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Every Tasmanian employer that isn't an approved self-insurer must keep a workers compensation policy in force with an insurer licensed by the WorkCover Tasmania Board. Six insurers are licensed, and you choose among them. WorkSafe Tasmania administers the scheme and publishes suggested premium rates each year: the suggested average rate for 2026/27 is 2.18% of wages, excluding GST.
Tasmania has two rules that stand out. A licensed insurer can't refuse to issue or renew your policy without the Board's consent, and the penalty for being uninsured includes paying back the premiums you avoided for up to seven years. This page explains both, along with who counts as a worker and how premiums are set.
By Better Rate Mate Editorial Team ยท Last reviewed
| Tasmania | |
|---|---|
| Administers the scheme | WorkSafe Tasmania, with the WorkCover Tasmania Board licensing insurers |
| Who insures | 6 licensed private insurers; large employers can apply to the Board to self-insure |
| Can you choose your insurer? | Yes, among the licensed insurers |
| Who must insure | Every employer that is not a self-insurer (the Crown and State agencies are exempt) |
| Wage threshold | None published; domestic workers in a private household count once they reach 48 hours of employment in total |
| How premiums are set | Insurers set premiums reflecting each employer's claims experience; the Board publishes suggested industry rates |
| Suggested average rate | 2.18% of wages (excluding GST) for 2026/27; 2.06% for 2025/26 |
| Refusal of cover | A licensed insurer can't refuse to issue or renew a policy without the Board's consent |
| Penalty for not insuring | A fine of up to 500 penalty units, plus avoided premiums for up to 7 years before the conviction |
| Law | Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 |
Tasmania uses licensed private insurers. The WorkCover Tasmania Board decides who may write workers compensation, and when it licenses an insurer it must be satisfied the insurer will set premiums that reflect each employer's claims experience. You take out a policy with any licensed insurer, directly or through a broker. Large employers can apply to the Board for a permit to self-insure, which WorkSafe Tasmania says is usually for large businesses.
| Insurer (as listed by WorkSafe Tasmania) |
|---|
| Allianz Australia Insurance Limited |
| AAI Limited trading as GIO |
| Guild Insurance Limited |
| CGU Australia Pty Ltd |
| QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited |
| Zurich Australian Insurance Limited |
Section 97 of the Act requires every employer that isn't a self-insurer to maintain a policy with a licensed insurer. WorkSafe Tasmania doesn't publish a small-wages exemption, so treat cover as needed from your first employee. Even a private household that employs a domestic worker needs cover once that worker reaches 48 hours of employment in total.
Contractors are generally outside the scheme: WorkSafe Tasmania's guide says that in most cases independent contractors aren't entitled to workers compensation. There is an exception for some work over $100 that falls outside the contractor's usual trade or business, which doesn't apply if the contractor holds their own personal accident insurance. Working directors aren't specifically deemed to be workers by the Act, but WorkSafe Tasmania notes the courts have generally found them to be workers, so discuss director cover with your insurer.
Insurers set their own premiums, but the WorkCover Tasmania Board must publish suggested premium rates for industries each year (section 102B). For 2026/27, the actuarial report behind those rates gives a suggested average premium rate of 2.18% of wages, excluding GST, up from 2.06% for 2025/26. The rates are set at the ANZSIC 2006 industry level, and the report makes clear that insurers should do their own analysis to support the rates they charge.
Your premium therefore depends on your industry's suggested rate, the insurer's view of it, your wages and your own claims experience. As an illustration of the method only: at exactly the suggested average rate, every $100,000 of wages would attract about $2,180 of premium before GST. Your industry's rate and your claims history will move that, which is why it is worth asking more than one licensed insurer.
| Financial year | Suggested average rate (% of wages, excl. GST) |
|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 2.18% |
| 2025/26 | 2.06% |
Tasmania gives employers an unusual protection. Under section 103 of the Act, a licensed insurer can't refuse to issue or renew a workers compensation policy without the consent of the WorkCover Tasmania Board. A business with a poor claims record may pay more, but it can't simply be left without cover, and if you are told otherwise, contact WorkSafe Tasmania.
Workers compensation insures employers for their workers. If you work for yourself as a sole trader or partner, you aren't your own employee, and the Australian Government's business.gov.au notes that workers compensation doesn't cover sole traders, who need their own accident and illness cover. WorkSafe Tasmania doesn't publish a way for sole traders to insure themselves under the scheme. See insurance for sole traders for the alternatives.
Failing to maintain a policy is an offence under section 97, with a fine of up to 500 penalty units. On top of the fine, the court is to order the employer to pay the premiums it avoided, going back as far as seven years before the conviction. That look-back is longer than in most other states.
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 see the eight schemes side by side.
Yes. Every Tasmanian employer that isn't a self-insurer must maintain a workers compensation policy with a licensed insurer. The Crown and State agencies are exempt.
The WorkCover Tasmania Board licenses insurers and oversees the scheme, which WorkSafe Tasmania administers. Neither sells policies: you buy cover from one of the six licensed insurers.
It depends on your industry, wages and claims history. The suggested average premium rate for 2026/27 is 2.18% of wages excluding GST, but each industry has its own suggested rate and insurers set the final premium.
Generally not. WorkSafe Tasmania says most independent contractors aren't entitled to workers compensation, with a narrow exception for some work outside their usual trade that doesn't apply if they hold their own personal accident insurance.
Not without permission. Section 103 of the Act says a licensed insurer can't refuse to issue or renew a policy without the WorkCover Tasmania Board's consent.
It is an offence with a fine of up to 500 penalty units, and the court is to order payment of the premiums you avoided for up to seven years before the conviction.
Better Rate Mate is an independent comparison site. We are not a workers compensation insurer, agent or regulator, and this page is general information for employers, not advice. For a policy, a premium or a claim, contact the scheme or a licensed insurer directly. If you have been injured at work, your employer's insurer and the regulator listed above can explain your entitlements.
