The New South Wales State Insurance Regulatory Authority (SIRA) has introduced special licence conditions for Woolworths Group Limited’s self-insurer workers compensation licence, following the results of a compliance audit that identified several high-risk concerns.
SIRA initiated the audit under section 202A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987, aiming to verify that Woolworths’ workers compensation operations align with legislative requirements.
The audit highlighted a series of high-risk matters, particularly in the areas of compliance, case management, and data integrity.
In response, SIRA has required Woolworths to follow a remediation plan submitted to the regulator in late August.
The company must now provide monthly progress reports to SIRA within 10 business days after each month’s end, continuing until the remediation plan is completed.
Woolworths is also obligated to establish a quality assurance program to evaluate the effectiveness of its remediation efforts and overall claims management.
Monthly quality assurance reports are to be submitted to SIRA, outlining ongoing progress and any improvements made.
SIRA has stated it will maintain close oversight of Woolworths’ adherence to these new conditions.
In a separate matter, SIRA has taken enforcement action against Tomago Aluminium Company Pty Ltd, another self-insured employer in New South Wales.
Following an audit in February 2025, SIRA found that Tomago Aluminium had not fulfilled certain obligations under the Workers Compensation Act 1987, specifically sections 37 and 38, which relate to claims management and payments.
As a result, Tomago Aluminium received a $20,000 penalty for these breaches. An additional $11,000 fine was imposed after the company did not submit requested documents by the deadline set under section 238AA of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998. Both penalties have been paid.
SIRA has since classified Tomago Aluminium as high-risk and imposed special licence conditions, including the implementation of a remediation plan. The regulator will oversee the company’s compliance with these requirements.
SIRA commented that it “acknowledges the response, remediation, and actions that Tomago has undertaken and will continue to engage regularly with Tomago to monitor its compliance with the legislation and any special licence conditions.”
Liverpool City Council (LCC), also operating as a self-insurer, has been fined $20,000 by SIRA for failing to promptly notify the authority of a significant data loss incident.
The incident involved an external hard drive believed to contain personal information related to workers compensation insurance.
According to SIRA, LCC became aware of the data loss in July 2024 but did not inform the regulator until January 2025, following a show cause notice.
This delay was found to breach section 181(4) of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 and violated the council’s self-insurer licence conditions.
LCC attributed the delay to reduced staffing at the time and has since increased internal resources to improve compliance with notification requirements.
SIRA has stressed the importance of robust internal governance and timely reporting, stating that all self-insurers are expected to have processes in place to meet regulatory obligations.
