Leading by Example: Raising the Standard in Workers’ Compensation Investigations
There is no place in 2025 for investigation providers in New South Wales who continue to offer subcontractors as little as $45 per hour. This practice is not only unsustainable — it is damaging to our industry’s future. It disregards the professionalism, skill, and financial realities faced by those working in the investigation sector and ultimately compromises the quality of services delivered to insurers, employers, and injured workers.
Subcontractors are not employees. They bear the full cost of operating their business. This includes vehicle costs, fuel, registration, insurances, superannuation, taxation obligations, professional memberships, compliance systems, equipment, ongoing training, and maintaining investigative licences. Investigators who are expected to deliver comprehensive, compliant and timely factual investigations cannot and should not be expected to absorb these costs on rates that are barely sustainable.
At Investigative Services Group (ISG), we will not allow these outdated practices to continue. As an industry leader in insurance investigations, particularly within the workers’ compensation sector, ISG mandates a minimum subcontractor rate of $55 per hour for all new investigators engaged by our firm. From Tuesday, 1 July 2025, this minimum will increase to $60 per hour. This is not negotiable. This is the minimum standard we have set to ensure the continued professionalism, sustainability, and excellence of our services.
Unlike other providers, ISG does not impose arbitrary waiting periods for subcontractor rate reviews. Every investigation completed for ISG undergoes a detailed quality assurance process. Investigators who consistently meet and exceed our stringent standards are recognised immediately. When an investigator upholds our values and delivers exceptional work, we directly advise them that, from a specified date, all future instructions are to be charged at a higher hourly rate, often several dollars more. At ISG, excellence is acknowledged and rewarded without delay. We do not believe in outdated structures that leave high-performing investigators waiting months or years to be recognised.
Our stance is simple: if you expect professionalism, you must pay for professionalism. Rates must reflect not only the investigator’s effort but also the genuine and unavoidable business costs involved in delivering high-quality, compliant investigative services in the New South Wales workers’ compensation framework.
At Investigative Services Group, we do not merely follow industry standards — we set them. We lead by example. We demand better for our subcontractors. We deliver better outcomes for our clients. And we call on every other provider to lift their standards to meet the realities of 2025 and beyond.
Fair pay is not optional. It is a professional obligation. Those unwilling to adapt will be left behind.
#InvestigativeLeadership #WorkersCompensation #InsuranceInvestigations #ProfessionalStandards #FairPay #SustainableWorkforce #InvestigativeServicesGroup #ISG #QualityInvestigations #RewardForPerformance #IndustryLeadership #NSWInvestigators