Finity Consulting Pty Ltd
Finity is by a significant margin the largest independent actuarial consultancy firm in Australia with 270 staff and around 100 actuaries.
We have a market leading self-insurance practice which provides actuarial advice to workers compensation self-insurers.
Our self-insurer clients in SA include BHP and Coles as well as several others.
The advice we provide to self-insurers includes outstanding claims valuations and estimation of the required financial guarantee.
We also provide self-insurance feasibility assessments to employers considering a move to self-insurance.
Professional Financial Consulting Pty Ltd
Professional Financial Consulting Pty Ltd is an Adelaide based actuarial consultancy, established in January 2004 by Mr Chris Papanicolas. Mr Papanicolas qualified as an actuary at the end of 1993, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
Prior to starting his consultancy firm, Mr Papanicolas worked at AMP, National Mutual and Mercer Australia, in various actuarial roles. He was a consultant at Mercer Australia, and in 1998 Mr Papanicolas became a principal of that business.
Over the years Mr Papanicolas has provided advice to the ABC, SA Water, ETSA, ReturntoWorkSA, several private sector employers, a few SA-based credit unions, an SA-based bank, and several legal firms. This advice related to: various superannuation matters, workers compensation self-insurance, various matters related to National Consumer Credit legislation, and estimating liabilities that fall within the ambit of the Civil Liabilities Act 1936.
Workers Compensation Services Offered
- Advising a private sector employer on the various matters that should be analysed when registration as a self-insured employer is being considered, as well as whether self-insuring the workers compensation risk is a viable option.
- Undertaking the transfer valuation for a private sector employer that has just been granted registration as a self-insured employer.
- Valuing a self-insured employer’s outstanding workers compensation liability, in accordance with ReturntoWorkSA’s guidelines for such a valuation.
- Advising a self-insured employer on how to correct the financial consequences that arose from non-compliance with a relevant section of the Return to Work Act 2014.
- Advising a self-insured employer on how key decisions handed down by the SA Employment Tribunal will impact on the way claims need to be managed.
- Assisting a self-insured employer to develop and maintain compliant standard claim-related letters, claim-related forms and other communication material that is provided to an injured worker that is considering lodging a claim.
- Advising a self-insured employer on aspects of its excess of loss insurance cover, as well as on potential recoveries from the compulsory third part insurance scheme.
Income Support Issues
The legislation requires the level of income support to be calculated on a weekly basis, commencing from the day that the injured worker has some level of incapacity for work. However, the income support amounts do not have to be paid at the end of each such weekly period.
An employer is permitted to pay income support in accordance with its pay periods. By doing so, the amount payable in respect of each pay period must reflect the period of incapacity that falls within the relevant pay period. Paying income support in accordance with pay periods, rather than incapacity weeks, causes the following practical problems:
- The first pay period that falls after incapacity for work commences may contain some days where there is no potential income support payable.
- The pay period that falls after incapacity for work ceases may contain some days where there is no potential income support payable.
- If the period of incapacity for work extends beyond 52 weeks, the first pay period that falls after the 52nd week of incapacity will contain some days where income support will be at the 100% level, and some days where it will be at the 80% level.
To correctly calculate the amount of weekly income support, the employer must be familiar with the legislation’s definition of earnings. Some amounts paid to an injured worker cannot be counted as earnings. Other amounts require “AWE” to be adjusted and can also not be counted as earnings.
Calculator
Professional Financial Consulting has developed a calculator that can calculate the income support that should be paid in respect of each relevant pay period and whether any shortfall has arisen. However, in order to do so, some information must first be provided to it, such as: the first day of incapacity, AWE, the days of the week that the injured worker normally works, the day of the week that pay periods end, the earnings over each relevant pay period, which count, the annual/long service leave that was taken over each relevant pay period, and the amount of income support that has already been paid in respect of each relevant pay period.
The calculator can undertake these calculations in respect of either past pay periods or future pay periods. In relation to future pay periods, the calculator would be used for a new claim where income support is payable (for such a case, there would not be income support amounts already paid).
In relation to past pay periods, the calculator can be modified to use the past amounts that the employer has determined to be the correct ones, rather than calculate them. In this scenario, the past amounts must be provided to the calculator.
The calculator can also be instructed to determine the interest that needs to be paid on the income support shortfall amounts, in accordance with the rules that are specified in the legislation.
Professional Financial Consulting warrants that all of the calculations produced by its calculator are compliant with the requirements of the legislation.
Service Offered
Professional Financial Consulting is happy to undertake an employer’s calculations on a case-by-case basis. For each such calculation a fee would be charged, which is calculated on a time-cost basis.
If you wish to utilise this service, please contact Chris Papanicolas, on either 0413 666 74 or 8242 6088.
ABN 97 107 683 205
PO Box 7355, West Lakes, SA 5021