iCare boss blew whistle on insurance regulator for causing ‘additional trauma and distress’ to injured workers

The former chief executive of state insurer iCare, Richard Harding, made a whistleblower complaint about his own regulator over concerns a senior executive within the agency inappropriately obtained and shared confidential details about injured workers.

Documents obtained by the Herald show that in February 2023, Harding – who at the time headed iCare – sent confidential correspondence to senior officials within the NSW Department of Customer Service flagging concerns about the State Insurance Regulatory Authority’s (SIRA) and its handling of sensitive complaints.

Former iCare CEO Richard Harding raised concerns about his own regulator, SIRA, and its handling of complaints.

Harding’s previously secret intervention ultimately led to a review by the government which, as the Herald revealed last week, has recommended financial payouts and apologies to people caught up in the workers’ compensation system.

The inquiry was run by Alan Robertson, SC, a former Federal Court judge who was appointed by NSW Customer Services Minister Jihad Dib to investigate three “ongoing and long-running cases”. It was later expanded to include at least three other cases.

The inquiry was run behind closed doors, and its recommendations and findings remain tightly held. In a statement, a spokesperson for the agency previously said the probe had recommended “reforms to improve how SIRA ensures compliance with workers compensation legislation”.

The government has yet to release the Robertson review, having received it in December, but will be statutorily obliged to release it in August.

Harding declined to comment, but his 2023 letter reveals new details about the conduct at the centre of the probe. Based on concerns raised by one of the injured workers whose case was part of the Robertson inquiry, Harding flagged concerns a senior executive within SIRA may have inappropriately obtained and shared details of injured workers, “resulting in additional trauma and distress” for those people. He stated those people felt they had “not been afforded due respect, care and protection” as informants.

Harding also expressed concern about the SIRA executive’s potentially “inappropriate use of social media platforms” and “the divulging of private and confidential information about other injured workers”, as well as a “potential lack of transparency and process in dealing with complaints raised”.

The details of those allegations remain unclear. However, the Herald has been told the concerns related in part to complaints about alleged soliciting of information from people in the workers’ compensation scheme, including about iCare, via social media, and their subsequent use within the agency.

In the letter, Harding, who left his role as iCare chief executive in July last year, refers to “a question of impartiality in the context of [the executive’s] role as a regulator”.

Harding initially sent his concerns to the then SIRA chief executive Adam Dent, a step he said in the February 2023 letter “may constitute a public interest disclosure”, referring to the public service’s internal whistleblowing mechanism.

The department initially contracted consulting firm PwC to investigate the claims, but a new set of concerns about that inquiry eventually prompted the Robertson probe.

In a statement, a spokesperson for DCS said the inquiry “reviewed SIRA’s handling of and response to three ongoing and long-running complaints arising from workers compensation claims”.

“Matters in relation to the PwC Inquiry in 2022 were examined as per the terms of reference for the independent review by Mr Robertson. This included allegations made about the use of social media and privacy issues.”

The inquiry, which was publicly disclosed and its terms of reference published, was established by the NSW Government under legislation to ensure Robertson had the powers he needed to conduct a comprehensive inquiry.

Cases dealt with as part of the Robertson review date back several years, but concerns over the way SIRA handles complaints also raise questions about the role the workers’ compensation system as a whole can play in contributing to psychological harm.

NSW Greens MP Abigail Boyd has cited the Robertson inquiry as showing that the “adversarial and hostile nature” of the workers’ compensation system when dealing with psychological injury claims “is itself directly responsible for harm”.

As the Minns government looks to crack down significantly on access to the scheme, and increase its focus on injury prevention, due to what it says is the dire financial state of iCare, numerous medical professionals, legal experts and union officials have raised concerns about the impact of the changes on injured workers.

If you or anyone you know needs help, call SANE on 1800 187 263 (and see sane.org), Lifeline on 13 11 14 (and see lifeline.org.au) or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 (and see beyondblue.org.au).

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