Your 2025/26 Victorian WorkCover Premium Notice
- eve4245
- Jun 16
- 4 min read
Updated: 6 days ago
The average Workers Compensation insurance premium rate will remain at 1.8% for 2025/26. While positive news for employers, it is important you still review your Premium Notice carefully, as the payroll premium rate your organisation pays is based on:
Your industry – different rates apply to different industries based on risk.
Your overall remuneration – it’s important to ensure this is up-to-date and accurate.
Historical performance – your claims history and return to work outcomes.
These factors are reported on your Premium Notice and should be carefully checked to ensure their accuracy and identify opportunities to improve performance and, in turn, future premium ratings.
It is not all that uncommon for an organisation’s policy to be based on the wrong industry classification or for overall remuneration to be incorrectly estimated or declared (as the declaration requirements differ from the ATO’s requirements). Both of these factors have a significant impact on the overall premium, so it is well worth checking their accuracy.
To give you an idea, a recent Premium Notice review we performed on behalf of a client identified errors in both the industry classification and the overall renumeration, which led to a $9,422.09 premium reduction for the current year and a historical correction for the two years prior, delivering a total rebate of $13,589.
Go to page 3 of your Premium Notice and check:
Annual remuneration
If you have not provided WorkSafe with an up-to-date estimate for the period, this will be assessed based on your previous year’s remuneration plus 4.75%.
If this is incorrect, update it immediately through WorkSafe’s Online Employer Services. An adjusted renewal notice should then be issued shortly thereafter.
It is important to note that the rules for declaring remuneration differ to those of the ATO (for example payments to certain contractors should be included). More information can be found here.
If you are unsure, we can review this for you.
Industry classification
This classification determines your Industry Rate, which is based on the risk associated with the industry you operate in and is used to calculate your premium.
More often than not, this will be correct, however if your industry classification is not appropriate, contact your Agent as soon as possible.
Performance rating
The Notice shows your performance rating, which is based on your company’s claims performance compared to the average claims performance in your industry.
If it is better than the industry average, your industry rate will be discounted. If it is worse, a loading will be applied to the industry rate.
The impact of historical claims and return to work outcomes on your premium are significant and can amount to an increase of $4 for every $1 in claim costs paid for a number of years.
But, importantly, they are also a factor that your organisation can influence and impact.
Please Note: Past performance only impacts employers with rateable renumeration over $200,000.
What can organisations do to impact WorkCover premiums?
WorkSafe Victoria tells us ‘the best way to ensure you pay the lowest premium is to operate a safe and healthy workplace to prevent injuries from incurring. However, if injury or illness does occur, focussing on achieving a prompt and sustainable return to work outcome will assist in keeping premiums down.’
Improve claims and injury management processes
How your business manages WorkCover claims, injuries and return to work programs has a significant impact on your premium cost. In fact, for larger businesses, each $1 in claim costs can amount to a premium increase of as much as $4 for a number of years.
The complexity that surrounds claims, injury and return to work program management often means that injuries cost businesses far more than they need to and take up valuable time and resources.
As a highly specialised area, effective claims and injury management requires an intimate understanding of the different schemes. For larger businesses managing multiple claims each year, improving the effectiveness of claim management and outcomes can deliver significant savings on a number of fronts.
However, hiring an internal Workers Compensation specialist only makes sense for very large businesses with a high volume of claims, which means that the responsibility typically falls on HR, Accounts or Payroll staff, with minimal or no training in Workers Compensation regulations and limited time to deal with the complexities of claims management. For this reason, many organisations achieve improved outcomes by outsourcing claims and injury management to a specialist provider.
Reduce workplace injuries through improved safety management systems and culture
Not surprisingly, organisations that prioritise safety, regularly review and audit safety management systems and have a positive safety culture that stems from the top down typically have lower incident rates, which in turn results in fewer claims.
By investing in an independent review of your organisation’s safety management systems, you can put measures in place to ensure that:
• Your organisation complies with all relevant safety legislation and requirements.
• Directors and officers are protected from criminal prosecution.
• Risks to the safety and wellbeing of employees are effectively and appropriately managed.
Pay early and pay in full
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