Comcare – the next attack on working people

Central Council, 14 March 2007

Report adopted

Currently the federal government is planning on sneaking power off the states to increase company profits and downgrade safety in the workplace. The federal government has extended the federal public service OHS and workers compensation legislation regime to allow for private companies to gain coverage through the federal government's self insurance program.

Whilst the rationale for creating one system for all employers in Australia especially those that operate across borders is to be commended and endorsed by the union movement at a national level, the federal government's approach is not one to be endorsed.

As usual the federal government has allowed safety to be sold off to the highest bidder. A large and growing group of sizeable employers have made approaches to the federal government to become self insurers under the federal government's Comcare scheme primarily associated with the federal public service.

The list of companies that have taken up this change include Optus, Toll Holdings, John Holland, National Australia Bank, and now Chubb Security. Some of these companies such as John Holland it is claimed by Workcover would not have been granted self insurance status if they applied at Workcover NSW as their risk profile is too high. The federal government obviously believes that the ongoing payment of workers compensation to injured employees is now something else that should be in the line of creditors when a company goes belly up.

Self insurers under the NSW system must undergo regular external auditing by Workcover of their safety systems and injury management to ensure that they constantly improve their safety in the workplace and treatment of injured employees. There are grave fears that claiming injuries under the federal system will be more difficult with the employer controlling the claims process and little independent auditing occurring in a self regulation environment under Comcare.

Detriments to compensation payments

The federal government has already started to make the "burden on business" less for those that come under the Comcare scheme by removing employees' rights to claim for journey claims and recess claims. This appears to fit in well with the shifting of the burden to the states MAA scheme and the worker who will have less ability to make claims in a faultless system of workers compensation. Look for more reductions to payments in order to make the federal scheme more attractive to employers.

Detriments to safety

Additionally the federal government has complicated the issue of safety for workers who work with or on sites with people employed by Comcare companies. There is now a problem for Workcover Inspectors being potentially prohibited from enforcing the NSW OHS Act 2000 because the workplace where state Workcover insured employees get injured or are involved in an incident the Workcover Inspector can be refused entry to the site by the employer and no OHS improvement mechanisms such as Improvement notices or prohibition notices can be enforced.

Unfortunately the federal Comcare scheme is estimated to have approximately 30 inspectors nationwide, yet in NSW Workcover has approximately 300 inspectors. This personnel is mirrored in the Comcare's inability to enforce safety in the workplace with prosecutions numbering in the amounts counted on one hand in the last ten years whilst over 300 prosecutions by Workcover greatly improving the safety of NSW workplaces.

The problem for PSA members comes from the places workplaces where we are required to work with these companies currently NAB (banking), Toll (State Mail Service), and Chubb (major governmental security service)

The ACTU is developing a response through the SPSF to these changes and assisting state Labor governments develop a harmonisation program to assist business with the administration of the program.