Licensing, performance and compliance

Insurer licensing and performance

Queensland's insurers continue to demonstrate strong performance, with 17 of the state's 27 insurers currently assessed as high performing.

High-performing self-insurers may be granted licence renewals of up to four years. As at 30 June 2026, 65 per cent of self-insurers held a four-year licence.

From 1 July 2026, UnitingCare Queensland commenced as a self-insurer.

Of the 13 self-insurance licences due for renewal in 2025-26, eight licences were renewed for four years, two licences renewed for three years, and three for two years.

As at 30 June 2026, nine insurers were operating under special licence conditions. These conditions apply to insurers holding a one, two or three-year licence and are designed to support ongoing improvement in specific areas of performance.

Compliance and enforcement

Between 1 January and 30 June 2026, there were 16 audits completed across scheme insurers. These included:

• six compliance audits
• two special licence condition audits
• eleven special audits of individual claims.

A further special claim audit remains underway.

To address identified issues, eight improvement action plans and four warning letters were issued during the reporting period. Across this period, action plans focused on:

• natural justice processes, ensuring workers and employers are provided with appropriate opportunities to respond, and that decisions are transparent, well-reasoned and appropriately communicated
• wage calculation accuracy and consistency to ensure legislative requirements are applied correctly
• data quality and compliance with data specifications, including accurate recording, reporting and validation of claims.

Update on the secondary psychological injury targeted audit

On 1 July 2026, we commenced a targeted audit program to assess all insurers' compliance with their obligation to minimise the risk of secondary psychological injuries. This important body of work is ongoing.

As at 2 November 2026, 27 audits had been completed. The audits identified a range of positive practices across insurers, as well as opportunities for improvement in areas of proactive claims management and risk mitigation practices.

The audit program is continuing, and we look forward to sharing key learnings, themes, and better practice observations with stakeholders once the audits have been completed.

Insurer Licensing and Performance Framework

The Workers’ Compensation Regulator has published an updated Insurer Licensing and Performance Framework (PDF, 0.61 MB), providing greater transparency about how insurer performance is monitored across Queensland's workers' compensation scheme.

Formerly known as the Self-Insurer Performance and Compliance Framework, the updated document reflects the Regulator's oversight of all scheme insurers and clearly outlines how performance is assessed and how licensing decisions are made.

The framework explains how the Regulator:

• sets the standards that all scheme insurers must meet
• monitors the performance of all scheme insurers
• assesses self-insurer licence renewal applications.

Importantly, the framework aligns with the Regulator's existing performance management approach and does not introduce any new obligations or additional requirements for insurers.