Parliamentary Committees

STATUTORY AUTHORITIES REVIEW COMMITTEE: ANNUAL REPORT

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (16:21): I move:

That the report of the committee, 2009-10, be noted.

This is the 15^th annual report of the Statutory Authorities Review Committee and my second as presiding member. It provides a summary of the committee's activities for 2009-10. Throughout the year the committee met on 20 occasions, tabled four reports and currently has one ongoing inquiry. The committee heard oral evidence in the reporting year in relation to its inquiries into the WorkCover Corporation, Office of the Public Trustee and the Teachers Registration Board.

Apart from the 2008-09 annual report, the committee tabled three reports prior to the state election in March 2010, namely: first, the inquiry into the Land Management Corporation, which commenced in October 2006, received 20 written submissions, heard oral evidence from 39 witnesses and made seven recommendations; secondly, the inquiry into the Office of the Public Trustee, which commenced in March 2008, received 29 written submissions, heard oral evidence from 14 witnesses and made 13 recommendations; and, thirdly, the inquiry into the WorkCover Corporation, which commenced in November 2007, received 18 written submissions, heard oral evidence from 48 witnesses and made seven recommendations.

The chamber has had the opportunity to debate all the reports other than the WorkCover inquiry report. The committee conducted the inquiry into WorkCover between late 2007 and early 2010. As such it was published out of session and formally tabled rather than being noted at the commencement of our new parliament this year. I will make some comments in relation to this report. The terms of reference related to WorkCover's financial position, the decision to engage a single claims manager (Employers Mutual), WorkCover's exposure to the subprime mortgage market, and the 2007 actuarial report.

As already mentioned, the committee conducted a number of hearings and the major topics included: the contract 2006 process to engage a single claims agent; the scheme performance; Employers Mutual fees; redemptions; and alleged conflict of interest on the WorkCover Board. On 9 February 2010 the committee published its final report, which contained seven recommendations, three of which were supported by the whole committee. The Hon. Ian Hunter and I did not agree with recommendations 4, 5, 6 and 7, and a separate minority report was prepared. The Hons Terry Stephens and Rob Lucas also attached a minority report.

The Minister for Industrial Relations responded to the report on 9 June 2010. This was tabled in parliament on 22 June 2010 and is also included in the annual report, as are the other responses. I will, however, note some of the comments of the Minister for Industrial Relations. The minister indicated that WorkCover would continue to conduct satisfaction surveys of workers and employers, as recommended by the committee. The executive summary of the satisfaction surveys will continue to be published on its website, and on request the full report of satisfaction surveys will be supplied to interested stakeholders or individuals.

The minister advised that WorkCover will continue its open and consultative management style with injured workers and interested stakeholders, such as the Work Injured Resource Centre (WIRC). The minister also advised that WorkCover will ensure its survey results identify workers who return to work and ensure that this information is collated on a nationally consistent basis, so long as this does not unlawfully or improperly release injured workers' personal details or impact the integrity of the survey results.

In relation to the number of claims agents, the minister indicated in his response that WorkCover would increase the number of claims agents to only two or three at the next tender if there was evidence that it would deliver the best outcome for the scheme, based on factors such as cost, value for money, ability to deliver on the benefits realisation plan and any transition risks.

In a ministerial statement in relation to the WorkCover annual report on 30 September 2010, the minister told the chamber that the WorkCover board had decided to extend the Employers Mutual contract for the provision of claims management services in South Australia for a further 18 months. The extended contract will run from the current expiry of 1 July 2011 until 31 December 2012.

The Hon. Paul Holloway advised the chamber that at the current time the scheme is experiencing significant change in the areas of work capacity reviews, medical panels, the cessation of redemptions and the introduction of new technology. The board's decision to extend the claims management contract reflects a desire to maintain certainty in service delivery during this period of change. The minister said that the board will continue to monitor Employers Mutual's performance and will reassess its position in 2012.

The government decided not to adopt the recommendation that WorkCover annually report the level of claims savings in legal costs under its sole provider contract as extensive information is already provided.

The final recommendation of the review suggested that the independent review to be conducted in 2011 of the impact of the recent change to the legislation should also review the performance of the WorkCover board and management in implementing these changes. In particular, the review should consider WorkCover and EML's performance in the critical area of claims management.

In response, the minister noted that he is required, under the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Scheme Review) Amendment Act 2008, to appoint an independent person to carry out a review and, in doing so, the reviewer will properly consider the performance of WorkCover and Employers Mutual.

The minister also placed on the record, when recently tabling WorkCover's annual report, that WorkCover SA's results for the financial year reflect a profit of $77 million and an unfunded liability of $982 million. This is a considerable improvement on the previous financial year, when the corresponding figures were a loss of $75 million and an unfunded liability of $1.059 billion.

At the commencement of the new parliament, the Statutory Authorities Review Committee was re-established on 6 May 2010 and, coincidentally, retained the same five members. I take this opportunity to thank the staff—Mr Gareth Hickery, the committee secretary, Ms Lisa Baxter, our research officer, as well as Ms Cynthia Gray, our administrative assistant—for their work throughout the year.

I am obviously very pleased to have been reappointed to the committee and elected as the presiding member. I thank all honourable members for their ongoing work as members of the committee: the Hon. Ian Hunter, the Hon. Rob Lucas, the Hon. Ann Bressington and the Hon. Terry Stephens. I look forward to continuing to work with them.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS (16:30): I rise to support the motion. However, I understand that the member who spoke before me made some controversial remarks in relation to issues that relate to WorkCover.

The Hon. Carmel Zollo: According to you.

The Hon. R.I. LUCAS: Well no, not according to me; according to one of my colleagues. I was called away for an urgent five-minute meeting and was unable to listen to the honourable member's contribution. So, in the light of the advice from my colleague, this was just going to be a 60 second 'Hail fellow well met' to congratulate all of the staff and the hard work of the committee. If the chair of the committee has incorporated an element of controversy and vitriol into the debate on the motion, then I would obviously need to respond in my normal temperate manner. I will do so at a later time, so I seek leave to conclude my remarks.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.