Workers Comp, Casual Confusion, and the Real Risk to Employers
- Tim Dive
- Sep 6
- 3 min read
Author: Tim Dive, Founder & Director.
Let’s talk about a slow-moving train wreck most business owners don’t even see coming.
There’s a fundamental disconnect happening in Australia right now between what small business owners think they’re responsible for, and what lawmakers and regulators expect of them.
That disconnect is most dangerous when it comes to casual employment and workers compensation.
The Worker's Compensation Claim That Blindsides You
Here’s the setup:
You’ve got a good casual worker. Been with you for months. Maybe they’re even working full-time hours because the job needs it. Then one day, something happens, maybe it’s a minor injury, or they raise a stress issue.
They lodge a claim. Next minute, all kinds of technical "entitlement" discussions are happening, and you’re suddenly defending suggestions you're on the hook for a permanent employee’s entitlements, because new definitions now say your employee is “not really casual”.
And it doesn’t matter what you previously agreed on.
Because now, your intent, their understanding, and your good working relationship is irrelevant. Suddenly, it’s all about “patterns”, “rostering”, and retrospective reinterpretation by the regulator.
Small Business Isn’t Set Up for This
Here’s what these laws forget: small business isn’t built with legal teams on tap.
These are businesses run by real people, juggling real risks, trying to meet market demand and keep jobs alive.
And when the goalposts keep shifting, when casual doesn’t mean casual anymore, when a worker’s comp claim quietly morphs into a legal minefield about employment status, it’s the business owner who wears it.
Not the insurer. Not the union. Not the employee.
You.
You’re Responsible for Their Wellbeing — Always
Then there’s the WHS side of it.
If you think workers comp is just about physical injuries, think again. The regulators have a new love language now: psychosocial risk.
That means mental health. Stress. Interpersonal conflict. Burnout. And guess what? You’re responsible for that too.
Not just in theory, in law.
You’re expected to identify and manage these risks in your business proactively. Even if the source of that stress is personal, or totally outside of work, if it’s showing up at work, it’s your problem to prevent or solve.
And if they go off on a stress claim? You're right back in that minefield again.
How Did It Get This Complicated?
Because we keep legislating for the lowest common denominator, and punishing everyone else in the process.
Instead of supporting business owners who are trying to do the right thing, we get regulation that assumes you’re trying to dodge responsibility. So, they load you up with obligations. With jargon. With tripwires.
Then they say, “It’s all right there in the Code,” and leave you to figure it out with your business, your reputation, and your people on the line.
Here’s the Bottom Line
Don't have a contract in place with every employee? You're already behind.
Don’t assume your casuals are truly casual just because their contract says so.
Don’t assume a minor complaint can’t evolve into a full-blown workers comp claim.
And don’t assume good intent is enough to protect you.
Because right now, good employers are being caught out, not because they’re doing the wrong thing, but because they’re being held to standards no one’s ever explained to them.
If you’re a small business owner reading this and thinking, “I wouldn’t even know where to start,” that’s the point. You’re not alone, and you’re not imagining it. The system is broken.
But you can protect yourself. It starts with education, proactivity, and the right guidance from people who actually understand the pressure you’re under.
Get ahead of it before it gets ahead of you.
Comments