Commonwealth Numbered Acts

COMMONWEALTH EMPLOYEES' REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1988 No. 75 of 1988 - SECT 8

8. (1) For the purposes of this Act, the normal weekly earnings of an employee
(other than an employee referred to in subsection (2)) before an injury shall
be calculated in relation to the relevant period under the formula:
(NH X RP) + A where:
  NH    is the average number of hours worked in each week by the employee in

his or her employment during the relevant period;
  RP    is the employee's average hourly ordinary time rate of pay during
that
period; and
   A    is the average amount of any allowance payable to the employee in
each
week in respect of his or her employment during the relevant period,
other than an allowance payable in respect of special expenses incurred, or
likely to be incurred, by the employee in respect of that employment.

(2) Where an employee is required to work overtime on a regular basis, the
normal weekly earnings of the employee before an injury shall be the amount
calculated in accordance with subsection (1) plus an additional amount
calculated in relation to the relevant period under the formula:
NH X OR where:
  NH    is the average number of hours of overtime worked in each week by the

employee in his or her employment during the relevant period; and
  OR    is the employee's average hourly overtime rate of pay during that

period.

(3) Where an employee was, at the date of the injury, employed by the
Commonwealth in part-time employment, temporary employment or unpaid
employment, any earnings of the employee from any other employment shall, for
the purposes of this section, be treated as earnings of the employee from his
or her employment by the Commonwealth.

(4) Where, because of the shortness of the relevant period, it is
impracticable to calculate the normal weekly earnings of an employee before an
injury under subsection (1) or (2), the normal weekly earnings of the employee
before the date of injury shall be taken to be the normal weekly earnings
before that date of another employee performing comparable work, being normal
weekly earnings from employment by the Commonwealth and calculated under
subsection (1) or (2), as the case requires.

(5) Where, because of the shortness of the relevant period, the normal
weekly earnings as calculated in relation to the relevant period under
subsection (1) or (2) would not fairly represent the weekly rate at which the
employee was being paid in respect of his or her employment before the injury,
the normal weekly earnings before the date of the injury shall be calculated
in relation to such other period as the Commission considers reasonable for
the purpose of arriving at an amount that does fairly represent the weekly
rate at which the employee was being so paid.

(6) Subject to this section, if the minimum amount per week payable to an
employee in respect of his or her employment by the Commonwealth at the date
of the injury is increased, or would have been increased if the employee had
continued in that employment, because of:

   (a)  the attainment by the employee of a particular age;

   (b)  the completion by the employee of a particular period of service; or

   (c)  the receipt by the employee of an increase in salary, wages or pay by
        way of an increment in a range of salary, wages or pay applicable to
        the employee or to his or her office, position or appointment; the
        normal weekly earnings of the employee before the injury, as
        calculated under the preceding subsections, shall be increased by the
        same percentage as the percentage by which that minimum amount per
        week is increased, or would have been increased, as the case may be.

(7) Subject to this section, if:

   (a)  an employee continues to be employed by the Commonwealth after the
        date of an injury; and

   (b)  the minimum amount per week payable to the employee in respect of that
        employment is increased because of the promotion of the employee; the
        normal weekly earnings of the employee before the injury, as
        calculated under the preceding subsections, shall be increased by the
        same percentage as the percentage by which that minimum amount per
        week is increased.

(8) Subject to this section, where:

   (a)  the employment of an employee is of a kind referred to in subsection 5
        (4) or (6) or subsection (3) of this section; and

   (b)  the employee is not receiving earnings from any other employment at
        the date of the injury; the normal weekly earnings of the employee
        before the injury shall be an amount determined by the Commission to
        be the amount per week that the employee would have been able to earn
        at the date of the injury (including any amount in respect of overtime
        worked on a regular basis) if he or she had engaged in suitable paid
        employment.

(9) If the minimum amount per week payable in respect of employees included in
a class of employees of which the employee was a member at the date of the
injury is increased or reduced on or after that date as a result of:

   (a)  the operation of a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or Territory;
        or (b) the making, alteration or operation of an award, order,
        determination or industrial agreement, or of the doing of any other
        act or thing, under such a law; the normal weekly earnings of the
        employee before the injury, as calculated under the preceding
        subsections, shall be increased or reduced by the same percentage as
        the percentage by which that minimum amount was so increased or
        reduced, as the case may be.

(10) If the amount of the normal weekly earnings of an employee before an
injury, as calculated under the preceding subsections, would exceed:

   (a)  where the employee continues to be employed by the Commonwealth-the
        amount per week of the earnings that the employee would receive if he
        or she were not incapacitated for work; or

   (b)  where the employee has ceased to be employed by the
        Commonwealth-whichever is the greater of the following amounts:

        (i)    the amount per week of the earnings that the employee would
               receive if he or she had continued to be employed by the
               Commonwealth in the employment in which he or she was engaged
               at the date of the injury;

        (ii)   the amount per week of the earnings that the employee would
               receive if he or she had continued to be employed by the
               Commonwealth in the employment in which he or she was engaged
               at the date on which the employment by the Commonwealth ceased;
               the amount so calculated shall be reduced by the amount of the
               excess.