Claims histories
Once the Work Account levy for the business is set, the Experience Rating Programme then looks at the last three years of each business’s claims history (i.e. the number and severity of injuries) and compares it to the claims performance of other businesses in the same LRG.
- If the business’s claims history is better than the average, their levy may be discounted by up to 50%.
- If their claims history is worse than average, currently a levy increase of up to 75% is applied.
Following consultation in 2018, we recently changed experience rating to ensure it responded quicker to improvements a business makes to lowering the number of workers injured or improving how they assist injured workers to return to work.
We've improved Experience Rating for Businesses
Levy discounts
More businesses (62%) receive a levy discount than an increase, with the cost of these discounts greater than the cost of the increases.
To ensure we still levy businesses the correct total amount, we increase the levies paid by businesses outside of the Experience Rating Programme. This extra cost is just under 3 cents per $100 liable earnings.
Our proposals
We’re now proposing the following changes to the Experience Rating Programme:
- Raise the maximum adjustment to levy increases from 75% to 100%. This would reduce the imbalance between levy discounts and increases by ensuring any claims history, that is significantly worse than the average, is more fully accounted for.
- Increase the impact of a workplace fatality. This would correct an unintended consequence of the Experience Rating Programme calculation that does not recognize the severity of a fatal injury when assessing a business’s claims history.