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Bill 1997
Explanatory note
This explanatory note relates to this Bill as introduced into Parliament.*
Amendments to the Workers Compensation Act 1987
(a)
Penalties for false workers compensation claims are increased and
provisions for the recovery of compensation paid on false claims are
strengthened.
(b)
A provision that allows maximum fee levels to be set for lawyers is
amended to extend it to fees payable to agents.
(c)
Various amendments are made to increase the effectiveness of
conciliation provisions.
* Amended in committee--see table at end of volume.
(d)
Transitional provisions in the regulations providing that a 26 week
period of entitlement to a special benefit rate for unemployed injured
coal miners can (similarly to other workers' benefits) apply over
broken periods, are transferred to the Act.
(e) Other miscellaneous and minor amendments are made.
Amendments to the Sporting Injuries Insurance Act 1978
The Bill provides for the appointment of an additional part-time
member of the Sporting Injuries Committee to represent the interests of
disabled sportspersons.
The level of benefits payable for sporting injuries under the Act is
increased by 14%.
The Act's terminology is updated by changing "registered player" to
"registered participant" and "enrolled player" to "enrolled student
participant".
Consequential transitional provisions are enacted.
Amendments to update obsolete references are made.
1specifies the name (also called the short title) of the proposed Act.
Clause 2 provides for the proposed Act to commence on a day or days to be
proclaimed.
Clause 3 gives effect to the Schedule of amendments to the Workers
Compensation Act 1987.
Clause 4 gives effect to the Schedule of amendments to the Sporting
Injuries Insurance Act 1978.
Schedule 1
Amendment of Workers Compensation Act
1987
Schedule 1 [1] amends the definition of Principal Conciliator so that the
Principal Conciliator will be the person holding office as such under Part 2 of
the Public Sector Management Act 1988.
Explanatory note page 2
Schedule 1 [2] makes it clear that the obligation of a worker who is receiving
weekly payments of compensation to notify certain changes of circumstances
involving the worker's level of earnings arises no matter which of the
changes occurs.
Schedule 1 [3] increases from 20 penalty units (currently $2,200) to 40
penalty units (currently $4,400) the existing maximum fine for a failure by a
worker who is receiving weekly payments of compensation to notify a
commencement of employment or a business or a change in employment that
affects earnings.
Schedule 1 [4] expands an existing provision that allows a court to order the
repayment of overpayments of compensation resulting from a worker's return
to employment or a change in employment that affects the worker's earnings.
As amended, the provision will permit a court to make such a compensation
refund order when it convicts the person of an offence for failing to notify a
commencement of employment, or a business or a change in employment
that affects earnings, that resulted in the overpayment.
Schedule 1
[5] is consequential on Schedule 1 [1] and provides
that the
person holding office as Principal Conciliator is taken to be a conciliation
officer.
Schedule 1 [6] amends the provision requiring a claim for weekly payments
of compensation to include a medical certificate with an opinion as to
whether employment is a substantial contributing factor to the injury. The
amendment makes it clear that the requirement does not apply to claims
under sections 10 (Journey claims), 11 (Recess claims) and 12 (Claims by
trade union representatives) since those sections deal with situations where
the worker is not engaged in actual employment duties.
Schedule 1
[7] increases the existing maximum penalty of 50 penalty units
(currently $5,500) and imprisonment for 12 months for the offence of making
a false or misleading statement in a notice, claim for compensation or
medical certificate. The maximum penalty will be increased to 100 penalty
units (currently $11,000) and 2 years imprisonment.
Schedule 1 [8] inserts a new provision that will permit a court to make a
compensation refund order when it convicts a person of an offence under the
Act for making a false or misleading statement that resulted in an
overpayment.
Schedule 1 [9] inserts a new provision to enable regulations to be made to
require an insurer to provide a copy of any report obtained by the insurer in
relation to a claim by a worker, such as an investigator's report or
rehabilitation provider's report, to the worker or another person (such as the
worker's legal representative).
Explanatory note page 3
Schedule 1[10] amends the provision that requires an insurer to give notice
to a claimant when the insurer disputes liability on the claim. The amendment
will make it clear that the requirement applies when the insurer disputes
liability in respect of any aspect of the claim (and not necessarily the whole
claim).
Schedule 1 [ 11] and [12] make amendments to authorise the making of
regulations to specify cases and circumstances in which a conciliation officer
to whom a party to a dispute provides information or documents is required
to provide the information or documents concerned to another party to the
dispute. A new provision specifically authorises conciliation officers to
provide any party to a dispute with information and documents provided to
the conciliation officer by any other party to the dispute and also provides for
the regulations to create exceptions to this. The provision extends to all
information and documents provided by a party, whether pursuant to a
requirement under the Act or otherwise. A consequential amendment is made
to an existing provision that contains a power to make regulations specifying
the circumstances in which a conciliation officer may or may not disclose to a
party information and documents provided to the conciliation officer
pursuant to a requirement imposed by the conciliation officer.
Schedule 1 [13] makes an amendment to provide that conciliation officers
are competent but not compellable in legal proceedings to give evidence or
produce documents in respect of matters that relate to the exercise of their
functions.
Schedule 1 [14] requires a person against whom a claim for weekly
payments of compensation is made and who has or anticipates having a
reasonable excuse that justifies a delay in the commencement of those
payments to notify the claimant in writing as soon as practicable.
Schedule 1 [15] inserts a new provision to deal with the situation where a
dispute about a new claim is referred to the Senior Conciliation Officer
(rather than to the Principal Conciliator, as required). Various provisions
impose a waiting period after a dispute has been referred for conciliation
before court proceedings can be commenced on the dispute. The amendment
will provide that such a waiting period does not begin to run until the dispute
has been correctly referred to the Principal Conciliator. The amendment will
allow for the possibility that disputes about the claims concerned (new
claims) are required to be referred to the Principal Conciliator but are
nevertheless valid if referred to the Senior Conciliation Officer (who is the
appropriate referral officer for existing claims).
Explanatory note page 4
Schedule 1 [16] amends the provision that prevents a claimant for weekly
payments of compensation from lodging an application for conciliation until
a period allowed for insurers to assess and, if applicable, dispute the claim
has elapsed. The period allowed for insurers is 21 days after the claim is
made, but that may be extended to a maximum of 42 days subject to there
being a reasonable excuse (such as the necessity for further medical
examination) for the delay in commencement of payments. The amendment
makes it clear that conciliation applications are prevented not only during the
initial 21 day period but also during such an extension of that period.
Schedule 1 [17][21] amend a provision that authorises the making of
regulations to fix maximum costs recoverable by legal practitioners in
workers compensation matters. The amendments extend the provision to
costs recoverable by agents in workers compensation matters.
Schedule 1 [22] amends a provision that enables an employer to require an
injured worker to undergo a medical examination by a doctor provided by the
employer. The amendment will allow the regulations to require the employer
or the employer's insurer to provide a copy of any resulting medical report or
opinion to the worker or another person (such as the worker's legal
representative).
Schedule 1 [23] clarifies a provision dealing with misleading conduct by
workers compensation insurers and insurance intermediaries (such as brokers
and insurance agents) by adoption of the term "insurance intermediary"
rather than "broker".
Schedule
1 [24] and [25] enact consequential savings and transitional
provisions.
Schedule 1 [26][28] amend the special transitional provisions that apply to
coal miners to clarify the operation of amendments made in 1996 in relation
to top-up of partial incapacity benefits. Under those provisions, prior to their
amendment in 1996, a coal miner who was partially incapacitated but not
provided with suitable duties was entitled to benefits at the total incapacity
level (deemed total incapacity) with no limit as to how long the entitlement
continued (until retirement). In the same circumstances, other workers are
entitled to a maximum 104 weeks deemed total incapacity compensation. The
rates of total incapacity benefit and deemed total incapacity benefit for coal
miners remained however at the lower scale of indexed rate applicable under
the former Act. In practice, coal miners' accident pay entitlements topped-up
these rates to the higher levels applicable to other workers, but only for the
first 78 weeks of incapacity for work. The purpose of the 1996 amendments
was to apply to coal miners the higher rates of total incapacity benefit and
Explanatory note page 5
deemed total incapacity benefits applicable to other workers, but only during
the period after the first 78 weeks of incapacity (ie the time at which accident
pay top-up cuts out) and before the first 104 weeks of incapacity (the
maximum period of deemed total incapacity entitlement for other workers).
The Bill amends those provisions to make it clear that the 78 week point is
the first 78 weeks of incapacity, and not the first 78 weeks after the injury
(because incapacity can start later than the injury). The amendment is
backdated to the commencement of the 1996 amendments.
Schedule 2
Amendment of Sporting Injuries Insurance
Act 1978
Schedule 2 [1] makes amendments to update obsolete references.
Schedule 2 [9] and [15] enact consequential transitional provisions.
Schedule 2 [2]-[8] and [10] increase the level of benefits payable for
14%. sporting injuries under the Act by
Schedule 2 [11]-[14] provide for the appointment of an additional part-time
of the Sporting Injuries Committee to represent the interests of
disabled sportspersons.
Schedule 2 [16] and [17] update the Act's terminology by changing
"registered player" to "registered participant" and "enrolled player" to
"enrolled student participant".
Explanatory note page 6