium notices.

Statutory (no-fault)claims

A statutory or no-fault claim is when a worker is compensated for a work-related injury with payments and benefits prescribed in the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003. These payments and benefits are referred to as statutory compensation and may include weekly payments as income replacement, lump sums to compensate for permanent impairment, and hospital and medical expenses. Statutory claims are administered on a ‘no fault’ basis. That is, it doesn’t matter if it is the worker’s or the employer’s fault that the injury occurred, compensation is still paid.

W

Wages Wages are the total amount an employer pays to a worker as defined by Schedule 6 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 .

WHSQ Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

Work-related injury An injury where employment was a significant contributing factor.

Worker A ‘worker’ for the purposes of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 is an individual employed under a Contract of Service (sect 11) or specifically included under Schedule 2 Part 1, unless specifically excluded under Schedule 2 Part 2.








Documents

Home | WorkSafe.qld.gov.au · Web view2020. 7. 22. · Nick commenced at WorkCover in July 2017 and leads teams across strategy development, strategic projects and portfolio management,