How workers compensation works for ACT employers
In short
- The ACT’s private sector scheme is privately underwritten: employers hold a policy with an insurer approved by WorkSafe ACT, not with a government fund.
- WorkSafe ACT regulates the scheme and does not itself sell policies or decide individual claims.
- An employer can apply to become a licensed self-insurer instead of holding a standard policy.
The ACT’s workers compensation scheme is easy to misread as government-run, because "WorkSafe" is the name attached to it. It is not: the ACT’s private sector scheme is underwritten by commercial insurers, and WorkSafe ACT’s role is regulation rather than selling policies.
This page sets out that structure directly.
A privately underwritten scheme
The ACT’s private sector scheme requires employers to hold a workers compensation insurance policy, and that policy is written by a commercial insurer approved by WorkSafe ACT rather than by a government body. An employer obtains cover from one of the insurers licensed to operate in the ACT scheme, in much the same shape as Western Australia’s model.
What WorkSafe ACT does and does not do
WorkSafe ACT regulates the ACT’s private sector workers compensation legislation. It is not the entity a business buys a policy from, and it does not decide individual claims — that sits with the licensed insurer holding the policy. Licensed insurers report policy, claims and payment information back to WorkSafe ACT as part of that regulatory oversight.
Self-insurance as an alternative
An employer can apply for exemption from holding a policy with a licensed insurer by becoming a licensed self-insurer instead, taking on responsibility for its own workers compensation liabilities under WorkSafe ACT’s approval rather than paying premium to a commercial insurer.
Questions
- Does the ACT government insure workers compensation directly?
- No. Cover is written by a licensed commercial insurer. WorkSafe ACT regulates the scheme rather than insuring it.
- Who do I contact if a claim needs to be disputed?
- Your policy sits with your licensed insurer, so that is the first point of contact. WorkSafe ACT’s role is regulatory oversight of the scheme rather than deciding individual claims.
- Can any employer become self-insured?
- It is a licensed exemption process run by WorkSafe ACT, and whether a given employer qualifies is a question to put to WorkSafe ACT directly.
Sources
- WorkSafe ACT — The ACT regulator for work health and safety and the privately underwritten workers compensation scheme.