Every accident insurance policy is given a WorkCover industry classification (WIC) when the policy is taken out. We use these WICs to classify your business, and to help us calculate an appropriate premium.

Your WIC is determined by your business activity—that is, what your business mainly does to generate revenue. A good way to think about it is what you invoice your customers or clients for.

It's also important to remember that your business activity is what your business does, not what your individual staff do (e.g. cleaning, not cleaner). For example, in addition to cleaners, a cleaning business may also employ admin staff, accountants, drivers or other roles which don't necessarily reflect the overall business activity, but help to support it.

Each WIC has a corresponding premium rate, which is calculated using the claims cost performance of all businesses classified in that industry. A WIC's rate is not necessarily linked to the perceived risk involved for workers in that industry—it is linked to actual claims experience. Your WIC is a factor in your premium calculation.

WICs are published annually in the Queensland Government Gazette.

ANZSIC

WICs are based on a national classification scheme published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics called the Australian and New Zealand Standard Industrial Classification (ANZSIC). We use ANZSIC as a base for our own WIC codes.

Classification

Many businesses fit neatly into a WIC. However, WICs are not a comprehensive inventory of every business activity currently being performed in Queensland. If you have a particularly specialised type of business, you may be classified under a WIC that most closely describes your main business activity.

To find the most appropriate WIC for your policy, consider the following information:

• Main business activity
• Industry on your business registration
• The location of your business
• Activity which generates the most revenue and wage payments
• How you advertise what you do.

Part 9 of the Queensland Government Gazette outlines specifically how WICs are determined for employers.

Multiple WICs for a policy

The Gazette states that one WIC should be allocated per policy. However, it does allow for more than one WIC if certain criteria are met:

• you conduct more than one business activity
• the activities operate from separate locations
• the activities are not incidental to each other
• you operate a labour hire or group training business.

Changing your WIC

The WIC your policy is first classified under can change. If your business activity changes, or if you believe you are eligible for more than one WIC, call us on 1300 362 128 so we can review your WIC.

If you feel you've been misclassified, call us to discuss your business. If you're still not satisfied with our classification, you can seek a review of your classification with the Workers' Compensation Regulator.