Health, safety and workers' compensation for small businesses

Ensure you follow your procedures for any non-work related injuries. If a subsequent claim has been lodged, WorkCover gathers information from the worker, employer, doctors and other people, such as witnesses to the event or independent medical examiners, to help us make our decision. Some of the criteria used to determine a claim is: "Was the injury caused by a work-related event?", "Was the person injured because of, or in the course of, employment?" and "Is the employment a significant contributing factor to the injury?" Any concerns regarding an injury can be addressed with your WorkCover Claims Representative when you are contacted as part of the claim determination process.

An employer can not dismiss an injured worker solely because of their injury within 12 months of the worker sustaining the injury.

Yes, Directors are not covered under your accident insurance policy. A Workplace personal injury insurance policy offers coverage to eligible persons not covered under an accident insurance policy. Find out more.

To determine whether WorkCover would cover the workers at your Northern Territory property we would consider whether the workers employment is connected with Queensland. To determine which state the worker is connected to, there are three tests to be applied. If the workers employment situation satisfies the first test then there is no need to proceed to the next test. Assuming your workers usually work in Northern Territory they would be not be covered by your WorkCover accident insurance policy, you would need to obtain a policy within Northern Territory.

Determining whether your employee is considered a worker or a contractor depends on many different considerations. We encourage you to review  Who should I cover? as this provides an overview regarding contractor indicators which you can consider for your unique circumstances. The ATO decision tool can also be used to determine if a person is an employee or contractor.

Directors, partners or the sole trader of your own business are not covered. It’s not mandatory to have cover, but a Workplace personal injury insurance product is available for you to consider.

It is not compulsory for organisations to cover their volunteers for any work-related injury they may sustain. However, WorkCover may enter into a contract of insurance with certain organisations to cover their volunteers for statutory claims only, as a result of injuries sustained in the course of volunteer activities. Please contact WorkCover on 1300 362 128 to discuss your specific circumstances.

If you employ a household worker in, or about, or in connection with your primary place of residence or connected property, it is compulsory to take out a household workers' insurance policy. This will cover you against potential compensation costs if the worker is injured while working for you. If an agency referred the worker to you from their database and you do the hiring, you are responsible for covering them for workers’ compensation insurance. Find out more.

You are obliged to notify WorkCover of any injury that may be compensable within 8 business days. We will then contact the worker to discuss if they wish to proceed with their claim for compensation.

WorkCover Queensland does recommend that a suitable duties plan be used for all injuries as part of best practice. This can help your worker feel supported and to foster a strong safety culture within your workplace.