Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts3. Interpretation
(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears -
"ABN" has the same meaning as in the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth;
"act" includes an omission;
"approved" means approved by the Authority or the Minister;
"approved form" means a form approved by the Authority for the purposes of the provision in which the expression occurs;
"Authority" means the Work Health Authority established by section 6;
"average weekly earnings" means the Average Weekly Earnings for Full Time Adult Persons, Weekly Ordinary Time Earnings for the Northern Territory last published by the Australian Statistician before 1 January before the date in respect of which they are required under this Act to be assessed;
"benefit" includes an advantage of any kind;
"Chief Executive Officer" means the Chief Executive Officer, within the meaning of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act , of the Agency administering this Act;
"compensation" means a benefit, or an amount paid or payable, under this Act as the result of an injury to a worker and, in sections 132 to 137 inclusive and section 167, includes -
(a) an amount in settlement of a claim for compensation; and
(b) costs payable to a worker by an employer in relation to a claim for compensation;
"Court" means the Work Health Court;
"disease" includes a physical or mental ailment, disorder, defect or morbid condition, whether of sudden or gradual development and whether contracted before or after the commencement of Part V;
"employer" means a person by or for whom a worker is engaged or works or, in relation to a member of the Legislative Assembly, a Judge, a magistrate or a member of the Police Force, means the Territory;
"impairment" means a temporary or permanent bodily or mental abnormality or loss caused by an injury;
"incapacity" means an inability or limited ability to undertake paid work because of an injury;
"incident" means an event occurring at, or a situation arising in, a workplace which results in an injury;
"industrial agreement" means an agreement which wholly or partly regulates terms or conditions of employment;
"industrial award" means -
(a) an award or determination relating to the terms and conditions of employment of a worker made under an Act; or
(b) an award or a certified agreement made under the Workplace Relations Act 1996 of the Commonwealth;
"injury", in relation to a worker, means a physical or mental injury arising before or after the commencement of the relevant provision of this Act out of or in the course of his or her employment and includes -
(a) a disease; and
(b) the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation, recurrence or deterioration of a pre-existing injury or disease,
but does not include an injury or disease suffered by a worker as a result of reasonable disciplinary action taken against the worker or failure by the worker to obtain a promotion, transfer or benefit in connection with the worker's employment or as a result of reasonable administrative action taken in connection with the worker's employment;
"insurer" means -
(a) a body corporate authorized under the Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth to carry on insurance business; or
(b) the Territory Insurance Office established under the Territory Insurance Office Act ,
and includes a person who, at the time a relevant policy of insurance or indemnity was taken out, was authorized as referred to in paragraph (a);
"Judicial Registrar" means a Judicial Registrar of the Court appointed under section 100(2);
"managing magistrate" means the managing magistrate for the Court appointed under section 99A;
"PAYG provisions" means the provisions of Division 12 of Schedule 1 to the Taxation Administration Act 1953 of the Commonwealth;
"plant" includes machinery, pressure vessels, equipment, appliances, implements, scaffolding and tools, any component thereof and anything fitted, connected or appurtenant thereto;
"Registrar" means the Registrar of the Court appointed under section 100 and includes a Judicial Registrar;
"repealed Act" means the Acts repealed by section 188, as in force immediately before the commencement of that section;
"sailor" means a person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship;
"self-insurer" means -
(a) an employer approved under section 120 to self-insure; or
(b) except in Part VII, subject to section 118(2) - the Territory;
"ship" means any kind of vessel used in navigation by water, however propelled or moved, and includes:
(a) a barge, lighter, or other floating vessel; and
(b) an air-cushioned vehicle, or similar craft;
used wholly or primarily in navigation by water;
"substance" means a natural or artificial substance, whether in solid, liquid, gas or vapour form;
"Territory worker" means a person whose employment is determined, under section 53AA, to be connected with the Territory;
"this Act" includes the Regulations;
"tributer" means a person who works a mine under an agreement with the lessee or owner of the mine to pay or receive from the lessee or owner a percentage of the value of the product taken from the mine;
"worker" means -
(a) for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to occupational health and safety - a natural person who, under a contract or agreement of any kind (whether expressed or implied, oral or in writing or under a law of the Territory or not), performs work or a service of any kind for another person; and
(b) for the purposes of the provisions of this Act relating to compensation and rehabilitation - a natural person -
(i) who, under a contract or agreement of any kind (whether expressed or implied, oral or in writing or under a law of the Territory or not), performs work or a service of any kind for another person unless and until the person notifies the other person, in writing, of a number that is, or purports to be, the ABN of that person for the purposes of the work or service; or
(ii) who is a person, or a member of a class of persons, prescribed for the purposes of this definition;
but does not include a person -
(iii) who is employed in the service of the Commonwealth;
(iv) subject to subsection (2), who is a member of the immediate family of the employer;
(v) subject to subsection (3), who is a director (by whatever name called) of a body corporate;
(vi) subject to subparagraph (b)(ii) of this definition and to subsections (7), (8) and (9), who is employed in voluntary work and who receives in relation to that work, if anything, nothing more than reasonable travelling, accommodation or other out-of-pocket expenses;
(vii) who is a person, or a member of a class of persons prescribed for the purposes of this definition;
(viii) in relation to the work or service under consideration - who is an employer of another person engaged in the performance of the work or server;
(ix) subject to subsection (5) - who is employed or engaged by a householder; or
(x) who is employed or engaged otherwise than for the purposes of the employer's trade, business or enterprise and in respect of whom the employer does not make any withholding payments under the PAYG provisions;
"workplace" means a place, whether or not in a building or structure, where workers work.
(2) A prescribed member of the immediate family of an employer who has not notified the employer in writing of a number that is, or purports to be, the ABN of the member for the purposes of such employment and whose name, nature of employment and estimated wages are disclosed to the employer's insurer at the time when the employment of that member is commenced or the relevant insurance or indemnity is effected, whichever is the later, and thereafter where the policy is renewed, is a worker for the purposes of this Act.
(3) A director of a body corporate who has not notified the body corporate in writing of a number that is, or purports to be, the ABN of the director for the purposes of such employment and whose name, nature of employment and estimated remuneration (by whatever name called) are disclosed to the body corporate's insurer at the time of the appointment of the director or the relevant insurance or indemnity is effected, whichever is the later, and thereafter where the policy is renewed, is a worker for the purposes of this Act.
(4) A natural person performing work under a community work order under section 83(1)(h) of the Youth Justice Act is to be taken to be a worker in the employ of the Territory during the time the person is performing work under the order and, where the person is a worker during normal working hours and was so employed during those hours immediately preceding the time he or she performed work under the order, his or her normal weekly earnings in that employment shall be deemed, for the purpose of this Act, to be his or her normal weekly earnings when performing work under the order.
(5) A prescribed employee employed by a householder who earns more than, or is paid at a rate that would exceed, the prescribed amount is a worker of the householder for the purposes of this Act.
(6) A person is a worker for the purposes of this Act, despite that he or she has notified in writing the person for whom he or she performs work or a service of a number that is, or purports to be, the ABN of the person, if the person and the person for whom he or she performs work or a service agree in writing that the ABN no longer applies to the work or service performed by the person.
(6A) If a person has notified in writing a person for whom he or she performs work or a service of a number that is, or purports to be, the ABN of that person, the person is not a worker for the purposes of this Act in respect of any subsequent work or service performed for that other person unless the person and the person for whom he or she performs the work or service agree in writing that the ABN no longer applies to the work or service performed by the person.
(7) A natural person who, without remuneration or reward, voluntarily engages in assisting in emergency services, training exercises or other activities with the consent of or under the authority and supervision of, or in co-operation with, the Director, Regional Controller or Local Controller appointed under the Disasters Act , shall be deemed to be a worker in the employ of the Territory.
(8) A natural person who, without remuneration or reward, voluntarily engages in fighting a fire, training exercises or other activities with the consent of or under the authority and supervision of, or in co-operation with, a volunteer fire brigade established by the Council, within the meaning of the Bushfires Act , is to be taken to be a worker who is employed by the Territory.
(8A) A natural person who, without remuneration or reward, voluntarily engages in fighting fires or dealing with other emergencies, or training exercises or other activities, as a volunteer member, within the meaning of the Fire and Emergency Act , shall be deemed to be a worker in the employ of the Territory.
(9) A natural person who, without remuneration or reward (other than reasonable travelling, accommodation or other out-of-pocket expenses), voluntarily engages in work or training of a kind by reference or in relation to which a person or class of persons is prescribed for the purposes of paragraph (b)(ii) of the definition of "worker" in subsection (1), shall be deemed to be a worker employed under a contract of employment by the person or organization prescribed.
(10) Notwithstanding anything in this Act, a person shall be deemed not to be a worker for the purposes of this Act while he or she is, in pursuance of a contract -
(a) participating as a contestant in a sporting or athletic activity;
(b) engaged in training or preparing himself or herself with a view to his or her so participating; or
(c) travelling in connection with his or her so participating or being so engaged,
unless, under the contract, he or she is entitled to remuneration of not less than the prescribed amount per year or at a rate that, if the contract continued for a year, would result in his or her receiving remuneration of not less than that amount.
(11) Where in this Act the expression "Default penalty" appears in or at the foot of a section or subsection, being a section or subsection that provides that a person is guilty of an offence against this Act or a breach of which results in such an offence, a person who has been found guilty of that offence is guilty of a further offence against this Act if the offence continues after he or she has been so found guilty and is punishable, on being found guilty for the further offence, by a penalty not exceeding the amount of the default penalty specified after that expression for each day during which the offence continues.