Public service bosses are crying foul as their departments are hit with the full cost of hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation payments to sick and injured Commonwealth bureaucrats.
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Commonwealth agencies small and large are seeing their workers' compensation premiums soar, sometimes into tens of millions of dollars, as federal workplace insurer Comcare looks to recoup the cost of payouts from employing departments.
Comcare has clawed its way back into the black after recording losses of more than half a billion dollars in 2012 through a dual strategy of cracking down on dodgy claims and sharply increasing the price of its insurance cover.
Premiums have nearly doubled, going from $221 million in 2011 to $411 million in 2014 and departmental bosses, already battling budget cuts imposed by the Abbott government and its Labor predecessor, are struggling to find the money.
Figures are not yet available for 2014-2015 but are expected to show another sharp rise and no let-up to the much-resented 13.5 per cent "penalty charge" slapped on top of premiums to reflect the scheme's underperformance in years past.
One big premium payer, the ACT Government, will take its 20,000 public servant out of the Comcare and establish its own insurance scheme after being presented with a bill of $95 million for 2014-2015
The territory government lost patience with the glacial pace of reform that is meant to turn Comcare into a back-to-work insurer from one that simply pays workers to stay away from their jobs.
The Canberra Times understands the heads of several departments and agencies have been knocked back in their appeals to Comcare for a reduction in their premiums with some now taking their complaints to their ministers.
The giant Department of Human Services says it had made progress in managing compo claims by its workers but has seen its premiums, as a percentage of payroll, rise by about 50 per cent since 2011.
The department refused to say how much it will pay this financial year but publicly available information indicates it may be well in excess of $50 million.
The Department of Social Services, which has also been hit hard with its bill as a percentage of payroll going up 100 per cent since 2011, refused to confirm it had asked for relief from the swingeing bills with a spokesman simply saying there had been "discussions".
"Composition of the premium is regularly discussed including the impact on premiums occasioned by changes in staff as a result of Machinery of Government changes," he said.
Comcare declined to answer questions for this article.
The cash-strapped Australian War Memorial confirmed that it was seeking relief after being hit with an unexpected $400,000 increase in its premium bill in 2014-2015.
The institution has seen expensive and lengthy "psychological injury" claims but Assistant Director Rhonda Adler said the AWM said its performance had improved and it was disappointed that had not been taken into account by Comcare.
"The Australian War Memorial can confirm that due to the significant increase to the Memorial's premium, which was unexpected and not budgeted for, a review of its 2014/15 Workers' Compensation Premium was requested," Ms Adler said.
"The Memorial had hoped that the risk profile would take into consideration the Memorial's new Work Health and Safety Framework and strategies put in place to reduce future incidence of claims.
"The Memorial also hoped for a more equitable spread of the increased premium costs over the forthcoming years to reduce the immediate impact on Memorial programs."
