The State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) has enforced special conditions on the workers’ compensation self-insurer licence of BIC Services Pty Limited (BIC) due to identified deficiencies in its claims management and compliance with relevant regulations.
The decision to impose specific conditions on BIC’s licence followed a self-audit by the company, coupled with a separate audit by SIRA, which uncovered issues related to case management and compliance with workers’ compensation laws.
In response, BIC is now required to formulate a remediation plan aimed at addressing these compliance gaps. This plan must be submitted to SIRA for approval by August 30, 2024, and implemented according to the approved schedule.
The company is also obligated to provide monthly updates on the plan’s implementation to SIRA, with reports due within 10 business days after the end of each month until the plan is fully carried out. Moreover, it must either establish or revise its quality assurance program to monitor the effectiveness of the remediation plan and ensure continued compliance.
Monthly quality assurance reports detailing improvements in claims management must also be submitted to SIRA.
Since March, Liberty Holdings Australia Limited (Liberty) has also been subjected to additional licence conditions following a review of its self-insured workers’ compensation claims management.
Over a two-year period, a self-audit revealed significant shortcomings in Liberty’s compliance practices.
Like BIC, Liberty is required to implement corrective actions outlined in its remediation plan, which was submitted to SIRA in November 2023. It must adhere to the timeline specified in the plan and provide monthly progress reports to SIRA, due within 10 business days after the end of each month, until the plan is considered fully implemented.
Liberty is also expected to maintain a quality assurance process to ensure that the remediation plan is effective and that compliance is upheld in claims management. This includes the submission of monthly quality assurance reports to SIRA.
The regulator will continue to oversee the performance and compliance of both BIC and Liberty under these conditions. Depending on the results, further regulatory action may be taken if the companies do not show significant improvement.
