Many Central Coast people will have heard of the Small Business Reform Group. SBRG formed a few years ago after the local regional office of the NSW WorkCover Authority did audits of small businesses.
After the audits, a swag of small businesses who used self-employed subcontractors received massive workers compensation bills some amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. It put several businesses out of business. The WorkCover Authority had targeted self-employed people who had subcontracted work to other self-employed people. The Authority claims workers compensation premiums should have been paid on the subcontractors
But here's the catch. The Authority won't insure self-employed workers and even if premiums are paid won't guarantee to cover claims. It's a, "no cover-insurance scheme". But the NSW government gets away with this rort because they write the rule book.
SBRG was formed after local meetings saw hundreds turn up. SBRG began lobbying, forcing the government to conduct a review. The review resulted in legislation late 2005 which strengthened the government's ability to collect workers compensation premiums from small business. However it did not guarantee claims would be paid on subcontractors.
It's a sham and a con, made possible because the scheme is a monopoly. People suffer. But the government can behave arrogantly while it thinks it can limit political damage.
But the Commonwealth has recently entered the scene by making its workers compensation scheme, Comcare, available to businesses large enough to self-insure. It's likely to cause a rush of large businesses to exit the NSW arrangements. This is the start of competition in workers compensation. Change is in the wind.
The state government will face huge pressure to fix its own scheme. If it doesn't, don't be surprised if the likes of SBRG and their small business community, lobby the federal government to open Comcare to all businesses.
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