PUTTING YOU FIRST
Annual Reports
2010–11
Safety, Rehabilitation
and Compensation Commission
Comcare
Strategic priorities
HEALTHY AT WORK, SAFE
AT WORK
1. Promote worker health, wellbeing and resilience
2. Prevent harm in federal workplaces
3. Stronger enforcement and justice outcomes
4. Transition to national
model workplace health and safety laws
BACK AT WORK
5. Strengthen recovery and support services for workers with injury
6. Improve injury management practices
7. Improve decision making with decision support tools
8. Strengthen expertise in asbestos claim management
SCHEME AT WORK
9. Invest in our people working together to deliver quality service in a high-performing Comcare
10. Strengthen business intelligence and improve knowledge management
11. Build partnerships for research and strengthen strategic policy
12. Strengthen financial and business integrity for sustainability
We place workers at the centre of what we do to ensure they return safely to their families, friends and communities everyday. When workers are harmed, we help with recovery and support. We deliver a sustainable, fair, reliable, and high-performing Comcare.
2010–11 In review
HEALTHY AT WORK, SAFE AT WORK
Number of fatalities
The number of worker fatalities notified to Comcare under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1991 (OHS Act)
This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) excludes fatalities of contractors and third parties as well as those that are assessed by Comcare as not-notifiable.
The lives of six workers were cut short while at work.
Workplace fatalities are unacceptable and Comcare’s target will remain as zero.
Incidence of serious claims
The number of serious claims per 1000 full-time equivalent (FTE) employees. Serious claims are those resulting in at least one week of incapacity.
This KPI is based on the National OHS Strategy
2002–12 incidence of workplace injury measure—extended by the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Committee (SRCC).
Based on recent performance, it is very unlikely that the scheme will achieve the Commission’s ten-year target by 30 June 2012. 2011–12 is the final year of the ten-year National OHS Strategy target. Safe Work Australia (SWA) is currently developing a new national strategy and any proposed measures and targets that may apply beyond 30 June 2012, have yet to be specified by SWA.
BACK AT WORK
Durable Return to Work (RTW) rate
The percentage of injured workers with two weeks or more incapacity that returned to work and were still working seven to nine months after lodging their claim. The KPI is based on a survey of injured workers which is undertaken twice a year.
Surveys conducted in November 2010 and
May 2011 show that while the RTW durable rate across the scheme improved slightly in 2010–11, there was no improvement for the premium sector and a slight improvement for the licensee sector.
The Comcare scheme’s durable RTW rate of 84% is better than the national average of 77%.
Timeliness—determination of new claims
The percentage of all new claims determined, from the date of receipt of a compliant claim under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) to the date upon which the first decision was made, with reference to the following standards:
> 20 calendar days for injury claims
> 60 calendar days for disease claims.
Overall, the scheme is performing reasonably well, but its overall performance is negatively impacted by Comcare’s performance in relation to disease claims.
Comcare’s performance was temporarily impacted by significant changes to its services delivery model introduced during this time. Performance has improved since the changes came into effect.
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