Since January, the mobile engagement team has visited Singleton, the Hunter and 25 other centres across the state.

Group executive personal injury Beth Uehling said the team had travelled from Albury to Broken Hill to Coffs Harbour and met with more than 1100 employers and core service providers to hear their concerns and answer questions about what icare can do to ensure their workers compensation policy works best for them. 

“Leaving Sydney and meeting customers in their place of business, we found that regional and remote communities are very keen to learn face-to-face about the different parts of icare,” Ms Uehling said. 

“In the past, most employers, particularly in regional areas, simply never had the time or the means to fully understand and make the most of what can be a very complex system. 

“Our engagement has been met with enthusiasm and we have gained valuable insights into what our customers care about most.”

The five top issues raised were: 

1. How premiums are calculated and what can business owners do to reduce them 

2. The main injury risk factors in different industries 

3. The changes this year to the claims services model 

4. How employers can get all the medical and social services they need for their injured workers to make a good recovery 

5. Ways of working effectively with healthcare and rehabilitation providers and local GPs when dealing with their workers’ insurance claims. 

Employers in manufacturing, transport and agriculture, with large manual labour workforces, asked for support and information on return to work strategies so they can gradually re-enter the workforce. 

They were also seeking local community-based solutions, along with how to manage psychological claims which are complex and expensive. 

“In every community we visited we saw such pride from business owners in where they live and work,” Ms Uehling said.

“They are genuinely invested in improving things for their workers, particularly those who had been injured.

“Our mobile engagement team is looking forward to returning to the Hunter Valley because our customers want to see us again, and regularly. 

“Each community wants something a little bit different and we want to tailor our forums to meet the needs of each region. 

“The team is developing community-based stakeholder sessions, starting in the Hunter Valley, where invited icare partners act as the connection between icare and the local community. 

“We are keen to hear from communities we haven’t visited yet, as well as those we have, because we are committed to creating healthy, safe and sustainable communities across the state. 

“We can only do this if we continue listening to our customers.”