Safety, Return to Work and Support (SRWS) is a government organisation bringing together a number of commercial and regulatory agencies, the largest being WorkCover, which oversees work health and safety, and is the predominant workers compensation insurer for businesses across the state. Other agencies include the Motor Accidents Authority, which regulates the compulsory third-party insurance scheme for motor vehicles; the Workers Compensation Dust Diseases Board, which provides compensation, treatment, and support for workers and their families who have had work-related exposure to harmful dust in New South Wales; and the Lifetime Care and Support Authority, which is responsible for the treatment, rehabilitation, and care of people severely injured on New South Wales roads. The organisation oversees assets of more than $21 billion and insures more than three million people.
Vivek Bhatia was appointed CEO of SRWS in August 2014, bringing to the role many years of strong private-sector insurance and business transformation experience. When Vivek took on his first public-sector leadership role, WorkCover was the subject of several parliamentary inquiries and in need of an overhaul of its processes and culture to better meet the needs of the New South Wales community. One of his key challenges has been to drive change and create a more open and transparent workplace at WorkCover and the other agencies within SRWS.
