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Workers compensation insurance is compulsory for almost every Australian employer. It pays your workers' wages and medical costs if they are injured or become ill because of their work, and protects the business from being sued for the full cost. You insure under the scheme in the state or territory where your workers are based, and each of the eight schemes works differently: in NSW, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia a government insurer or scheme provides the cover, while in WA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT you buy from licensed private insurers.
Workers comp covers employees, not owners. A sole trader or partner isn't covered for their own injuries in any state, although Queensland sells an optional policy for them and WA lets companies cover working directors. This page compares the eight schemes, explains how premiums are set and who counts as a worker, then links to a detailed guide for each state and territory.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team · Last reviewed
The table sets out who provides cover, who must insure and the scheme's own published average premium rate where there is one. The averages are only a guide to the scheme as a whole: your premium depends on your industry, wages and claims history.
| State | Who provides the cover | Regulator | Who must insure | Published average rate, 2026–27 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | icare (Workers Insurance, the Nominal Insurer), with claims managed by Allianz, EML, GIO, Gallagher Bassett and QBE; specialised insurers and self-insurers | SIRA | Employers, unless wages are $7,500 or less a year with no apprentices or trainees and not part of a group | None published; WIC industry rates unchanged for 2026–27 |
| VIC | WorkSafe Victoria, through its agents | WorkSafe Victoria | Employers paying more than $7,500 a year in remuneration, or with any apprentice; register within 60 days | 1.8% of rateable remuneration |
| QLD | WorkCover Queensland (the only insurer) or licensed self-insurers | Workers' Compensation Regulator | Every employer of workers; apply within 5 business days of employing | $1.343 per $100 of wages (target) |
| WA | Private insurers licensed by WorkCover WA | WorkCover WA | Every employer, for all workers | 1.931% of wages (recommended) |
| SA | ReturnToWorkSA, with claims agents EML and Gallagher Bassett | ReturnToWorkSA | Employers paying $16,806 or more in 2026–27; register within 14 days of employing | 1.85% |
| TAS | Private insurers licensed by the WorkCover Tasmania Board | WorkSafe Tasmania | Every employer that isn't a self-insurer | 2.18% of wages, excl. GST (suggested) |
| ACT | Five approved private insurers | WorkSafe ACT | Every employer, for all workers | None published |
| NT | Five approved private insurers | NT WorkSafe | Any employer of a worker (PAYG test) | None published |
business.gov.au lists workers compensation among the insurance you need by law if you have employees, and says employers must get it from an authorised insurer. Beyond that, each state decides the details. Most require cover from the first worker. NSW and Victoria exempt employers with very small wage bills of $7,500 a year or less, provided there are no apprentices or trainees (NSW also excludes businesses in a group), and South Australia's registration threshold is set each year ($16,806 for 2026–27).
Deadlines differ too. Queensland expects an application within 5 business days of starting to employ, South Australia within 14 days, and Victoria within 60 days of first becoming eligible. In NSW, cover starts when the policy is issued and can't be backdated, so it needs to be in place before anyone starts work. Commonwealth government agencies and some large national employers are covered by the separate Comcare scheme instead.
Each page sets out that scheme's rules from the regulator's and insurer's own sites: who insures, who must register, how premiums are worked out and how to get a policy.
Every scheme starts from the same idea: your premium is your wages bill multiplied by a rate for your industry, then adjusted for your own claims experience once the business is large enough for that to be meaningful. The names differ. NSW and Queensland call the industry categories WICs, WA uses Premium Rating Codes based on ANZSIC industries, and South Australia applies a formula with discounts for size and a charge for past income support costs.
Small businesses are usually priced mostly on their industry. In NSW, an employer whose Average Performance Premium is $30,000 or less has a premium that isn't changed by the number of claims it makes. In Victoria, claims don't affect the premium of an employer with rateable remuneration under $200,000. Queensland uses a simplified model for businesses with $1.5 million or less in wages and experience-based rating above that. In the private insurer states, insurers set their own prices, which is why comparing quotes there can pay off.
Two things you control make the biggest difference. The first is your industry classification: being placed in the wrong category can mean paying the wrong rate for years, so check it. The second is your wages declaration, which drives the premium and is adjusted to your actual wages at the end of the period.
An ABN doesn't decide whether someone is your worker. Every scheme has its own test, and a contractor who mainly supplies their own labour, works under your direction and doesn't run their own business can be a worker in law. If they are, you need to cover them, and if you don't, you can be pursued for the unpaid premium.
The tests are set state by state: SIRA has a worker or contractor tool in NSW, WorkSafe Victoria asks whether you control what and how the work is done and whether the contractor's business depends on you, Queensland applies four tests in order, WA has an extended definition of worker, and the NT uses the ATO's PAYG employee test. Each state page explains its version.
Workers compensation insures an employer's workers. If you're a sole trader or partner, you aren't your own employee, and business.gov.au is clear that workers compensation doesn't cover sole traders, who need their own accident and illness cover. The exceptions are about options, not automatic cover: WorkCover Queensland sells optional Workplace Personal Injury Insurance to self-employed people, directors, partners and trustees, and in WA a company can choose to cover its working directors. In Victoria, if your own company employs you, you are its worker and it must register.
See insurance for sole traders for how personal accident and illness cover and income protection fill the gap.
The scheme pays the benefits the state's Act sets out, such as weekly payments while a worker can't work, reasonable medical and rehabilitation costs, and in some cases lump sums and death benefits. The employer's role is to hold the policy, report injuries promptly and support the worker's return to work.
Workers comp doesn't cover injury to customers or the public, which is public liability; it doesn't cover the owner of an unincorporated business; and in the ACT and elsewhere it doesn't stop a regulator pursuing you for being uninsured. Work health and safety fines are separate again and can't be insured at all under the model WHS laws.
Yes, for almost every employer. Each state and territory requires employers to insure their workers. NSW and Victoria exempt employers with $7,500 or less a year in wages and no apprentices or trainees, and South Australia doesn't require registration below its annual threshold ($16,806 for 2026–27).
Your wages multiplied by your industry's rate, adjusted for claims experience in larger businesses. Published 2026–27 averages include 1.8% in Victoria, $1.343 per $100 of wages in Queensland, 1.85% in South Australia, 1.931% recommended in WA and 2.18% suggested in Tasmania, but your industry rate may be far higher or lower.
Not for themselves: workers comp doesn't cover a sole trader's own injuries. A sole trader who employs anyone, including an apprentice or a contractor who counts as a worker, must insure those workers.
In WA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT, yes: you buy from any licensed or approved private insurer. In Queensland, WorkCover Queensland is the only insurer. In NSW and South Australia the government scheme insures you, and in Victoria you choose one of WorkSafe's agents when you register.
Sometimes. Each state has a test for when a contractor is legally a worker, and an ABN doesn't settle it. Contractors who mainly supply their own labour under your direction are the most likely to count.
The ATO lists workers compensation premiums among the operating expenses a business can generally deduct. Check your situation with your accountant.
Better Rate Mate is an independent comparison site, not a scheme, insurer or regulator. This page is general information for employers. For a policy, premium or claim, contact your state's scheme or a licensed insurer directly.
