Current investigations
Each year, the Ombudsman undertakes about 40 formal investigations. Some investigations are announced publicly. Others are conducted in private.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass has announced investigations into the matters outlined below.
When each investigation is finished, Ms Glass will table a report in the Victorian Parliament and publish her findings on this website.
In addition, the Ombudsman is also conducting investigations resulting from Public Interest Disclosures . These investigations are confidential until and if a report is tabled in the Parliament.
New Ombudsman investigation into WorkSafe self-insurers
The Ombudsman has commenced an own motion investigation into the claims process followed by employers that self-insure their workers, and WorkSafe’s oversight of them.
Following its two previous investigations into WorkSafe complex claims management ( Investigation into the management of complex workers compensation claims and WorkSafe oversight & WorkSafe2: Follow-up investigation into the management of complex workers compensation claims ), which looked at the claims management practices and oversight of agents, the Ombudsman has received complaints and submissions from injured workers highlighting concerns with self-insurer claims management.
Self-insurers are mostly large corporations approved by WorkSafe to manage their own workers compensation claims. As of 14 July 2022, there were 34 self-insurers operating in Victoria, representing about 5% of total scheme remuneration.
The complaints include lack of access by injured workers of self-insurers to the Workers Compensation Independent Review Service (WCIRS), which was set up following a recommendation by the Ombudsman in December 2019.