National Workers Compensation Summit 2015 The integrated Victorian model to workplace injury insurance Clare Amies 25 February 2015

Coverage

We regulate OHS & administer the workers compensation Scheme

VWA’s role

Promote and enforce workplace health and safety through regulation of performance based legislation

Affordable insurance protection, appropriate benefits, support for early return to work, in a ‘no fault’ scheme

Operational principles

Eliminate or reduce risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable

Proactive involvement of workplace parties in ensuring workplace health and safety

Manage a financially sustainable scheme

Maintain balance of low premiums and appropriate benefits for injured workers

Proactive involvement of workplace parties in enabling early return to work

OHS Regulator Influence workplace behaviour

Workers Compensation Administrator Insurance & Recovery

All Victorian employers Victorian employers with employees

Strategy 2017

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Safety RTW Service Sustainability Culture

and place

1 2 3 4 5

Workplace safety and risk control are continually improved in Victoria

Continued improvement in Return to Work

Excellence in customer service

Continue to deliver good value at an appropriate cost

WorkSafe is repositioned for the future

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• Growth in health care & social assistance

• Critical point for manufacturing and the costs of doing business in Victoria

• Changing mix in full-time, part-time and casual workforce

• Reforms in regulatory oversight

• Rising pressure to reduce red tape

• Connection regulation: lead agency models to streamline regulation

• Premium pricing in other jurisdictions & impact of Comcare changes

• Increasing expectations for information, education & support

• Planning for Centre of Excellence

Changes in the economy, industry & workforce mix

Change in Government business models

Change in our industry

Transforming our organisation

Changing environment: industry mix, workforce, community expectations

Growing community risk

Casualisation

The next generation of integration – working at a system level & connecting with others to address complex issues

Providers

Increasing & evolving

oversight of government

bodies

Federal Government

Changing economy & industry mix

NDIS

NIIS

Treatment

Legal

VAGO Manufacturing decline

Health care sector growth

Ombudsman

Shifting scheme boundaries – “who pays” a key

consideration

Dispute processes & longer-term scheme sustainability

More frequent & broader reviews

Economic & demographic factors impacting our

headline results

Partial scheme context snapshot

Com- care

Other

Ageing workforce

Regulatory practice

Educating and informing through research to support the community

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Data provision Data analysis Data linkage

studies

Comparative effectiveness

studies

WorkSafe data (Compensation

Research Database)

Medicare Benefits Scheme / Pharmaceutical Benefits

Scheme

Victorian Admitted Episodes Database / Victorian Emergency Minimum

Dataset

83.3 83.9 83.8

87.1

13

/14

16

/17

tar

get

13

/14

ta

rge

t

12

/13

Progress towards 2017

Safety Return to Work

Service

Claims per million hours worked

Four-week claims per million hours worked

Not yet at work six months after injury (%)

Employee / worker service

Employer service

Culture and Place Sustainability

Breakeven premium (%)

12

/13

13

/14

13

/14

tar

get

targ

et

7.72

7.37 7.38

6.72

12

/13

13

/14

13

/14

tar

get

16

/17

targ

et

3.23

3.10 3.11

2.83

12

/13

13

/14

13

/14

tar

get

16

/17

targ

et

87.1

89.2

87.9

89.7

12

/13

13

/14

13

/14

tar

get

16

/17

tar

get

12

/13

13

/14

16

/17

targ

et

13

/14

tar

get

1.266

1.205

1.169

1.249

21.43

19.96

21.00

18.40

85-90% 87-90%

10-15% improvement

Sustainable Engagement Index

77

69

79 80

12

/13

13

/14

13

/14

tar

get

16

/17

tar

get

Top quartile against ANN

10-15% improvement

10-15% improvement

16

/17

Safety

Graphic with standard and 4 week claims

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Health & Safety Improvement Programs Priorities

• Health Services

• Manual Handling

• Asbestos

• Occupational Disease

• Psychosocial

• Safe Design, Supply and Procurement

• Dangerous Goods

Return To Work

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Return to Work Index 10-15% improvement over 5 years

Key Initiative – HBoSW

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Creating Awareness

Providing Tools

Reinforcing

3 key principles which encompass several initiatives

> Public Awareness Campaigns

> Partnerships & General Practice Engagement

> Medical Certificate Redesign

> Clinical influence & certification performance feedback

The importance of early return to work

Key Initiative – Better@Work

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1 More effectively identify and assist workers at risk of being off work at 6 months

2 Review OR service guidelines and reporting requirements for B@W claims to increase focus on early intervention & RTW

3 Improve worker understanding, expectations and engagement in the RTW process

4 Provide greater RTW planning advice and support to small and medium employers

5 Streamline and improve effectiveness of GP communication and engagement in RTW

6 Improve role clarity of parties involved in the RTW process

7 Improve the quality and consistency of RTW activities (Agents, providers and employers)

From January 2015, a new targeted OR service was introduced It has been developed with the input of stakeholders and is guided by the below objectives:

RTW challenges

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Some RTW areas of future focus…

Economic uncertainty and RTW

Recent deterioration in RTW outcomes for large employers

The focus on RTW service through our Agents

Stakeholders view on red tape and unnecessary administration

RTW support for job detached workers

Service

Graphic with Return to Work target

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Where we are now Service Dimension Surveying

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Average of nine service dimension questions Questions relate to general service experience

Easily influenced by “negative” events occurring on a claim that are required by legislation Difficult to translate high level feedback into targeted improvements

Where we are heading Key Events Surveying

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Example: Terminated workers Service dimensions score 15%-20% lower than rest of survey However, when asked about the quality of communication, score consistently around 90%

Key events surveying enables measurement of service delivery, and removes the emotive impact of “negative” events that are required by legislation Measures the delivery of the service, rather than the outcome

Impact of key event surveying Targeted strategies

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Example: Eligibility Introduced in 2011/12 Targeted strategies developed by agents to address communication issues identified through the survey

Ongoing and sustained improvement in performance in the eligibility event by all agents Secondary impact on the service scores of workers in the early part of their claim (1-99 days)

Sustainability

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Impairment – a strategy of

Our challenge – balancing sustainability with service…..

RTW

Service

Innovation

Sustainability

Control

Past paradigm – to achieve and maintain sustainability of scheme we must control, define process, dictate roles & structures – doing this compromises

the flexibility & innovation needed to achieve service and return to work

Thank you

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