Take out a workers insurance policy
All NSW employers require workers insurance to protect their workers against workplace injury or illness, unless you're an exempt employer.
Depending on the size of your business, your obligations may differ. There may also be differences to how your policy is calculated.
For claims lodgement and wage declaration purposes, your policy period runs from midnight on the policy commencement or renewal date for a period of 12 months.
Not sure if you need workers insurance?
If you have employees in NSW, you probably need a workers insurance policy. Visit our Who needs a policy page for more information.
Small employers
If your average performance premium (that’s total wages multiplied by your industry rate) is $30,000 or less, you’re considered a small employer for workers insurance purposes.
This means that, if you have an injured worker, their claim costs are not included in your premium calculation - so you don’t have to worry about claims impacting your premium.
However, if you have an average performance premium of $30,000 or less but are a member of a group, then your employer category is based on the group’s average performance premium.
In that instance, your claims costs will impact your premium, unless the group average performance premium is $30,000 or less.
Medium to large employers
Medium and large employers that have an average performance premium greater than $30,000 are ‘experience-rated’.
Experience-rated means we’ll factor in your claims history, which may affect your premium.
Your claims performance rate (CPR) rewards you with a lower premium if you have a good record of managing worker safety and recovery at work. Your CPR is calculated by comparing your claims performance with other NSW businesses. If your claims performance is better than the Scheme average, then your premium will be lower than your average performance premium.
If you’re a large business, you have the option of moving to a Loss Prevention and Recovery (LPR) product to reduce your premiums.
To take out a policy we'll need to know:
- General details about your business (eg legal name, ABN, postal and operating addresses, and contact details).
- A start date for the policy
- The type of business
- Details of past workers compensation insurance
- The number of workers you employ
- An estimate of wages paid to workers.
The minimum premium payable for any policy is currently $175.
Remember, the difference between workers and contractors may not be as straightforward as you think.
Get a certificate for your insurance
A Certificate of Currency is evidence that your business is covered for workers insurance.
The Certificate shows the Workers Compensation Industry Classification for your business, number of workers, estimated wages and policy period covered.
A Certificate can be issued for up to 12 months, however it can’t extend beyond the expiry date of the current workers insurance policy.
Once you take out a new policy we will send you your Certificate of Currency along with your ‘Welcome Pack’, which contains all your policy documents.
Alternatively, use our Employer Lookup to provide instant confirmation of your workers insurance cover with icare.
Use our online Employer Lookup tool
Exempt employers are not eligible for a Certificate of Currency.