Combining the TAC and the WorkCover Authority could save tens of billions of dollars.
VICTORIA'S two accident compensation schemes could be merged as the government scrambles to find millions of dollars to deliver its much vaunted budget surplus.
With the state's finances under growing pressure, the Baillieu government has quietly asked the Essential Services Commission to conduct a sweeping review of the WorkCover Authority and the Transport Accident Commission.
It is believed the review, which has not been publicly announced, is considering combining the two entities, given both deal with accident prevention and no-fault compensation, to help save tens of millions of dollars.
A spokeswoman for Assistant Treasurer Gordon Rich-Phillips said there were currently "no plans" to roll the two authorities together but the government could not pre-empt what the review might conclude.
It follows plans announced late last year to strip $472 million from the WorkCover Authority to help keep the budget from falling into deficit, leaving the business community alarmed about the possibility of higher premiums.
Opposition finance spokesman Robin Scott said the possibility of a merger "poses a fundamental threat to the integrity of both organisations".
"The government's failure to rule out a merger is an extraordinary admission of a secret agenda that they are unwilling to share with the people of Victoria," Mr Scott said. "They have not released the terms of reference [of the review] and have not committed to release the report by the Essential Services Commissioner."
Maurice Blackburn senior lawyer John Cain said it would be a mistake to assume the two agencies, which are governed by separate legislation, could be combined. He said although both dealt with accident prevention and compensation, the expertise required to run the two agencies was specific.
"The real risk of putting them together is that you end up with the distinct possibility that both schemes will be worse off," Mr Cain said. "One is focused on the victims of motor car accidents and road safety, another is about workplace safety and the victims of workplace injury."
The government is refusing to make the terms of the Essential Services Commission inquiry public, but has said it is a necessary step because neither have undergone acomprehensive review since they were formed over 25 years ago and it is time to examine how the structure and operations of the two organisations can be improved.
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