The New South Wales Government has released figures which it claims shows that its recent reforms to the Workers Compensation scheme are already producing benefits.

 

State Minister for Finance and Services, Greg Pearce, said the WorkCover Scheme Valuation shows an improvement in the deficit, which PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates to be around $1.5 billion.

 

 

“Under the previous Government, this scheme was allowed to get deeper and deeper in the red and the deficit would be around $4.5 billion had these reforms not gone ahead,” Mr Pearce said.

 

“While this projected outcome represents an improvement, there is still a significant  way to go to return the scheme to surplus and financial sustainability.

 

The release of the figures comes after the State Government introduced reforms to the WorkCover Scheme aimed at providing better outcomes for injured workers and employers while reducing the premium.

 

“The NSW Workers Compensation Scheme has a long history of deficit, having spent only two and a half of the last 16 years in surplus,” Mr Pearce said.

 

“The Government is committed to returning the Scheme to financial sustainability to provide injured workers with appropriate support while ensuring the Scheme is affordable, fair and competitive for NSW.”