Presented by Robert Clark MP		www.robertclark.net

WORKCOVER: EMPLOYERS FACE NEW PREMIUM RISES

News Release - Monday, 11th June, 2001

Employers in almost one third of Victorian industries are facing further WorkCover premium rate increases of 20 per cent or more this year, despite Government claims that the average premium rate will not rise.

Industries to be hard hit include motor vehicle manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, clothing, milk products and bus transport.

Overall, the "industry rate", or standard premium rate, will rise for 163 of Victoria's 518 industry groups, compared with only 79 industry groups for which the standard premium rate will fall.

The increases have been disclosed in a Government Gazette issued on 29 May with little if any publicity by either the Government or the Victorian WorkCover Authority.

These increases in industry rates will flow through into the individual premium rates of all employers with annual payrolls of more than $1 million in those industries.

For most of those employers, this year's increases will come on top of previous massive increases last year.

The Shadow Minister for WorkCover, Robert Clark, said that the increases brought into question the Government's claim that the average premium rate would not rise this year.

"Last year we had the Minister claiming the average premium rate increase was 17 per cent, when tens of thousands of employers had been slugged with increases of 39 per cent or more," Mr Clark said.

"This year the Government is claiming the average premium rate hasn't changed, yet more than twice as many industry rates have gone up as have gone down.

"The Government has to realise that employers just can't be hit with one increase on top of another without it undermining Victoria's interstate and international competitiveness and ending up costing investment and jobs.

"The Government must immediately make public all the data and calculations behind these rate changes, so the public can see for themselves whether or not average premium rates have remained unchanged, instead of trying to cover up the facts, as the Government is still trying to do over last year's increases.

"The Government must also spell out what action it is taking to contain the blowout in WorkCover costs identified by the Auditor-General last week.

"Unless the Government can contain those costs, more premium rises will be inevitable."