Northern Territory Consolidated Acts Northern Territory Consolidated Acts(1) Subject to this Part, a worker who is totally or partially incapacitated for work as the result of an injury out of which his or her incapacity arose or which materially contributed to it shall be paid, in addition to any other compensation to which under this Part he or she is entitled, after the first 26 weeks referred to in section 64, compensation equal to 75% of his or her loss of earning capacity or 150% of average weekly earnings at the time the payment is made, whichever is the lesser amount, until:
(a) he or she attains the age of 65 years; or
(b) if the normal retiring age for workers in the industry or occupation in which he or she was employed at the time of the injury is more than 65 years – he or she attains that normal retiring age.
(2) For the purposes of this section, loss of earning capacity in relation to a worker is the difference between:
(a) his or her normal weekly earnings indexed in accordance with subsection (3); and
(b) the amount, if any, he or she is from time to time reasonably capable of earning in a week in work he or she is capable of undertaking if:
(i) in respect of the period to the end of the first 104 weeks of total or partial incapacity – he or she were to engage in the most profitable employment (including self-employment), if any, reasonably available to him or her; and
(ii) in respect of the period after the first 104 weeks of total or partial incapacity – he or she were to engage in the most profitable employment that could be undertaken by that worker, whether or not such employment is available to him or her,
and having regard to the matters referred to in section 68.
(3) The normal weekly earnings of a worker for the purpose of calculating his or her loss of earning capacity or for the purposes of subsection (8) or (9) at a particular date shall be taken to be his or her normal weekly earnings immediately before the date on which he or she first became entitled to compensation multiplied by the average weekly earnings at the particular date and divided by the average weekly earnings applying at the date on which he or she first became entitled to compensation.
(4) Where a worker is totally incapacitated for work, his or her normal weekly earnings in respect of the period of his or her total incapacity after the expiration of 2 years after the first day of the period in respect of which he or she first became entitled under section 64 or this section to compensation shall be taken to be:
(a) in the case of a worker who was an apprentice (including an adult apprentice) immediately before the date on which he or she first became entitled to compensation:
(i) as from the date on which he or she would otherwise have completed his or her apprenticeship – the full award wage for a tradesman in the trade in which the worker was an apprentice; and
(ii) until that date – the normal weekly earnings that would have been his or hers had he or she continued in the apprenticeship; and
(b) in the case of a worker who was a junior employee immediately before the date on which he or she first became entitled to compensation:
(i) as from the date on which he or she would otherwise have ceased to earn wages at a junior rate of pay – the full award wage for a person performing the work that the junior worker performed; and
(ii) until that date – the normal weekly earnings that would have been his or hers had he or she continued performing that work.
(5) For the purposes of subsections (2) and (6), the most profitable employment available includes:
(a) self employment; and
(b) employment in a geographical location (including a place outside the Territory) away from the place where the worker normally resides where it would be reasonable to expect the worker to take up that employment and the person liable to pay compensation to the worker has undertaken to meet the reasonable expenses in moving him or her and his or her dependants to that location and other reasonable relocation expenses.
(6) For the purposes of this section, a worker shall be taken to be totally incapacitated if he or she is not capable of earning any amount if he or she were to engage in the most profitable employment, if any, reasonably available to him or her, and having regard to the matters referred to in section 68.
(7) Where a worker is totally incapacitated for work and the compensation the worker is entitled to under subsection (1) is less than the amount calculated in accordance with subsection (12), the worker shall, notwithstanding subsection (1), but subject to subsection (10), be entitled to compensation equal to 90% of his or her loss of earning capacity or the amount so calculated, whichever is the lesser.
(8) Where a worker is partially incapacitated for work and 75% of his or her normal weekly earnings indexed in accordance with subsection (3) is less than the amount calculated in accordance with subsection (12), the worker shall, notwithstanding subsection (1), but subject to subsection (10), be entitled to compensation equal to 90% of his or her loss of earning capacity or the percentage of his or her loss of earning capacity as determined in accordance with subsection (9), whichever is the lesser.
(9) For the purposes of subsection (8), the percentage is the amount calculated in accordance with subsection (12) expressed as a percentage of the worker's normal weekly earnings.
(10) Subsections (7) and (8) do not apply where the normal weekly earnings of the spouse of the worker is equal to or more than 150% of average weekly earnings.
(11) For the purposes of subsection (10), normal weekly earnings of the spouse of a worker shall be determined, as for a worker, in accordance with section 49 and, for that purpose, a reference to a worker shall be construed as a reference to the spouse of a worker.
(12) For the purposes of subsections (7) and (8), the amount is 50% of average weekly earnings and, in addition:
(a) 12.5% of average weekly earnings, where the worker has a spouse who is, at the date of the relevant injury and at the time when compensation is paid under this section, wholly or mainly dependent on the worker; and
(b) 6.25% of average weekly earnings for each prescribed child of the worker.
(13) In subsection (12), prescribed child means a child of the worker, or a child in relation to whom the worker stood in loco parentis, and who:
(a) has not attained the age of 16 years; or
(b) having attained that age but not having attained the age of 21 years, is a full-time student or is physically or mentally handicapped,
other than such a child who is the spouse of another person.