An application for a self-insurance licence can be made by ‘any employer’ ( s 210 , Workers Compensation Act 1987 ) in accordance with the requirements of SIRA’s licensing policy for self-insurers. A self-insurer licence may be granted to an employer or a group self-insurer licence may be granted to a holding company and all wholly owned subsidiaries of the company that are employers in NSW.

Under a group licence there is no provision for selective inclusion of subsidiaries by the applicant. The legislation specifies that only wholly owned subsidiary companies are to be included in the group licence. For group licences the applicant company would generally be the ultimate holding company in Australia.

For group licences a cross guarantee or a holding company guarantee is required.

Group licences are restricted to groups of employers that are made up as follows:

• employers who are in the same industry and have a pre-existing stable business relationship (classification group self-insurer), or
• related bodies corporate as defined by the Corporations Act 2001 (related bodies corporate group self-insurer).

Under  s 129(2) of the Return to Work Act 2014 an application as a self-insured employer or as a group of self-insured employers can only be made:

1. in the case of an application by an individual employer—
   1. the employer is a body corporate; or
   2. the employer is an indemnified maritime employer;
2. in the case of an application by a group—
   1. the members of the group are related bodies corporate or local government corporations; and
   2. if the members of the group are related bodies corporate—no related body corporate of any member of the group that employs a worker or workers in employment to which this Act applies is not a member of the group.

Any ‘employer’ in New Zealand is eligible to become ‘accredited’ provided they are able to meet the eligibility requirements outlined in regulation. Eligibility is not confined by structure. Therefore any employer entity, including by way of example a company (including a consolidated group of companies), a partnership, an incorporated society, a government, state owned entities, local government authorities and incorporated societies.

A group of employers may become accredited where each member of the group meets the definition of a subsidiary company of the same holding company, as determined by the Financial Reporting Act .