The SA Government’s workers’ compensation reforms provide an opportunity for positive change, according to Employers Mutual.

The group, one of the WorkCover scheme’s two agents, has begun retraining staff for earlier intervention on workplace injuries before the Return to Work Bill takes effect next July 1.

“Enshrined in the bill is a clear mandate to improve the level of service we provide,” SA GM Declan Collins told insuranceNEWS.com.au.

“That is something that is missing in a lot of workers’ compensation jurisdictions. It provides us with a real opportunity to reshape our business.”

Mr Collins, who joined Employers Mutual 15 months ago from the Victorian WorkCover Authority, says the bill will allow it to be more mobile and engage earlier with stakeholders such as employers, injured workers and medical professionals.

SA has the country’s highest workers’ compensation premiums – 2.75% of wages compared with 1.47% in NSW – and the Government says return-to-work outcomes are the nation’s worst.

The reforms increase obligations on employers to provide work and mandate for case managers to meet workers and employers within 48 hours of an injury likely to last longer than two weeks. 

They also make a greater distinction between serious and minor injuries.

Mr Collins says earlier response and collaboration will be particularly helpful to small and medium employers that do not employ human resources staff and return-to-work co-ordinators.

He has formed a first-response team of health professionals such as occupational therapists to step in when notified of injuries. He says aside from medical skills he has sought people suited to working with stakeholders.

Psychological nurses are part of the response and are already reporting some success at returning people to work.

The team will gather information required by doctors and help employers to find suitable duties for injured staff while minimising disruption to business.

Employers Mutual is working with the SA WorkCover Corporation – which is to be renamed the Return to Work Corporation – on IT connections and communication improvements.

“I don’t think it will cost a lot more than we are already spending,” Mr Collins said. “It is more about using people more effectively and reallocating our resources.”

He says traditional workers’ compensation models have often led to adversarial environments and an “insurance-type” method of processing claims in a back office. The reforms give SA the opportunity to become a model for other jurisdictions.