Who has to have a workers compensation policy?
All employers operating in NSW are obliged to ensure that they have a current workers compensation policy. A workers compensation policy must be obtained from a licensed insurer and be for a 12 month period. The maximum penalty for failing to have a current and compliant insurance policy is 500 penalty units ($55,000) or imprisonment for six months, or both. Workcover, the regulator of workers compensation law, can also seek to recover double the premium that would have been payable. For larger employers this could be a very considerable amount of money.
