Workers Compensation premiums
A premium is the amount a business pays for Workers Compensation insurance. This insurance policy helps cover workers who are injured at work in New South Wales. Most businesses in NSW need Workers Compensation insurance. Check if you need a policy here.
Your Workers Compensation premium is tailored to your business and is based on:
- How much you pay in annual wages
- Your industry
- Other factors
Your premium is worked out by multiplying your Workers Compensation Industry Classifications (WIC) rate by the total wages your business pays. This gives us your average performance premium (APP). Your APP is the premium cost that your business will pay for a Workers Compensation insurance policy. It helps decide whether your business is classed as small or medium to large.
Your premium calculation will vary depending on the size of your business. If you're taking out a new policy, it's best to check your APP and business size using the online quote tool.
Estimates and actual wages
If your business has a Workers Compensation insurance policy, you'll need to tell icare your total wages each year. This makes sure your premium is right for your business.
At the start of each new policy period, you need to give icare an estimate of your wages for the year ahead. This helps calculate your premium. At the end of the policy period, submit your actual wage declaration so your premium can be updated to the correct amount.
Providing actual wage declarations on time helps keep your premium fair and accurate.
Learn more about declaring your actual wages
Your industry classification
Different jobs have different levels of risk. Workers Compensation Industry Classifications (WICs) help group businesses that do the same type of work and face similar risks.
When you apply for a Workers Compensation policy, you'll need to tell us what type of work your business does. This helps us assign the right WIC before we calculate your premium.
If your business has more than one type of work, we use the same formula for each industry classification and then add them together to get your total average performance premium (APP).
Your average performance premium
If your average performance premium is $30,000 or less, you're a small employer. Claim costs won't change your total premium, but they may affect whether you qualify for the Safe Employer Reward (SER).
If your average performance premium is over $30,000, you're a medium to large employer. This means your premium will change based on your claims performance. This is also known as an experience-rated employer.
A large employer has an average performance premium (APP) of $500,000 or more each year. Eligible large employers can choose between two premium models: Experience-rated or Loss Prevention and Recovery (LPR). The LPR model allows businesses to put programs in place to help lower their premiums. Find out more about the LPR model.
We offer a range of incentives and discounts to help keep premiums affordable. These are available to businesses that have a good safety record and help injured workers get back to work.
Visit the links below to see how premiums are calculated for each employer type.