September communiqué

The SIRA Board held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, 29 September 2020 and received a number of updates on the three statutory insurance schemes that SIRA regulates.

Ms Nancy Milne OAM, Chair of the Compulsory Third Party (CTP) Premium Committee provided an update on the September CTP Premium Committee meeting and Prof Abby Bloom, Chair of the Audit and Risk (ARC) Committee provided an update on the September ARC meeting which endorsed the SIRA Financial Statements as at 30 June 2020.

The Board were updated on the CTP regulatory application process and were pleased to note that SIRA intends to issue a licence to Youi Pty Ltd to become a licensed CTP insurer effective 1 December 2020. Youi will be the first new entrant insurer to the NSW motor accidents CTP scheme since the 2017 reforms.

Board members received an update on the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal of NSW (IPART) review into the efficiency and effectiveness of the NSW Home Building Compensation Fund.

The SIRA Board were provided with an update on the initiatives and actions being progressed by SIRA in progressing a value-based healthcare approach and approved for consultation:

• The ‘Regulatory requirements for workplace rehabilitation service provision in NSW personal injury schemes’ – which will seek input on the regulatory requirements for workplace rehabilitation to improve return-to-work rates.
• The proposed new Standard of Practice (No. 33) Managing Psychological Injury Claims – which has been developed to outline SIRA’s expectations for insurers in relation to the management of psychological injury claims.

SIRA Board members discussed SIRA’s quarterly review and realignment of its strategic priorities and welcomed the regular strategy discussions which facilitated transparent articulation of SIRA’s priorities and reporting to stakeholders.

The Board was provided with some suggestions to improve the monitoring of the NSW Workers Compensation scheme, in particular the development of some leading and lag indicators of the critical Return to Work performance. Board members were pleased to recognise a more co-operative stance from icare and emphasised once again the importance of making progress on the 21 Point Plan.

Trevor Matthews

SIRA Board Chair