November communiqué
At the SIRA Board meeting held on Friday, 25 November 2022 at 231 Elizabeth St, Sydney, SIRA’s Chief Executive, Adam Dent reported on the 2022 People Matter Employee Survey, wherein SIRA achieved record high employee engagement results for the agency. Employee engagement for SIRA in total improved from 67% to 73%. The Board noted that each of SIRA’s four Divisions improved substantially on last year and SIRA exceeded the DCS Cluster results in the majority of measures and was within 1% of the main engagement score. SIRA outperformed the sector overall averages on almost all measures. An improvement of this magnitude is quite unusual; and Board members complimented the Chief Executive and the management team on the results. The Board was also advised that a program of work is well advanced to action areas for growth and further improvement identified in the survey. This SIRA-wide action plan for 2023 will be announced at the upcoming SIRA Staff Townhall meeting.
Board members received an interesting presentation from Simon Cohen, Independent Review Officer in relation to his office’s major accomplishments over the past 12 months and future plans. The mission of the IRO is to help persons who are injured at work or in motor accidents and insurers find fair solutions to complaints and claims, and to recommend improvements to the statutory compensation schemes for workers compensation and motor accident injuries.
Mr Cohen also addressed the Board on the trends in the costs of the Independent Legal and Assistance Review Services.
The Board welcomed SIRA’s newly appointed Director of Home Building Compensation Regulation, Richard Potts. The Board was informed of SIRA’s review of icare’s compliance with obligations under the Home Building Act 1989 and the NSW Self Insurance Corporation Act 2004 and the audit of icare’s case management in relation to home building claims that was almost complete.
The Board noted the commencement of CTP Care on 1 December 2022. CTP Care will act as the insurer of people injured in a motor vehicle accident on and from 1 December 2017 who require ongoing treatment and care statutory benefits for more than five years after the date of their accidents. These claims will be transferred to the Lifetime Care and Support Authority (LCSA). The Board was provided an update on the operational readiness of this transition and noted the introduction of a new policy framework and guidelines. The Board was also appraised of the role of the Independent Review Office in relation to the investigation of complaints regarding claims handling practices within the LCSA, which was also discussed in greater detail during Mr Cohen’s presentation.
The Board received regular updates about the workers compensation and compulsory third-party schemes and at the Audit and Risk Committee earlier that day, spent time discussing the recent well publicised cyber incidents. The message is clear: all employees need to be continually vigilant to guard against these attacks.
Finally, the Board thanked outgoing CFO, Ms Sharon Blake, for her excellent service and wished her well for her future career.
Prepared by: Trevor Matthews
Chair, SIRA Board