New South Wales Consolidated Acts

COAL AND OIL SHALE MINE WORKERS (SUPERANNUATION) ACT 1941 - SECT 2

2 Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:
"Accumulation Fund" means the New South Wales Coal and Oil Shale Mining Industry (Superannuation) Accumulation Fund referred to in the Restructuring Agreement.
"actuary" means a person, appointed by the Corporate Trustee, who is a member of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia.
"Amalgamated Fund" means the AUSCOAL Superannuation Fund, that was formerly named the COALSUPER Retirement Income Fund as referred to in section 18.
"AUSCOAL Rules" means the AUSCOAL Superannuation Fund Rules, that were formerly named the COALSUPER Rules, (as amended or substituted from time to time) included in the AUSCOAL Trust Deed that govern the occupational superannuation schemes to which the AUSCOAL Trust Deed relates.
"AUSCOAL Trust Deed" means the AUSCOAL Superannuation Fund Trust Deed, that was formerly named the COALSUPER Trust Deed (as amended or substituted from time to time) for the reconstitution of the occupational superannuation schemes referred to in section 15C (1).
"COALSUPER Rules" means the rules (as amended or substituted from time to time) included in the COALSUPER Trust Deed that govern the occupational superannuation schemes to which the COALSUPER Trust Deed relates.
"COALSUPER Trust Deed" means the trust deed (as amended or substituted from time to time) for the reconstitution of the occupational superannuation schemes referred to in section 15C (1).
"Column 5 pension" means a pension payable under the AUSCOAL Rules at the rate specified (as at 31 December 1999) in Column 5 of Appendix 3A to those Rules.
"complying fund" means a complying superannuation fund within the meaning of section 45 of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth.
"Corporate Trustee" means the body incorporated as a result of arrangements made under section 4 of the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Superannuation) Further Amendment Act 1994 .
"COSAF Fund" means the superannuation fund referred to in clause 2.1 of the COSAF Trust Deed.
"COSAF Trust Deed" means the trust deed establishing the COSAF Superannuation Fund, made on 6 October 1988 by COSAF Pty Limited (ACN 003 566 989) and as amended from time to time, and includes the rules contained in the Schedule to that deed.
"Dormant member" means a former contributor to the Old Fund:

(a) whose last period of service as a mine worker ceased due to retrenchment, resignation or dismissal, and

(b) who has not taken any benefit from the Old Fund or the Amalgamated Fund, and

(c) who may become entitled:

(i) for the purposes of the Amalgamated Fund, to be credited with past service on being re-employed as a mine worker, or

(ii) to a payment from the Amalgamated Fund.

"Exercise" a function includes perform a duty.
"Function" includes a power, duty or authority.
"member of Part 3 of the Fund" means a person who is a Member of Part 3 of the Fund within the meaning of the AUSCOAL Trust Deed.
"Mine worker" means:

(a) a person engaged in the coal or oil shale mining industries in New South Wales who was, immediately before the commencement of the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Superannuation) Amendment Act 1990 , contributing to the Old Fund, or

(b) a person who, after that commencement, becomes employed by an owner in or about a coal or oil shale mine in New South Wales (whether underground or above ground), or

(c) a person who is engaged in the coal or oil shale mining industries, either before or after that commencement, and in respect of whom the Corporate Trustee has made a determination under section 15B declaring the person to be a mine worker for the purposes of this Act, or

(d) a person in respect of any period during which the person was the holder of a permit in force under section 2E (as in force before the commencement of Schedule 3 to the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Superannuation) Further Amendment Act 1994 ) authorising the person to be employed in some industry, other than the coal or oil shale mining industries, specified in the permit, or

(e) a person who is engaged in work declared by a determination in force under section 2J to be mine work,

but does not include such a person who is ordinarily so engaged or employed for less than 10 hours per week.
"Old Fund" means the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers Superannuation Fund established under section 18 of this Act (as in force before the commencement of Schedule 2 to the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Superannuation) Further Amendment Act 1994 ).
"Owner" means any person who is the immediate proprietor, the lessee or the occupier of a coal or oil shale mine, and includes:

(a) where a coal or oil shale mine is being worked by a person who is an official liquidator, receiver, manager or other person authorised by law to carry on the business of working the mine-that person,

(b) where a coal or oil shale mine belongs to, or is held in trust for, the Crown, a department of the Government or a statutory authority-the Crown, the department or the statutory authority, as the case may be, and

(c) where a coal or oil shale mine is being worked by a contractor-in addition to any other person, the contractor,

but, except as provided by subsection (7), does not include a person who merely receives a royalty, rent or fine from a coal or oil shale mine or is merely holding the property on or in which a coal or oil shale mine is situated subject to any lease, grant or licence to, or contract with, another person for the working of the coal or oil shale mine.
"Part 2 of the Fund" means Part 2 of the Amalgamated Fund.
"Part 3 of the Fund" means Part 3 of the Amalgamated Fund.
"pension CPI contribution" means a contribution calculated at the pension CPI rate.
"pension CPI rate" means the rate determined under section 19AD.
"Prescribed" means prescribed by this Act or the regulations.
"Reciprocating State" means Queensland, Tasmania or Western Australia.
"Reference Rate", as at any particular time, means such rate as the Corporate Trustee declares in a determination under subsection (5) in force as at that time to be the specified rate for the purposes of this definition.

Note: For determinations under subsection (5), see the Historical notes at the end of this Act.

"Regulations" means regulations made under this Act.
"Restructuring Agreement" means the New South Wales Coal Mining Industry Statutory Fund (Restructuring) Agreement originally made on 25 June 1992 between the parties set out in Part 1 of Schedule 3, as varied by the 1999 Superannuation Agreement.
"Subsidy Fund" means the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers Compensation Subsidy Fund established by section 19C.
"Superannuation fund" means a scheme, fund or arrangement (whether or not established by an Act) under which any superannuation or retirement benefits are provided by an employer.
"1999 Superannuation Agreement" means the 1999 Superannuation Agreement made on 23 December 1999 between the parties set out in Part 3 of Schedule 3.

(1A) For the purposes of this Act, a mine worker is retrenched if the employment of the mine worker is terminated and the termination is stated by the employer to have taken place because:

(a) the employer no longer required the services of the mine worker and does not propose to fill the position then held by the mine worker, or

(b) the work that the mine worker was employed to perform has been completed, or

(c) the amount of work that the employer required to be performed has diminished and it has accordingly become necessary to reduce the number of employees employed by the employer, or

(d) the mine worker has accepted an offer by the employer of terms on which retrenchment of the mine worker was proposed by the employer on a ground referred to in paragraph (a), (b) or (c).

(2) A person shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be “engaged in the coal or oil shale mining industries”:

(a) for any period (whether before or after the commencement of Part 2) during which the person is employed as a mine worker,

(b) for any period (whether before or after the commencement of Part 2) during which the person is unemployed, if, immediately before the date upon which the person so became unemployed:

(i) the person was employed (whether underground or above ground) in or about a coal or oil shale mine in New South Wales by the owner of the mine, or

(ii) the person was a member of a permanent rescue corps established at a central rescue station pursuant to the Mines Rescue Act 1925 , or

(iii) the person was a member of the New South Wales Mines Rescue Brigade established under the Mines Rescue Act 1994 :

Provided that a person shall not be deemed to be “engaged in the coal or oil shale mining industries” by reason of the operation of paragraph (b) unless the Corporate Trustee is satisfied that the person’s employment was terminated otherwise than for misconduct and that the person’s failure to obtain other employment was through no fault on the person’s part:
Provided further that the period for which any such person is unemployed shall be deemed not to be interrupted by periods during which the person is employed upon relief work or upon other work of a casual nature,

(c) for any period (whether before or after the day on which the assent of Her Majesty to the Coal and Oil Shale Mine Workers (Superannuation) Further Amendment Act 1957 is signified) during which the person is employed pursuant to a request by the Corporate Trustee to accept available employment under and in accordance with section 19F.

(5) Where there is a variation in the weekly rate of wage prescribed for Group B of the Coal Mining Industry (Production and Engineering) Interim Consent Award, September 1990 (or such other rate as may be agreed upon by the parties to the Restructuring Agreement), the Corporate Trustee:

(a) shall, in and by a determination published in the Gazette as soon as practicable after the variation is made:

(i) subject to subparagraph (ii)-specify that rate as so varied and declare it to be the specified rate for the purposes of the definition of "Reference Rate" in subsection (1), or

(ii) where there are 2 or more such rates so prescribed-specify one of those rates as so varied and declare it to be the specified rate for the purposes of that definition, and

(b) shall, in the determination, specify the date as from which the determination takes effect, being the date as from which the specified rate became or becomes payable as wages to loadermen or any class of loadermen,

and any previous determination made under this subsection shall not be in force in respect of any period commencing on or after the date so specified.

(7) For the purposes of sections 19 and 19D, if a mine worker is employed by a person who is not an owner as defined in subsection (1), a reference to an owner includes a reference to the employer of the mine worker.

(8) Subsection (7) does not apply to a mine worker who is:

(a) a check-weigher or district check inspector, or

(b) an elected official of an industrial or trade union of employees or of an association of employees registered as an organisation under the Industrial Relations Act 1988 of the Commonwealth, of which union or organisation the membership is principally confined to persons who are employed in or about a coal or oil shale mine (whether underground or above ground).

(8A) On and after the relevant date (as defined in section 14PA (7)), subsection (7) of this section ceases to apply to a mine worker who is an officer of the Department of Mineral Resources (or its successor) and to a person who is a member of or employed by the Joint Coal Board.

(9) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.