WorkCover insurance in Victoria: a guide for employers

WorkSafe and its agents

Victoria has one workers compensation insurer: WorkSafe Victoria. It doesn't compete with private insurers, but it does use agents to run policies and claims, and WorkSafe says that as an employer you are required to choose one. Its agent list names Allianz, EML, Gallagher Bassett and DXC Claims Management Services, and WorkSafe's own team manages a small number of claims directly.

The agent you pick handles your registration, premium notices and any claims, but the policy terms and the premium method are WorkSafe's, so they are the same whichever agent you choose. What differs is service.

When you must register for WorkCover

WorkSafe says you don't need to register if you have no apprentices and don't pay, and aren't liable to pay, more than $7,500 in remuneration in a financial year. Cross either line and you must register. Remuneration is wider than wages: it can include things like super contributions and some payments to contractors who count as workers, so check WorkSafe's definition when you estimate it.

The deadline is 60 days. WorkSafe must receive your registration within 60 days of the date you first meet the requirements, so a business that hires its first employee part-way through the year needs to watch the $7,500 figure.

How WorkCover premiums are calculated

Your premium starts with your rateable remuneration multiplied by the rate for your industry. The method is set each year by the Premiums Order (No. 34 was gazetted on 29 April 2026), and the industry rates are published in the Government Gazette. For 2026-27 WorkSafe's average premium rate is 1.8% of the state's rateable remuneration.

Your claims history only starts to matter once you're larger. WorkSafe says that if your rateable remuneration is less than $200,000, your premium won't be affected by previous claims. Above that, your performance is compared with your industry's, and your rate can move up or down, with increases generally capped at 30%. Small and new employers pay remuneration multiplied by the industry rate.

WorkSafe Victoria industry rates 2026-27 for common industries

Your premium starts with your rateable remuneration multiplied by your industry rate, which WorkSafe publishes in the Government Gazette each year. These are the 2026-27 industry rates for common small-business industries, with the figure on $100,000 of remuneration. Once your remuneration reaches $200,000, your claims performance moves your rate up or down.

When a worker is injured: the employer's obligations

Keep a register of injuries at each workplace, somewhere workers can get to it at all reasonable times. When a worker gives you a claim, forward claims for weekly payments, impairment benefits and death benefits to your WorkSafe agent within 10 calendar days of receiving them. For a mental injury claim, WorkSafe also expects early notification: Part A of the claim form to your agent within three business days.

Then the return to work duties apply. To the extent it's reasonable, you must provide suitable or pre-injury employment to an injured worker for the employment obligation period, which adds up to 52 weeks of incapacity, whether or not they run consecutively. WorkSafe notes that the end of that requirement doesn't necessarily mean you can terminate the worker's employment.

Contractors: who is and isn't your worker

WorkSafe's guidance asks two questions to test whether a contractor is really your worker: do you have the legal right to control not only the result of the work, but also what and how the work is done, and does the contractor's business depend on you for its existence? If the answers point to yes, the person may be your worker for WorkCover even if they invoice you with an ABN, and their pay counts towards your remuneration.

Sole traders, partners and company owners

WorkSafe says you don't need to register if you're a sole trader or an individual in a partnership and don't employ anyone else. That also means WorkCover doesn't cover your own injuries, so look at personal accident and income cover.

Company owners are different. WorkSafe says that if your company employs you personally, you are a worker of your own company, and it needs to register. Many small business owners who have incorporated don't realise this.

Registering, and the penalties for not doing so

You register online through WorkSafe's Online Employer Services portal, or by posting the form to the agent you've chosen. You'll need an estimate of your rateable remuneration and a description of your business so the right industry rate applies.

WorkSafe lists the consequences of not registering when you should: a penalty of up to $43,618 for individuals or $218,088 for businesses, repaying the premium you should have paid, and repaying any compensation WorkSafe paid to your injured workers.

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.