December communiqué
At its last meeting for 2019, the Board noted the Compliance and Performance Review of the Workers Compensation Nominal Insurer Scheme (managed by icare) and supporting EY analyses was to be published on the SIRA website in the following days. The Board thanks the Independent Reviewer – Ms Janet Dore, EY, SIRA staff, icare, and more than 150 stakeholders and customers who provided input into the Review. The Review provides an opportunity to identify and drive improvements in the performance of the workers compensation system in NSW.
Board Members were pleased to note the support program for workers affected by section 59A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 was released to all insurers this month, allowing insurers to notify workers who are or will be eligible for the program after their medical entitlement ceases. SIRA continues to engage with stakeholders on a regular basis to review and discuss initiatives available to support workers.
Ms Nancy Milne OAM, Chair of the CTP Premium Committee provided an update on the recent meeting noting the Committee provided their expert feedback on a draft Minor Injury Review Report. Ms Milne said the Committee discussed the shift in strategy relating to the transitional arrangements in the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 (the MAI Act) for Point to Point services, which is due to expire in December 2020, and previewed the CTP open data tool released on the SIRA website.
In July 2019, the SIRA Chief Executive initiated a review of the minor injury definition against the objectives of the MAI Act. Board Members discussed the draft Minor Injury Review Report findings, highlighting positive outcomes such as improved injured-person recovery timeframes and other areas of improvement for SIRA to further investigate and monitor. The Board approved the submission of a draft Report to the Minister for Customer Service for consideration. A final Report is expected to be published on the SIRA website in the first half of 2020.
Other matters at the December 2019 Board meeting included:
- discussing key performance insights highlighted in scheme performance reporting for both the 1999 and 2017 CTP Schemes, noting SIRA’s commitment to increasing transparency and accountability by publishing scheme performance information;
- considering and discussing SIRA’s analysis of icare’s Financial Condition Report; and
- continuing discussions on the current issues prevalent in the building and construction sector, and the announcement of a review by IPART.
On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank everyone associated with SIRA for their efforts during a busy year and wish you all the best for the festive season.
Trevor Matthews
Chairperson
SIRA Board