Continue reading »]]> Amendments to Work Health and Safety (WHS) laws came into effect on 16 May 2014. These amendments implement findings from the Queensland Government’s review of national model WHS laws which commenced in Queensland on 1 January 2012.

These amendments include changes to:
• WHS entry permit holders giving notice on entry to workplaces
• Class B asbestos removal licensing requirements
• clearance inspections after Class B asbestos removal work
• asbestos registers
• rollover protective structures on earthmoving machinery
• audiometric testing.

The amendments were made in response to the Queensland Government review of the model WHS laws to address concerns about their impact on businesses, particularly unanticipated or inequitable compliance costs.

The WCD – Workers’ Compensation Solutions team in Queensland are available to discuss the changes, just call Karen Wilson on: 07 3457 8700

To read more about these amendments, visit www.worksafe.qld.gov.au

Continue reading »]]> Qualifying Pension Age Increases

The Age Pension qualifying age will continue to increase by six months every two years, such that it will reach a qualifying age of 70 by 1 July 2035. This measure will not affect those born before 1 July 1958.

The following table sets out the Age Pension eligibility age by date of birth:

Income test

The government will change how it deems the return from a person’s financial assets for the purposes of the pension income test. The deeming thresholds will be reset from $46,600 to $30,000 for single pensioners and from $77,400 to $50,000 for pensioner couples from 1 September 2017.

Indexation changes

The indexation of income and assets test free areas for the pension will be paused for three years from 1 July 2017.

From 1 September 2017, pension increases will be linked only to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Commonwealth Seniors Health Card changes

The income thresholds for the Commonwealth Seniors Health Card will be indexed annually to the CPI from 20 September 2014. Payments of the Senior Supplement will also cease after the June 2014 payment.

Source: Budget Paper No 2, pp 202–203; Minister for Social Services press release “Delivering our commitments to Australian seniors”; Budget 2014-15 Social Services booklet, pp 9–10, 13 May 2014.

Continue reading »]]> The mature age worker tax offset (MAWTO) will be abolished from 1 July 2014. This measure is estimated to have a gain to revenue of $760m over the forward estimates period.

A 2012/13 Budget measure began the phase out of the MAWTO from the 2012/13 income year, limiting it to taxpayers born before 1 July 1957.

The government considers that encouraging mature age workers to participate in the workforce can be achieved more effectively through direct payments or incentives. Savings from this measure will be redirected to the government’s expanded seniors employment incentive payment called Restart to support mature age job seekers in re-entering the workforce. Under that measure, from 1 July 2014, a payment of up to $10,000 will be available to employers who hire a mature aged job seeker, aged 50 years or over who has been receiving income support for at least six months.

Source: Budget Paper No 2, p 14.

Continue reading »]]> Source: BRW - 24 March 2014

Deloitte has tipped the 25 highest growth sectors of Australia’s economy for the next 20 years, which the professional services firm expects will add $400 billion to gross domestic product over that period.

As the current growth wave of mining subsides, what Deloitte dubs the ‘fantastic five’ sectors of gas, agribusiness, tourism, international education and wealth management could step into the breach, collectively matching the 10 per cent of GDP which mining constitutes today.

Continue reading »]]> A complete rewrite of WorkCover laws that aim to support workers to return to work and save South Australian business millions in annual premiums will be introduced into Parliament before July with the expectation the scheme will be operational by mid-2015.

The new Recovery and Return to Work and Recovery Bill 2014 will replace the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986, marking the most significant WorkCover reforms in a generation.

Read the full News Release here.

Continue reading »]]> Only 31 per cent of employers have an HR strategy for managing their ageing workforce despite recognition that the UK’s working population is getting older, a CIPD report has found.

Businesses need to start preparing for a more age-diverse population now or they risk skills shortages and being at a competitive disadvantage in the future….

REF: CIPD 2014 - Hayley Kirton  24th March 2014

READ MORE

Continue reading »]]> The team at Activetics are all great fans of the Gallup Healthways model. While the fundamentals remain the same it’s interesting to see the enhancements they have made to the model in 2014.

Gallup-Healthways Well-Being 5™, is based on extensive collaborative research by Gallup and Healthways. The updated Well-Being Index measures well-being with even more power and scope than previous well-being measurement tools, including the earlier version of the Well-Being Index.

Read the FULL ARTICLE from the Well Being Journal, Feb 2014

Continue reading »]]> This year brings a host of changes in workers compensation of particular importance to businesses, especially in terms of controlling costs. Experts seem to disagree as to which of these changes will have the most impact. However, they all agree on one thing: workers’ compensation insurance is going to be insane in 2014. 

In many states, rates will increase as the amount of money the insurance company charges for workers’ compensation continues to rise. However, this is not universal. Businesses in some states can actually expect slight decreases. But don’t get too excited. Even in these outlier states, insurers are being much more selective about what companies they choose to insure. What these rate increases mean is that you will be writing a bigger check for workers comp in 2014, even if your business hasn’t grown substantially.

Continue reading »]]>

Minister for Employment, Senator Eric Abetz today announced that the Government will lift the moratorium on private corporations seeking to become self-insurers under the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme.

“The Government is committed to creating more jobs by cutting red tape for employers to boost productivity and creating a stronger economy and more jobs,” Senator Abetz said.