In NSW workers comp has been the bain of small business over the last 5 yrs.Unbeknownst to most people workers comp virtually was in a state of collapse 2yrs ago.Workers comp is indemnified by our state Govts.NSW was in the red for $3 billion,so the NSW Labor solution was to make the employer pay both the premium and over 3yrs pay virtually the total amount of any claims.Now with our litigious mentality there have been may employees who have claimed for the ubiquitious bad back which have sent many a small business broke.

In the Public Service workers comp has become a defacto public holiday with claims three times that of private enterprise.Most were out on stress leave.Last yr NSW Public Service claims totalled $672 million.To curb claims they went overboad on OH&S legislation further eroding business productivity.They did not address serious problems of rorting within their own system.

Why not combine Super with Workers Comp whereby an honest worker can
benefit financially by not making false or ambit claims.In other words,workers comp could have both an insurance and savings component. Those who don't claim workers comp could have additional super contributions credited to their funds.If we exclude the avaricious lawyers and put personal responsibility into the equation,then honest hard working people will benefit.

Arjay, what you say sound interesting on the surface, but really means giving even more of our money to the development moguls who are destroying our planet.

I begrudge every penny taken from my employer on my behalf for super. Even through a so called 'ethical' fund this provides capital for businesses to bury more land under concrete, manufacture more useless consumer garbage and waste more of the planets valuable and finite resources.
While our super is removed from our control more of it ends up in the pockets of wheeler dealers, consultants and plain old con men.

I guess compo goes the same way.

Can't we come up with a better model that doesn't fuel the destructive continuous growth that is killing the only planet we have?

Following on from your comments ARJAY. I am a former member of the VicPol Fraud Squad an can pretty well empathise with the workers comp rorting. I should have stayed in the Police and that damned defined super scheme too. I can't see how ACCENT debated this around to saving the planet, but I guess that is the modern art of debate. "Bugger the subject lets save the planet". For me everyones out for themselves, just a bigger proportion are public servants.

Nice side step Merv, "I can't see how ACCENT debated this around to saving the planet"
You should realise by now that every time you move, every breath you take and every investment made on your behalf with YOUR money affects the future of the planet.
If you haven't realised that by now, we: me, you, your children and grandchildren are all very much up the creek without a paddle.

Everything you do affects all our futures.
Super and workers' comp pour billions of dollars into the coffers of the biggest planet wreckers around.

My comments are very much 'on topic'.

You don't just vote at elections, you vote every time you open your wallet.

Think about it.

Arjay

Workers comp in NSW is 2.17% of wages or $21.70 per week if the employee is earning $1,000 per week. Hardly enough to bankrupt small business.

10 employees earning $1,000 a week is $10,000 dollars in wages but only $217 in insurance premiums.

As for stress leave:

Psychological injuries are compensable if there is medical evidence that employment was a substantial contributing factor.

A claim for psychological injury can only be made if there is medical evidence to support that, as a result of your employment, you suffered from a psychological or psychiatric disorder.

No compensation is payable for a psychological injury if the injury was wholly or predominantly caused by reasonable action taken or proposed to be taken by or on behalf of the employer with respect to transfer, demotion, promotion, performance appraisal, discipline, retrenchment or dismissal of workers or provision of employment benefits to workers.

You can lodge a claim with your employer's insurer, but you will require a medical certificate stating a diagnosis of your condition (ie. specific symptoms) described in suitable medical terms and the doctor's opinion as to whether your work was a substantial contributing factor to the onset of this condition.

Note: The word 'stress' is an insufficient diagnosis of your condition for the purposes of making a claim for workers compensation.

Lets send kids down the mines next.

Accent, It doesnt matter if you are up the creek without a paddle now - the river's dry, so just walk out, watching the boggy spots of course.

If you are so opposed to your super money going to developers, get together with up to 5 like-minded friends or relatives, and start your own self-managed super fund. Super choice now dictates that your employer must pay to the fund if you nominate, and you can invest the proceeds as you see fit (subject to use restrictions and meeting the myriad other rules that you need to comply with). Self-managed super is one of the fastest growing areas in Aust, because so many people want complete control. You need to have about $200k to make it worthwhile, which is why I suggest up to 5 like-minded people (5 is the upper limit allowed)