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WORKERS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT BILL 2009
2009
THE LEGISLATIVE
ASSEMBLY FOR THE
AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL
TERRITORY
WORKERS COMPENSATION AMENDMENT
BILL 2009
EXPLANATORY
STATEMENT
Presented by
Ms Katy Gallagher MLA
Minister for Industrial Relations
Workers Compensation Amendment Bill
2009
OUTLINE
Objectives of legislation
The purpose of the amending legislation is threefold, to:
• reduce red tape and administration costs and streamline business
requirements associated with the ACT private sector workers’ compensation
scheme (the ACT Scheme);
• implement the National Framework for the Approval of Workplace
Rehabilitation Providers (the Framework) developed by the National Heads of
Workers' Compensation Authorities (HWCA); and
• strengthen the existing compliance framework by introducing new
offences for sustained non-compliance that scale the penalties to be
commensurate with an employer’s operational size.
Drivers behind the amendments
The affordability of the Scheme and the lack of robust, tailored penalties
for non-compliance has been a growing issue for private sector employers since
the Workers Compensation Act 1951 (WC Act) was amended in 2002.
The amending Act introduced in 2002 included a number of new elements to
ensure that employers, insurers, treatment providers, and the injured worker
were equally obliged to participate in personal injury plans, claims were dealt
with expediently and statutory benefits were aligned with the Scheme’s
return to work goals.
However, the outcome of an independent review of the Scheme initiated by
the ACT Government in late 2006 made clear that the objectives of the 2002
reform had not been fully achieved. Rather, the ACT had fallen behind the
progress of other workers’ compensation jurisdictions, which had made
efforts to improve efficiency of their respective Schemes and reduce unnecessary
administrative tasks associated with statutory workers’ compensation.
The ACT’s inability to align with the progress of its State and
Territory counterparts has been compounded by the lack of reform to the Scheme
since 2002.
How will the objectives be achieved?
Affordability - a reduction of red tape and associated administrative
costs
The Bill refocuses rehabilitation services to ensure a more targeted and
effective use of resources while simultaneously streamlining employer
workers’ compensation insurance policy reporting obligations to reduce
costs.
Insurers will no longer be required to involve the services of an approved
rehabilitation provider in the development of a personal injury plan for workers
suffering a significant injury (i.e. those resulting in at least 7 days
incapacity). Rather, the Bill requires that an appropriate rehabilitation
provider is appointed in the event that the injured worker has been unable to
return to work in their pre-injury hours and duties within 4 weeks from the date
notice of the injury was provided.
This amendment injects a degree of transparency around the provision of
rehabilitation services to injured Territory workers and ensures that the
assistance of a third party is available if a claim is not progressing as
expected.
Amendments to the WC Act in 2002 introduced the requirement for employers
to provide statutory declarations and certificates from registered auditors in
connection with the provision of estimated and actual wages information to
insurers. The provision was designed to improve both compliance and the accuracy
of wage declarations. In 2003 this requirement was relaxed and employers
permitted to provide the necessary certificate from a recognised auditor, in
recognition of the shortage of registered auditors in the ACT.
In practice however, this obligation has become a significant cost burden
for Territory employers and prevents the timely provision of wage related
information to insurers. This outcome is inconsistent with the compliance
objectives underpinning the Scheme.
The Bill eliminates the requirement for employers to provide either a
statutory declaration or a certificate from a recognised auditor in connection
with the provision of wage related information to insurers. In place, the Bill
requires employers to provide a statement setting out the relevant information,
which is reinforced by the introduction of a new offence for the provision of
false and misleading information within these statements.
This amendment gives effect to the Government's intention to reduce
administrative barriers to compliance with the Scheme and improve the
affordability of behaviour that upholds the purpose, intent and operation of WC
Act.
Approved rehabilitation providers - the Framework
The HWCA have developed the Framework in accordance with their mandate to
promote and implement best practices in workers’ compensation arrangements
in Australia and New Zealand in the areas of policy and legislative matters,
regulation and scheme administration.
The Bill enshrines the Framework, which at its core establishes a system of
mutual recognition in respect of rehabilitation service providers. Where a
provider is approved in one workers’ compensation jurisdiction (the home
jurisdiction) all other workers’ compensation authorities will recognise
the provider’s status and ensure any additional approval requirements are
minimal. The Bill has no additional approval requirements for providers wanting
to be approved for the ACT jurisdiction.
The Framework takes into consideration the variety of businesses operating
as rehabilitation providers and provides an approval regime that applies
regardless of entity size. Significantly, the Framework:
• develops an agreed and transparent
national model of workplace rehabilitation, including uniform service
definitions and expectations of providers designed to deliver high quality
workplace rehabilitation services to workers, employers and insurers;
• provides a robust national approval
system across the workers’ compensation authorities; and
• reduces administrative costs and
complexity for workplace rehabilitation providers, employers and insurers who
operate across multiple jurisdictions.
Enhanced compliance framework
The Bill amends the compliance framework underpinning the WC Act to ensure
that it operates in a robust and discriminating manner to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of the ACT Scheme. The Bill provides for the
equitable application of compliance costs consistent with the principles of fair
competition and economic growth.
The Bill enhances existing offences through the introduction of new civil
penalties for non-insurance and under-insurance up to a maximum of double the
avoided premium for the period of non-compliance (able to be applied
retrospectively for up to five years). This ‘avoided premium’
provision will have the effect of scaling the penalty to be commensurate with
size of the employer and disproving the perception that non-compliance is a
cheaper alternative to the cost of complying with the WC Act.
In addition, the Bill provides for a hierarchy of penalties that culminate
in possible criminal prosecution and/or a cease business provision that would
operate until such time as the non-compliant employer establishes a
workers’ compensation policy with the correct declaration of wages as
required by the WC Act.
The inclusion of the cease business order within the revised hierarchy
reinforces the nature of worker's compensation as an unavoidable and
non-elective cost of doing business in the Territory. The protection of workers
in the event of workplace injury is not optional.
The inclusion of escalating penalties targets those employers who
demonstrate persistent non-compliance with the WC Act while ensuring that
appropriate penalties are available for initial, ‘one off’ acts of
non-compliance.
The amendments reducing employer red tape are reinforced by the inclusion
of new provisions creating:
• personal liability for executive officers for debt associated with
penalties for non-insurance or under-insurance and prohibit the working
directors of uninsured entities from claiming compensation from the DI Fund in
the event of a workplace injury; and
• an offence for the provision of false and misleading information in
connection with wage related statements to insurers.
Similar provisions exist in other jurisdictions, including NSW.
Finally, the amendments close the loop on employers who fail to discharge
their statutory obligations by providing clarification on the broad definition
of worker, thereby limiting the opportunity for premium avoiding and sham
contracting.
Administrative arrangements
The legislation will have a direct
impact on business procedures for insurers, employer and rehabilitation service
providers. To allow for these Scheme participants to update their internal
procedures and published documentation the legislation will have a staggered
implementation with the provisions relating to the definition of worker, total
wages and rehabilitation to commence on 1 July 2010.
All other positions commence the day after notification of the
Act.
Workers Compensation Amendment Bill
2009
Detail
Clause 1 — Name of Act
This is a technical clause that names the Act. This Act is the Workers
Compensation Amendment Act 2009.
Clause 2 — Commencement
This Act commences as follows:
• Clause 4, 5, 9, 50 and 51 on 1 July 2010;
• The remaining
provisions commence on the day after this Act’s notification day.
Clause 3 — Legislation amended
This clause identifies the Act to be amended, namely the Workers
Compensation Act 1951.
Clause 4 — New section 7A: Meaning of total
wages
This section clarifies that for the purposes of the Act, wages
for the purposes of premium calculations will be calculated in a manner
prescribed by the regulations.
Clause 5 — Section 8(1): Who is a worker?
This section provides clarification around the core definition of a
‘worker’ contained in s 8 of the WC Act to address ongoing industry
uncertainty surrounding individuals who supply labour or substantially labour
only services, including those with an Australian Business Number
(ABN).
Clause 5 introduces additional language around the basic definition of
worker, which adopts the ‘results’ test underpinning current
workers’ compensation related legislation in Queensland and relevant
common law principles. The amendment makes expressly clear that if the intent
underlying section 9-19 is applied correctly, an individual who provides labour
only or substantially labour only services is a worker for workers’
compensation purposes even where that individual has an ABN or business name.
In practice, whether an individual is a worker will depend on the
application of ss 8-19 to the specific facts of the matter.
Clause 6 — Section 97(2): Personal injury plan for worker with
significant injury
The WC Act currently requires insurers to engage the services of an
approved rehabilitation provider in developing a personal injury plan (PIP) for
a worker who has suffered a significant injury, being an injury that has
resulted in 7 or more days of incapacity for work.
The involvement of a rehabilitation provider in the development of the PIP
has created unnecessary costs for insurers and led to a process-based approach
to a rehabilitation management which detracts from value and importance of
outcomes focused claim management.
This clause will be amended to remove the
requirement that an approved rehabilitation provider be involved in the
development of the PIP.
Clause 7 — New section 99A: Appointment of
approved rehabilitation provider under personal injury plan
New s 99A requires external rehabilitation service providers to be
appointed to assist with a claim in the event that an injured worker has not
returned to work in their pre-injury duties and hours within 4 weeks post
notification of the injury. The level of involvement of the rehabilitation
provider in a claim will depend upon the individual facts and circumstances of
each case.
The intent underlying the provision is to ensure that assistance is
provided in the event a claim is not progressing as expected and to ensure that
rehabilitation services are obtained at a time when they are most capable of
producing enduring return to work outcomes. That is, after an injury has moved
beyond the acute stage and the injured worker has some real capacity for
rehabilitation as opposed to recovery.
The amendment also encourages insurers to engage in proactive and
innovative self-managed return to work processes with a view to assisting
injured workers return to their pre-injury hours and duties within the 4-week
post injury notification period.
Clause 8 — Section 102(4): Nomination of
doctor for personal injury plan
Efficient, effective and timely management of workers’ compensation
claims involves co-ordinated action from a number of stakeholders – the
injured worker, treating doctors, specialists, claim managers, employers,
rehabilitation providers etc.
This clause amends s 102(4) to account for the
reality of an efficient and robust claims management approach. Practically, it
clarifies that a worker’s nominated treating Doctor is to provide
information to specified third parties for the purposes of management of the
worker’s rehabilitation and general claim.
Clause 9 – New section 139(4): Meaning of
approved rehabilitation provider etc.
This section will allow the Framework, as updated from time to time, to
apply to the approval and operation of rehabilitation providers in the Scheme
under the Regulations.
Clause 10 — Section 144(2): Meaning of
compulsory insurance policy
This clause amends subsection 144(2) to reflect the amendments made to s
147 below. Subsection 144(2) now appropriately refers to s 147A(7).
Clause 11 — Section 147: Compulsory insurance
The compliance framework underpinning the WC Act is premised on the
requirement that all employers have a compulsory insurance policy with an
approved insurer. Failure to satisfy this requirement strikes at the core of the
Scheme - it unfairly exposes those employers who meet their workers’
compensation duties to increased costs.
New s147 and 147A set out
revised offences and penalties for failure to have a compulsory insurance policy
by introducing a hierarchy that culminates in criminal prosecution and/or the
making of a cease business order requiring the non-compliant employer to cease
operations until such time as a workers’ compensation policy is in place.
Employers who fail to obtain a compulsory insurance policy will be issued a
default notice and face upfront fines. Sustained failure to obtain a compulsory
insurance policy will result in additional default notices, increased fines,
criminal prosecution and/or an order prohibiting the ongoing operations of that
business in the Territory until such time as a compulsory insurance policy is
obtained.
This hierarchy allows the ACT Government to take appropriate
action against an employer that continues to show deliberate disregard for their
workers’ compensation obligations. Importantly, the hierarchy scales
penalties available to be commensurate with the nature of the non-compliance and
reinforces the principle that workers’ compensation insurance is an
unavoidable and non-elective cost of doing business in this community.
Section 147B requires employers who have received a default notice for
failing to maintain a compulsory insurance policy to pay a deposit premium to
the insurer with whom they ultimately obtain a policy. This requirement ensures
a tangible financial outlay is required from the previously non-compliant
employer when the policy is obtained.
Clause 12 — Section 149: Failure to maintain compulsory insurance
policy—executive entitled to recovery amount
As a corollary to the amendments made to s 147, clause 12 introduces a new
civil penalty for failure to hold a compulsory insurance policy. This penalty
operates concurrently with the default notice regime set out at s 147 and 147A,
allowing the Chief Executive to pursue non-compliance under either or both
provisions simultaneously.
Under s 149 the Chief Executive is to impose a penalty equal to double the
amount of the premium that would have been payable to an improved insurer if an
employer had maintained a compulsory insurance policy for the period that the
employer was uninsured (the double avoided premium).
To facilitate timely imposition of this penalty, the double avoided premium
is calculated based on the wages paid by the employer during the relevant period
and the average premium rate payable for that time. In practice, the average
premium rate used in this calculation may be different than the premium which an
employer may have been able to obtain through private negotiations with a
particular insurer. In imposing a penalty, the Chief Executive is not obliged to
undertake any such negotiations.
The Chief Executive has the discretion to reduce the penalty payable under
this section having regard to the factors listed in ss 149(4). Whether the
penalty payable under this section is reduced will depend upon the application
of these factors to the specific circumstances of each individual
case.
The Chief Executive's decision as to the amount recoverable under s 149 is
an internally reviewable decision in accordance with the procedures sit down in
Chapter 12 of the WC Act.
This section provides the Government with a
further mechanism with which to pursue employers that have made deliberate
choices to evade their workers’ compensation obligations.
Clause 13 — Subsection 151(1): Self-insurers
This clause updates ss 151(1) to reflect amendments made to s 147.
Clause 14 — Subsection 152(1): Compulsory
insurance – insurers
This clause updates ss 152(1) to reflect amendments made to s 147.
Clause 15 — Subsection 152(2): Compulsory
insurance – insurers
This clause updates ss 152(1) to reflect amendments made to s 147.
Clause 16 — Subsections 155(2) and 155(3):
Information for insurers on application for issue or renewal of policies.
Territory businesses indicate that the current requirement to provide a
statutory declaration in connection with the application for issue and renewal
of a compulsory insurance policy prevents the timely provision of wages related
information to insurers and adds unnecessary costs.
These clauses remove the need for employers to provide a statutory
declaration with their application for issue or renewal of a policy. Instead
employers are obliged to provide a statement of wages from an appropriately
authorised officer of the business, which will attract new penalties where that
statement contains false or misleading information.
This clause gives effect to the Government’s intentions to create an
affordable system of workers’ compensation for employers by streamlining
business practices to reflect standard corporate governance models and removing
unnecessary administrative costs. Importantly, the amendment will bring the ACT
into line with other Australian workers’ compensation jurisdictions that
have made efforts to reduce the administration and unnecessary tasks associated
with statutory workers’ compensation over several years.
Clause 17 — Section 155(6) note
This section will be omitted.
Clause 18 — Subsections 156 (2) and (3):
Information for insurers after renewal of policies
Consistent with s 155 this clause amends ss 156(2) and (3) to reflect
retirement of the requirement for employers to provide a certificate from a
recognised auditor to their insurer after renewal of a compulsory insurance
policy.
Clause 19 — Section 156(3) note
This clause will be omitted.
Clause 20 — New section 156(3A)
This clause supports the amendments to ss 156(2) and 156(3) by creating s
156(3A), which sets out who is authorised to sign a statement made under that
section.
Clause 21 — Section 157(2): Information
for insurers after end or cancellation of policies.
Consistent with s 155, this clause amends ss 157(2) to reflect retirement
of the requirement for employers to provide a certificate from a recognised
auditor to their insurer after renewal of a compulsory insurance policy.
Clause 22 — Section 157(2)
note
This clause will be omitted.
Clause 23 — New section
157(2A)
This clause supports the amendments to ss 157(2) by creating s 157(2A),
which sets out who is authorised to sign a statement made under that section.
Clause 24 — Section 158 (2) and (3):
Information for new insurers after change of insurers
Consistent with s 155 this clause amends ss 158(2) and 158(3) to reflect
retirement of the requirement for employers to provide a certificate from a
recognised auditor to a new insurer.
Clause 25 — Section 159 (1):
Six-monthly information for insurers
Consistent with s 155 this clause amends ss 159(1) to reflect retirement of
the requirement for employers to provide a statutory declaration in connection
with the provision of six-monthly information to insurers.
Clause 26 — Section 159(1)
note
This clause will be omitted.
Clause 27 — New section 159
(2A)
This clause supports the amendments to ss 159(1) by creating s 159(2A),
which sets out who is authorised to sign a statement made under that section.
Clause 28 — Section 162 and new section
162A and 162B: False information
Clause 28 amends s 162 to ensure the compliance framework underpinning the
WC Act is adapted to reflect the change in reporting obligations under ss 155 -
159. The reduction in red tape and administrative costs under these provisions
must be counterbalanced by robust offences and penalties directed towards
safeguarding the accuracy of the information provided to insurers.
Section 162 creates a criminal offence in respect of employers who
knowingly provide false or misleading information to insurers for the purposes
of section 155 - 159.
Employers will commit an offence under s 162A if
the amount of wages paid in a particular period is at least 10% more than the
amount set out in a statement provided under ss 156 and 157. In such cases the
Chief Executive will be obliged to determine the amount of the avoided premium
for each period of insurance to which the statement applies. Having done so, the
Chief Executive will then determine whether to impose an amount equal to double
the avoided premium or a lesser amount having regard to the factors enumerated
in ss 162A(3)(b). These factors and the process by which the avoided premium
will be calculated are consistent with the provisions made by the amended s
149.
As with s 149, the Chief Executive's decision under s 162A(3) is
internally reviewable accordance with Chapter 12 of the WC Act.
Finally, this clause introduces s 162B which closes the loop on payment
of a penalty imposed under s 162A. Where an employer has committed an offence
under section 162A and a judgment has been entered against the employer for the
amount determined under section 162A, the Chief Executive may seek a cease
business order against the employer. That order would prevent the employer from
operating their business until the judgment awarded under section 162A has been
fully paid.
This mechanism makes clear the Government’s intentions
that the cost of maintaining appropriate workers’ compensation insurance
is seen as an integral and unavoidable cost of doing business in the Territory.
Clause 29 — Section 163 (1), new dot
point: Employment after 2nd
offence
This clause amends s 163(1) to reflect amendments made to s 147.
Clause 30 — Section 166A(2), new note
This clause amends s 166A(2) to reflect amendments made to s 170, which
preclude a director of an uninsured business from seeking access to the Default
Insurance Fund in the event of that he or she suffers a work-related injury.
Clause 31 — Section 166A(4), new note
This clause amends s 166A(2) to reflect amendments made to s 170, which
preclude a director of an uninsured business from seeking access to the Default
Insurance Fund in the event of that he or she suffers a work-related injury.
Clause 32 — Section 170(2): Who may
make a claim for payment
The Default Insurance Fund (the DI Fund) is the insurer of last resort for
injured workers of uninsured employers. The purpose of the Uninsured Employer
arm of the DI Fund is to provide safety net protection for injured workers
against the consequences of unscrupulous business practices that fall short of
the obligations imposed by the WC Act.
In these cases, the full cost of
the employer's failure to satisfy their obligations under the WC Act is born by
compliant Territory employers - those businesses whose contributions fund the
continued operations of the Uninsured Arm of the DI Fund.
It is
unacceptable to expose ACT employers who comply with the WC Act to this cost
where the injured worker is a director of the uninsured employer.
Clause 33 — Section 190(1): Provision
of information to inspectors
Under the present WC Act employers have 28 days to provide inspectors with
information sought pursuant to a notice issued under section 190(1). That
timeframe commences from the date the notice has been received by the
employer.
In practice, this timeframe frustrates the efficient and
effective operations of the workers’ compensation inspectors in ensuring
that all relevant employers have a compulsory insurance policy in place and are
otherwise meeting their worker's compensation obligations.
This clause
amends section 190 to reduce the timeframe in which an employer must provide
information requested pursuant to a notice issued by an inspector from 28 to 3
days. The truncated timeframe recognises the fact that the information sought by
inspectors is of a standard business nature and should be readily accessible to
all employers.
Clause 34 — Section 190(1)(a)
This clause amends ss 190(1)(a) to reflect retirement of the requirement
for employers to provide a certificate from a recognised auditor in connection
with the provision of information pursuant to a notice issued under that
section.
Clause 35 — Section 190(1)(b)
This clause amends ss 190(1)(b) to reflect retirement of the requirement
for employers to provide a statutory declaration in connection with the
provision of information pursuant to a notice issued under that section.
Clause 36 — Section 190(2)
This clause amends s 190(2) consistent with the changes to s 190(1),
reducing the timeframe for provision of information requested in a notice under
s 190(2) from an inspector to 3 days from receipt of the notice.
Clause 37 — Section 190(3) Note
This clause will be omitted.
Clause 38 — New section 190(3A)
This clause supports the amendments to ss 190(1)(a) and 190(1)(b) by
creating s 190(3A), which sets out the class of persons who are authorised to
sign a statement made by an employer under that section.
Clause 39 — New section 190(5): new
definitions
This clause provides guidance on the kinds of information that falls within
the meaning of ‘relevant information’ for the purposes of a notice
issued under s 190. The definition is not exclusive or exhaustive and the
information required by an inspector in the discharge of their functions under
the WC Act may vary from case to case.
Clause 40 — Chapter 12
The amendments made to ss 149 and 162 oblige the Chief Executive to
determine the value of the double avoided premium in each case and, having done
so, determine what proportion of that amount will be recovered. This decision is
an internally reviewable decision. Chapter 12 has been amended to establish the
necessary review framework to underpin these decisions.
Clause 41 — New section 200A: Record
keeping
This clause amends s 200A to provide clarity around the nature of the
information that an employer is required to keep for the purposes of the WC Act.
It also reflects the changes made to the timing of the provision of information
to inspectors, reducing this timeframe to 3 days for the purposes of s 200A.
Clause 42 — New section 201A: Civil Liability
of executive officers
New section 201A is the final amendment to the core compliance framework
underpinning the WC Act. This clause of introduces personal accountability for
culpable executive offices in respect of recovery of penalties under s 149
(failure to maintain a policy) and s 162A (avoiding payment premium).
Executive officers will, in specified circumstances, face personal
liability for satisfaction of debt arising under these provisions and ensure
that the corporate veil is not utilised to improperly avoid the consequences of
disregarding the requirements of the WC Act. This offence will mean that
culpable executive officers may be held liable for penalties arising under s 149
or 162A if the corporation is unlikely or unable to pay the debt.
This
provision is intended to provide the Government with a mechanism to attach the
consequences of non-compliance with the Scheme's requirements to culpable
executive offices that operate behind the guise of non-compliant corporations
which avoid payment of fines under the WC Act through dissolution and reopen
under a new business name.
Clause 43 — Section 203(6): definition of
defined provision, new paragraph (a)(xi)
This clause amends s 203(6) to reflect the changes made to s 162.
Clause 44 — Schedule 3, section 3.4 (1) (b):
Membership of committee
Schedule 3 of the Workers Compensation Act 1951 establishes the DI
Fund Advisory Committee (the Committee), which has statutory responsibility for
monitoring the operations of the DI Fund and providing advice as requested to
the Minister or Fund Manager on the same.
Owing to the nature of its
statutory responsibilities it is essential that the Committee operate in an open
and transparent manner free from any conflict of interest or the appearance of
it. This requires that the Committee comprise individuals who do not have any
other personal or professional interests that are, or have the potential to be,
in conflict or competition with their duties to the Committee.
Currently, s 3.4 requires that the Committee consist of:
• the
Fund Manager;
• the Fund actuary;
• 2 members nominated by a
group that the Minister is satisfied represents employer interests;
• 2
members nominated by a group that the Minister is satisfied represents employee
interests; and
• 2 members nominated by a majority of approved
insurers.
The composition of the Committee is intended to be
representative of the key workers' compensation stakeholders - injured workers,
employers, insurers and the Government.
The DI Fund is administered by
the ACT Insurance Authority (ACTIA) on behalf of the Chief Minister’s
Department (CMD). CMD remains responsible for strategic oversight of its
functions and implementation of appropriate legislative and policy reform.
In order to properly discharge its responsibility for strategic
oversight of the DI Fund within the overall statutory scheme for private sector
workers’ compensation and ensure that it is managed consistently with the
policy objectives underpinning its creation, it is necessary for the CMD to have
representation on the Committee.
Clause 44 replaces the role of the DI
Fund actuary with the Chief Executive of CMD.
Clause 45 — Schedule 3, section
3.7
This clause amends s 3.7 to reflect the amendments made to s 3.4(1)(b) and
appoints the Chief Executive of CMD as the chair of the Committee.
Clause 46 — Dictionary, new
definitions
This clause amends the dictionary to reflect the introduction of s 198
– 199E within chapter 12.
Clause 47 — Dictionary, definitions
This clause amends the dictionary to account for amendments made to the
body of the WC Act.
Clause 48 — Dictionary, new definition
of total wages
This clause amends the dictionary to reflect the introduction of new s 7A
as the stand alone definition of total wages.
Clause 49 — Legislation amended—pt
3
This clause identifies the Regulations to be amended, namely the Workers
Compensation Regulation 2002 (the Regulation).
Clause 50 — New section 8A: Calculation
of total wages—Act, dictionary, definition of total wages
This clause supports the introduction of a stand alone definition of total
wages in new s 7A of the Act and prescribes the ACT Wages and Earnings
Guide as the applicable guide for working out total wages for the purposes
of premium calculations under the WC Act.
Clause 51 — Part 5: Rehabilitation
providers
This clause amends Part 5 of the Regulations to reflect the introduction
and adoption of the Framework.
Clause 52 — Sections 98 and 98A
(Regulation)
This clause amends ss 98 and 98A of the Regulation to support the
amendments made to Chapter 12 of the WC Act and prescribes reviewable and
internally reviewable decisions for the purposes of those provisions.
Clause 53 — Schedule 3: reviewable
decisions
This clause amends Schedule 3 of the Regulations to support the amendments
made to Chapter 12 of the WC Act and ss 98 and 98A of the Regulations.
Clause 54 — Legislation amended, Pt 4
(Taxation Administration Act 1999)
This clause identifies the Act to be amended, namely the Taxation
Administration Act 1999.
Clause 55 — Section 97(d)(iv): Other
permitted disclosures
This clause restores previous information sharing mechanisms that existed
between the ACT Revenue Office and the Chief Executive for the purposes of the
operation of the WC Act.
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