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SAFE WORKPLACES

The APS Values require safe, as well as fair, flexible and rewarding workplaces.

The Australian Government’s workers’ compensation scheme continues to have one of the lowest rates of compensated workplace injury, and provides amongst the highest benefits of all schemes across Australia.²⁰ However, recent trends suggest the need for APS agencies to improve both their injury prevention and their return to work strategies.

For 2003—04, APS agencies will pay around $128m to Comcare in premium fees. The overall premium rate for Australian Government agencies increased from one per cent of payroll for 2001—02 to 1.67% for 2004—05.

This represents a 67% growth in premium rates in three years and an increase of nearly 17% in the last year after the significant increases in each of the previous two years. This was due primarily to:

• more claims for psychological injury
• longer time off work
• increasing medical costs.

Figures 5.7, 5.8, and 5.9 show the average performance of all APS agencies from 2000—01 to 2003—04 against a number of performance indicators. They also show the average performance of the 15 APS agencies with the highest premium rates for 2004—05. The performance indicators used are:

• the incidence rate (number of injuries per 1000 full-time equivalent employees) for compensated workplace injuries resulting in five or more days off work
• the incidence of injuries that go on to accumulate 30 days and 60 or more days of time off work (which indicates the duration of incapacity following injury).²¹

As Figure 5.7 shows, the average performance for all APS agencies and the 15 APS agencies paying the highest premium rates against the first indicator (five or more days off work) has deteriorated over recent years.

Figure 5.7: Incidence of injuries resulting in five days of incapacity

Source: Comcare

As Figures 5.8 and 5.9 show, the average performance of all APS agencies, and the performance of the 15 APS agencies paying the highest premium rates, deteriorated substantially against the 30 day and 60 day indicators (or ‘duration of incapacity’). The increase in duration largely reflects increasing numbers of complex claims for conditions such as psychological injury and increased time off work per claim.

Figure 5.8: Incidence of injuries resulting in a duration of 30 days of incapacity

Source: Comcare

Figure 5.9: Incidence of injuries resulting in a duration of 60 days of incapacity

Source: Comcare

In 2002, the Workplace Relations Ministers’ Council endorsed the release of the National Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Strategy 2002—2012. As part of that strategy, Ministers stated their commitment to achieving national targets to:

• sustain a significant and continual reduction in the incidence of work-related fatalities with a reduction of at least 20% by 30 June 2012 (with a 10% reduction by 30 June 2007)
• reduce the incidence of workplace injury by at least 40 percent by 30 June 2012 (with a 20% reduction by 30 June 2007).

The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission adopted the National OHS Strategy targets, but went further by setting a zero target for workplace fatalities for the Commonwealth jurisdiction. This excludes death from disease and commuting claims, and takes into account declarations by the Minister for Defence of warlike and non-warlike operations for military personnel. The Commission also extended the workplace injury target to include disease and commuting injuries. Performance against the targets will be reported once the first milestone is reached in 2007.

In addition to these targets, Australian Government premium paying agencies have been asked to adopt a further two targets to improve return to work and injury management by:

• reducing the average weeks lost due to injury by at least 40% by 2012
• reducing the average time taken for return to work activity to commence by 90% by 2012.

In late June 2003, large premium paying agencies (with 1000 or more employees) were invited to sign a ‘statement of commitment’ towards achieving these four targets. This initiative was extended in February 2004 when medium sized premium paying agencies (with between 500 and 999 employees) were also invited to sign a ‘statement of commitment’. The response from agencies has been encouraging. As at 30 June 2004, 18 large and medium sized APS agencies had either signed or agreed to sign a ‘statement of commitment’ (ABS, ACC, AEC, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), ATO, Centrelink, Customs, DAFF, Defence, DEST, DEWR, DFAT, DIMIA, DITR, DVA, Family Court, Finance, Health). These 18 agencies employ over 80% of APS employees.

Performance against the targets will be reported annually to Ministers and agencies are being encouraged to regularly monitor their progress and report their own performance in their annual reports.

Smaller agencies have been informed of target setting as part of Comcare’s Leadership and Accountability Strategy, and all agencies have been provided with access to workshops to assist them to understand the targets and develop strategies to achieve them.

20 Heads of Workers’ Compensation Authorities, Comparison of Workers’ Compensation Arrangements, Australia & New Zealand, October 2003, provides a comparison of benefits across schemes.

21 The performance figures for 2000—01, 2001—02 and 2002—03 as published in the previous State of the Service report have been revised for this report.