How much does workers comp pay in NSW?
The short answer: 95% of your pre-injury wage for the first 13 weeks, 80% from week 14 — within a statutory cap. The full answer has a few more moving parts.
The NSW workers compensation weekly payment formula is one of the more generous in Australia, but it's also one of the most misunderstood. This page walks through PIAWE (Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings), the 95%/80% rule, the weekly cap and floor, and shows worked examples for different income brackets so you know what to expect.
What PIAWE is — your Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings
PIAWE is the single number that drives every weekly payment under the NSW scheme. If you understand PIAWE, you understand the whole formula.
PIAWE stands for Pre-Injury Average Weekly Earnings. It's the statutorily defined measure of what you were earning before the injury — calculated as the average gross weekly amount across a defined reference period. The reference period is normally the 52 weeks immediately before injury, but for shorter-tenure workers it can be a 12-week period or the actual period worked. The calculation is governed by the SIRA PIAWE Guidelines.
PIAWE includes more than just base salary. The components are: base wages or salary, regular overtime (overtime that was a consistent feature of your role), shift loadings, regular allowances (site, leading-hand, first-aid, on-call), and regular bonuses or commissions. Items excluded: one-off bonuses, reimbursements (vehicle, tools), superannuation, and irregular overtime.
Because PIAWE captures regular overtime and allowances, it's often higher than your "base salary" number on your contract. For shift workers, tradespeople, and anyone with substantial allowance components, the PIAWE figure can be 20–40% above the base. The insurer calculates PIAWE at the start of the claim and notifies you in writing. If you disagree with the figure, it's reviewable — and our team helps workers correct PIAWE errors regularly.
The 95% / 80% rule — what changes at week 14
The first 13 weeks of your claim are paid at one rate. From week 14, the rate drops. This is the single most-misunderstood feature of the scheme.
For weeks 1 to 13 of your claim, if you have no work capacity, your weekly payment is 95% of PIAWE. If you have partial work capacity and have returned to some modified duties, you receive a partial-payment top-up that brings your total (current earnings plus insurer payment) up to approximately 95% of PIAWE.
From the start of week 14, the rate steps down to 80% of PIAWE if you remain without work capacity, or to a partial-payment calculation at the 80% level if you've returned to some work. The step-down is automatic — no separate decision by the insurer is required. Both rates are subject to the statutory maximum and minimum payment amounts.
The rationale published by SIRA is that the 95% rate during the early weeks supports recovery and reduces financial pressure during acute injury, while the 80% rate from week 14 creates a financial incentive to return to work as your condition improves. Whether or not that incentive structure actually works is debated — what's not debated is that the drop catches a lot of workers off guard, particularly those who had no idea it was coming.
At week 130, a further statutory work-capacity review applies. Most workers are moved off weekly payments at that point unless their Whole Person Impairment is 21% or above. The 130-week review is the next major financial decision point in the claim.
What this looks like in dollars
Three example workers across different income brackets — what their PIAWE is, what they receive in weeks 1–13, and what they receive from week 14.
Mid-income — retail manager
- Base salary
- $75,000/yr
- Regular overtime
- $5,000/yr
- PIAWE
- ~$1,540/wk
- Wks 1–13 (95%)
- ~$1,463/wk
- Wk 14+ (80%)
- ~$1,232/wk
Sits below the statutory cap — receives the full percentage of PIAWE.
Trade — electrician with allowances
- Base wage
- $95,000/yr
- Site + LH allowances
- $12,000/yr
- Regular OT
- $8,000/yr
- PIAWE
- ~$2,212/wk
- Wks 1–13 (95%)
- ~$2,101/wk
- Wk 14+ (80%)
- ~$1,770/wk
Allowances and regular overtime push PIAWE well above base — still inside the cap.
High earner — senior professional
- Base salary
- $180,000/yr
- Regular bonus
- $20,000/yr
- PIAWE
- ~$3,846/wk
- Wks 1–13
- Capped
- Wk 14+
- Capped
PIAWE exceeds the statutory cap, so receives the cap amount (indexed annually by SIRA — check the current SIRA weekly compensation amounts page for this scheme year's figure) rather than 95%/80% of real PIAWE.
Figures shown are illustrative and rounded for clarity. The statutory cap is indexed each April — see SIRA's published rates for the current year. Tax is withheld at source by the insurer; the values above are gross.
Workers comp pay calculator FAQs
The questions workers ask most often about how their weekly payment is calculated.
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Plug in your PIAWE inputs and see your weeks 1–13 and week 14+ figures side by side.
Our interactive workers compensation payment calculator takes the formulas above and applies them to your specific PIAWE inputs — including overtime, allowances, the 95%/80% step down, and the statutory cap. Worked example output, no email required.
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