Apply for a licence to self‑insure
Becoming a self-insured licensee under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act) is a two-step process.
Step 1: Apply to be declared eligible
The Minister must first declare a corporation eligible to be granted a licence to self-insure under the SRC Act. A request can be sent to the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations.
The Department will evaluate the eligibility of the corporation and provide advice to the Minister.
For more information on the criteria and process, see:
- Self-insurance under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 on the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations website
- Minister's Guidelines to assess applications for a declaration of eligibility for a self-insurance licence
- contact the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
There are two possible outcomes:
- If the Minister declares a corporation eligible to apply for a self-insurance licence, then they can proceed to step 2.
- If the Minister does not declare a corporation eligible to apply for a self-insurance licence, the process cannot proceed.
Current Commonwealth authorities do not require a Ministerial declaration in order to apply for a self-insurance licence.
Step 2: Apply for a self-insurance licence
Once declared eligible by the Minister, a corporation may apply to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (SRCC) for a self-insurance licence.
Current Commonwealth authorities may apply to the SRCC for a self-insurance licence after consulting with their portfolio minister.
Application requirements
After a Ministerial declaration has been granted, Comcare will provide detailed advice on how to apply to the SRCC for a self-insurance licence.
A self-insurance licence application must:
- define the scope of the licence
- be signed by the organisation's Principal Officer
- include the applicant's organisational structure, ABN, location and number of employees
- address the primary criteria in the section 7A Ministerial direction
- include details of the company or authority’s:
- financial and insurance details
- consultation processes
- rehabilitation management
- benefit delivery arrangements
- preventative measures
- arrangement to secure liabilities
- claims management system.
The full requirements for a self-insurance licence application, what it must contain, the documents to be supplied, and the matters the SRCC considers in evaluating an application are set out in the:
- Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (SRC Act)
- Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Regulations 2019 (SRC Regulations)
- Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Directions 2019.
Once all this information is provided, Comcare will assess the application on behalf of the SRCC who will then formally consider the self-insurance licence application, usually at its next quarterly meeting.
See Assessing licence applications for information about how applications are evaluated.
Timeframe
The SRCC must receive the application and any materials relating to the self-insurance licence application or extension at least 12 weeks before the SRCC meeting where it will be considered.
This timeframe is in accordance with our evaluation principles for applications and extensions.
We strongly encourage potential applicants to make contact with Comcare well before this time to ensure all assessments can be planned in a timely way.
The assessment process is detailed and comprehensive. You should allow as much time as possible (minimum 12 weeks) between lodging an application and the date of the meeting. Individual applications may require further assessment, extending out this timeframe.
For more information, see Timeframes and protocols and SRCC meeting dates.
Application fee
When applying for a licence to self-insure, a licence application fee is payable to Comcare, as the agency which undertakes the assessment work on behalf of the SRCC.
The fee covers assessments, such as audits and financial reviews.
The fee is charged to the applicant when the process is complete. Comcare can explain the application fee arrangements in more detail.
Publishing of licence applications
Organisations intending to apply for a self-insurance licence need to be aware that the application will be on the public record from the time it is received by the SRCC.
We list self-insurance licence applications received by the SRCC in line with our evaluation principles.
If you need help to apply
If you are considering self-insurance or seeking guidance on preparing an application, please contact us by:
- emailing secretariat@comcare.gov.au
- calling us on 1300 366 979.
More information
For more information, see:
- Assessing licence applications for the process of evaluating a self-insurance licence application or extension and the guidelines followed
- About self-insurance for eligibility information
- About the Comcare scheme on the Comcare website
- Self-insurance Process flow chart for corporations (PDF, 437.9 KB) which illustrates the full process in becoming a self-insured licensee.