WorkCover Insurance

WorkCover Insurance covers employers for the cost of benefits should an employee be injured or becomes ill because of their work.

A business who employs workers must register for WorkCover Insurance in the state or territory in which they employ their workers. If a business employs workers across multiple states and/or territories, multiple insurance policies will need to be held to cover each state.

Certifying your Remuneration

Each year, a business is required to certify their remuneration. This means, they must report the total wages paid to employees, including superannuation and payments to rateable contractors, as well as estimate their wages payable for the coming twelve months in order to calculate their insurance premium.

It is important that an employer keep an eye on their employees wages paid throughout the year as incorrectly estimating remuneration can result in large fines. An employer must revise their estimate change within 28 days to avoid penalties. For more information on Penalties for Underestimation of Rateable Remuneration, click here to download WorkSafe Victoria’s information guide.

Inclusions and Exclusions

As stated above, payments to some workers may not be included in your payroll, but must still be included in your remuneration calculation.

What is Included?

• Salaries and Wages

• Contractors (to determined if your contractors payments are reportable for the purpose of calculating your remuneration, please see WorkSafe Victoria’s “Understand if contractors are considered workers” information page)

• Fringe Benefits

• Superannuation

• Commissions

• Some salary and wages paid to workers who work in more than one state of territory

What is Excluded?

• Motor Vehicle Allowance

• Accommodation Allowance

• Apprentices or Trainees

• Compensation payments to an injured worker

• Termination payments

If you are unsure how to calculate or lodge your certified remuneration, a BAS Agent or Tax Professional will be able to help.