Parliamentary Committee on Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation: Annual Report 2014-15

The Hon. J.A. DARLEY (16:11): I move:

That the 21^st report of the committee, entitled Annual Report 2014-15, be noted.

I am pleased to present the ninth report of the Parliamentary Committee on Occupational Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation. The 2014-15 annual report is the 21^st report of the committee, and reflects the committee's busiest period since it began meeting in 1996. It also reflects the commitment of members who have never been remunerated for their contribution and who have many other commitments and responsibilities.

The committee's primary function is to keep the administration and operation of the legislation affecting occupational health and safety, rehabilitation and compensation under continuous review. This is an important function and one that the committee takes seriously. The agency's new focus on community engagement, without losing sight of compliance and enforcement functions, is delivering a more balanced approach and should provide comfort to all stakeholders that their needs will be met. Time will tell if these changes achieve their desired result.

There are more than 443,000 registered small businesses in South Australia, the majority of which do not employ staff. A third employ less than 20 workers, while the remainder employ between 20 and 200 workers. Small business must comply with the Work Health and Safety Act, but their challenges are great. The act, regulations and codes of practice amount to over 1,000 pages of compliance documents which small businesses must navigate and comply with.

While all small businesses must ensure that they have a safe workplace and safe systems of work, not all small businesses are the same, so the risks to workers and their business fortunes differ. The commissioner said that many modern small businesses are service oriented and more likely to be agile and, in many cases, might work from home or their vehicle.

The legislation is a challenge for small business, but it is not something to be ignored, because there are now serious consequences for noncompliance. The commissioner said that comprehending the complexity of the legislation and applying it in real time with limited resources is often beyond the expertise and capability of many small businesses. The commissioner informed the committee about his role in assisting small business to resolve disputes and engage them in addressing the legislative challenges. He said that he meets with SafeWork SA to explore ways to engage with small business and provide learning opportunities for them in relation to the legislation. The committee looks forward to hearing from the commissioner again in the near future.

The committee kept the administration and operation of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act under review during the reporting period. The committee's previous inquiry into vocational rehabilitation and return to work identified that the scheme had not been operating effectively. The return to work rate was the worst in the nation and workers compensation claims were costly and protracted. A small number of claims accounted for about 92 per cent of the scheme's costs, resulting in the highest unfunded liability in the nation. Since the committee's report, the Deputy Premier announced a review of the scheme to bring about sustainable changes. The outcome, as we all know, is the establishment of ReturnToWorkSA and the enactment of the Return to Work Act.

Mr McCarthy has appeared before the committee on a couple of occasions to explain the evolution of the corporation and has reported on the scheme's funding ratio, which is now at 100 per cent. Whilst ReturnToWorkSA has adopted a more proactive approach to claims management, there is still no national definition of return to work, which means that it is not possible to compare scheme performance on an equal basis across the jurisdictions.

The committee is also concerned about the level of whole person impairment. While citing a personal story, Mr McCarthy said that many people with 30 per cent whole person impairment are able to work and they do so, although he was unable to substantiate this claim with data. Out of 159 active claimants who have had an assessment of whole person impairment at 30 per cent or greater, only seven were working full time (a mere 4 per cent) while 38 were being managed by the Serious Injury Unit.

He reported that a further 58 claimants with a whole person impairment assessment of 30 per cent or greater were inactive and only eight of those had been working full time when their income maintenance ceased. The whole person impairment assessment of claimants with a psychiatric disability at 30 per cent or greater is a very high bar indeed, particularly as it must be assessed separately to physical impairment.

The house referred the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (SACFS) Amendment Bill to the committee for a report and recommendations. The committee undertook a comprehensive historical review of the bill and the issues, following which a report was tabled that supported the Deputy Premier's decision to provide presumptive protection for 12 known cancer risks to which SACFS volunteer firefighters may be exposed as a consequence of their work.

As well as undertaking the extensive work I have just cited, the committee is also undertaking two inquiries. The first relates to work-related mental health and suicide prevention, while the other relates to South Australia's ageing workforce. The committee has received many submissions and heard evidence from a wide range of witnesses in relation to the mental health and suicide inquiry and expects to be able to report on the committee's findings in early 2016. The workforce ageing inquiry is progressing more slowly and is likely to be finalised later in 2016.

Finally, I would like to briefly talk about the committee's inaugural field trip to the beautiful Barossa Valley, where we were hosted by the member for Schubert from the other place and undertook three site visits. It was a privilege to tour Pernod Ricard Winemakers, Vinpac International and Barossa Enterprises, which are all outstanding businesses with a focus on the health, safety and wellbeing of their staff.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those people who have contributed to the inquiries undertaken by the committee. I thank all those people who took the time and made the effort to prepare submissions for the committee and to speak to the committee. I would also like to thank the businesses in the Barossa which were so welcoming and provided invaluable insight into work and life in the region.

I extend my sincere thanks to the members of the committee: the member for Ashford, who is the hardworking presiding member; the members for Schubert and Fisher from the other place; and the Hons Gerry Kandelaars and John Dawkins. My thanks also go to the committee's executive officer, Ms Sue Sedivy.

The Hon. J.S.L. DAWKINS (16:20): I rise very briefly to support this motion and to endorse the comments made by the Hon. John Darley relating to the ninth annual report of the parliamentary committee on occupational safety, rehabilitation and compensation. As the Hon. Mr Darley has said, the work of the committee is wide-ranging. I think even since the reporting period we have actually taken some very good evidence on the inquiry, particularly on the mental health and suicide prevention aspects in the workplace that I am interested in. Even though it was outside of the reporting period, it is worth noting that the most recent evidence we have had in that matter was from the Police Association of South Australia. As the Hon. John Darley said, we are very keen to make sure that that report on mental health and suicide prevention in the workplace is brought down as early as possible in the new year.

I want to compliment the other members of the committee, as listed by the Hon. Mr Darley: the chairmanship again in this committee of the Hon. Steph Key. I also pay tribute to the executive officer, Ms Sue Sedivy, who unlike those of most other committees is the chief cook and bottle washer—she is everything and she does a fabulous job as our executive officer. I comment the report to the council.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. J.M. Gazzola.