WorkCover QLD: how workers compensation works for Queensland employers

Why WorkCover Queensland is your only option

Queensland is one of the few places in Australia with a single workers compensation insurer. WorkCover Queensland provides accident insurance to every employer that isn't licensed to self-insure, and the Act says it must not issue more than one policy for each employer. Large businesses can apply to the Workers' Compensation Regulator for a self-insurance licence, but that isn't a realistic route for a small business.

That is why there is nothing to compare on price for Queensland workers compensation, and why WorkCover Queensland ranks for its own name. Better Rate Mate isn't WorkCover and can't sell you a policy; you apply directly with WorkCover Queensland. Where comparing does help is with the covers workers comp doesn't include, such as public liability and cover for yourself as the owner.

Who must be covered, and the 5-day rule

WorkCover Queensland's rule is simple: if you employ workers in Queensland, you must have workers compensation insurance. There's no small-wages exemption. The Act gives you 5 business days after you start to employ any worker to apply.

Working out who is a worker follows four tests, applied in order: whether there is a contract for work, whether a specific exclusion applies, whether a specific inclusion applies, and whether there is a contract of service. WorkCover's guidance also lists anyone who is an employee for PAYG withholding. Contractors can fall on either side, so check the tests for anyone you engage regularly.

How WorkCover QLD premiums are calculated

WorkCover Queensland uses three factors: your wages, your industry rate (based on your Workers' Compensation Industry Classification, or WIC) and your claims experience. How they combine depends on how long you've been insured and how large you are.

For 2026-27 WorkCover Queensland has held its target average premium rate at $1.343 per $100 of wages for the second year in a row. As an illustration of the method only, a business at exactly that average would pay about $1,343 for every $100,000 of wages. Your own industry rate can be much higher or lower.

WorkCover QLD industry rates 2026-27

Your industry rate comes from your WorkCover Industry Classification (WIC), and WorkCover publishes every rate in the Queensland Government Gazette each June. The table shows the 2026-27 rates for common small-business classes, with the premium each would give on $100,000 of wages at the full industry rate. Use the estimator at the top of this page for any of the 537 classifications.

If you've held your policy for 18 months or more and your wages are $1.5 million or less, your rate is 80% to 120% of the industry rate depending on your policy rating, and the rating can move only one level a year.

When a worker is injured: the employer's obligations

Queensland's Act sets short deadlines. You must report an injury to WorkCover within 8 business days of becoming aware of it, of the worker reporting it, or of WorkCover asking for the report, whichever comes first. WorkSafe Queensland says to report it even if the worker doesn't make a claim and even if you don't agree it's compensable. You also have 8 business days to tell WorkCover if a worker asks you for compensation or you pay them an amount in place of it. Late reporting without a reasonable excuse is an offence with a maximum penalty of 50 penalty units.

Then help the worker back to work. WorkSafe Queensland says employers need to find other work for an injured worker to do if they can, called suitable duties, and depending on the workplace a rehabilitation and return to work coordinator may be assigned.

Two rules apply while the worker recovers. Within 12 months of the injury, you must not dismiss the worker solely or mainly because they aren't fit for their position because of the injury (maximum penalty 500 penalty units). And if you hire someone to fill in, you must tell the replacement in writing, before they start, that the job is temporary and that the injured worker has a right to return.

What WorkCover pays an injured worker in Queensland

Weekly compensation is a share of the worker's normal weekly earnings (NWE), and the share falls the longer the worker is totally unable to work. The Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 sets the steps in sections 150 and 151, and ties them to QOTE, Queensland ordinary time earnings, which the Regulator notifies before each financial year.

QOTE for 2026-27 is $1,994.50 a week, from 1 July 2026, up 2.1% on 2025-26 (Workers' Compensation and Rehabilitation (QOTE) Notice 2026; WorkSafe Queensland lists the same figure). So 80% of QOTE, the floor in the first 26 weeks for a worker without an award, is $1,595.60 a week, and 70% of QOTE, the floor from 26 weeks to 2 years, is $1,396.15 a week, in each case capped at the worker's NWE.

On top of weekly payments, the insurer must pay the cost of medical treatment and hospitalisation it considers reasonable for the injury (section 210). There's a ceiling on the claim: weekly payments for one injury can't exceed 216.15 times QOTE in total (section 140), about $431,111 at the 2026-27 QOTE (our calculation), and weekly compensation stops after five years at most.

Two parts of a claim fall on the employer. You pay the worker for the day they stop work because of the injury (section 144), and you pay the worker's compensation for the excess period at the start of the claim, which is set by regulation (section 66). You can't insure with WorkCover against that excess (section 67). Claims also feed into your premium once you've been insured for 18 months, which is why returning a worker to suitable duties early matters to the business as well as the worker.

Sole traders, partners and directors

WorkCover Queensland says directors, partners, sole traders and trustees aren't covered by its accident insurance, and a director isn't a worker of their own company for this purpose. So the standard policy protects your staff, not you.

Queensland is the only scheme that sells an alternative. Workplace Personal Injury Insurance is optional cover from WorkCover Queensland for contractors, self-employed people, directors, partners and trustees, with a minimum premium of $1,650 a year including GST and stamp duty. It covers work-related injury; for illness and injury outside work, compare personal accident and income protection options.

How to apply for a policy

You apply directly with WorkCover Queensland, online through its Apply for a policy service or by phone; it says the application takes around 5 to 15 minutes. Have your ABN, a clear description of what your business does (which sets your WIC), and an estimate of wages for the year ready. At the end of each policy period you declare your actual wages and the premium is adjusted.

Penalties for not insuring

Employing workers without a policy is an offence under section 51 of the Act, with a maximum penalty of 500 penalty units. Under section 57, WorkCover Queensland can also recover the unpaid premium plus a penalty equal to 100% of it, which effectively doubles the premium, and recover compensation it paid to your injured worker plus a further 50% penalty.

Workers compensation in other states and territories

Each state and territory runs its own scheme, and an employer registers where its workers are based. If you employ people in more than one state, check each scheme, or compare workers compensation insurance in every state.