Remove the excess on your WorkCover Claims with buy-out

Excess buy-out

If one of your workers is injured at work and your WorkSafe agent accepts the claim, you are liable to pay an excess.

You can avoid the risk of paying the employer excess by selecting the excess buy-out option on your WorkCover Insurance premium.

This can be a cost-effective option and is paid as an additional 10% on your premium.

Selecting the buy-out option makes it easier for employers, especially small businesses, by significantly reducing the administrative and financial impact on a business in the early stages of an accepted claim.

The excess buy-out option is available to all employers who pay premium. If you intend to buy out your excess, or you already have the excess buy-out option and do not intend to continue with it, you must notify your WorkSafe agent.

If you are a new employer you must make your election to select the buy-out option at the time of registering with WorkSafe.

What is the employer excess?

If one of your workers is injured at work and your WorkSafe agent accepts the claim, as their employer you are required to pay the employer excess which has two components:

• Weekly excess - the first 10 days of weekly benefit payments and
• Medical Excess - the first $903 (2026/27 - indexed annually) of reasonable medical and related like expenses.

Who pays if you remove the excess?

Your claims are managed and paid for by your agent from day one, your agent also pays for what would have been your payable excess for your WorkCover claim.

How do I opt to remove my excess?

You can do this by logging into Online Employer Services (OES) insurance portal, then update your remuneration estimate for 2026/27 and select the excess buy-out option.

Alternatively, you can contact your WorkSafe agent and advise them directly. Any change to your excess buy-out must be made before 1 August 2026 for it to apply to your 2026/27 WorkCover Insurance Premium.

Provisional payments and employer excess

Where a worker is entitled to provisional payments for a mental injury, no medical excess is payable for the life of the claim, even if there is a concurrent physical injury.

However, you are still required to pay the weekly excess of the first 10 days of weekly payments for mental injury claims, unless you have taken the buy-out option.