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Queensland
WORKERS'
COMPENSATION
AMENDMENT BILL 1994
Queensland
WORKERS' COMPENSATION
AMENDMENT BILL 1994
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 Amended Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4 Amendment of s 2.1 (Interpretation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5 Insertion of new s 2.1A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1A Meaning of "injury" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
6 Amendment of s 2.2 (Persons declared to be employers or workers) . . . . . 8
7 Amendment of s 2.3 (Persons declared not to be workers) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
8 Replacement of s 4.15 (Recovery of moneys paid in respect of
uninsured worker) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.15 Recovery of claims costs and unpaid premium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
9 Omission of ss 4.164.19 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
10 Insertion of new Pt 4A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PART 4A--INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT
Division 1--General
4A.1 Functions of authorised persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4A.2 Authorised persons subject to directions from General Manager . . . 11
4A.3 Powers of authorised persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4A.4 Limitation on powers of authorised person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Division 2--Appointment of authorised persons and other matters
4A.5 Appointment of authorised persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4A.6 Authorised person's appointment conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4A.7 Authorised person's identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
2
Workers' Compensation Amendment
4A.8 Display of authorised person's identity card . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4A.9 Protection from liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Division 3--Powers of authorised persons
4A.10 Definition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4A.11 Entry to workplaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4A.12 Power to require information from certain persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4A.13 Keeping, and inspection, of documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4A.14 Warrants for entry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4A.15 Warrants--applications made other than in person . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4A.16 Power to seize evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4A.17 Receipt for seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4A.18 Access to seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4A.19 Return of seized things . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Division 4--Other enforcement matters
4A.20 Authorised person to give notice of damage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
4A.21 Compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Division 5--Offences
4A.22 Obstruction of authorised persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4A.23 Impersonation of authorised persons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4A.24 False or misleading information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
4A.25 False, misleading or incomplete documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
11 Insertion of new s 5.2A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
5.2A Interstate arrangements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
12 Amendment of s 5.4 (Injuries that arise out of or in the course of
employment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
13 Amendment of s 5.5 (Compensation not payable in certain cases) . . . . . . 23
14 Amendment of s 7.8 (Lump sum upon worker moving abroad) . . . . . . . . . . 23
15 Insertion of new s 7.15A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
7.15A Worker must notify Board of return to work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
16 Amendment of s 8.1 (Total incapacity) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
17 Amendment of s 8.13 (Benefits for total or partial dependants) . . . . . . . . . 24
18 Amendment of s 8.17 (Entitlement to additional compensation) . . . . . . . . 25
3
Workers' Compensation Amendment
19 Amendment of s 8.21 (Extent of liability for medical treatment) . . . . . . . . 25
20 Amendment of s 8.25 (Extent of Board's liability for hospital
treatment) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
21 Amendment of Pt 8, Div 7 (Maximum compensation not
otherwise prescribed) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
22 Amendment of s 8.31 (Maximum entitlement for 1 incident) . . . . . . . . . . . 27
23 Amendment of s 9.1 (Assessment tribunals to be maintained) . . . . . . . . . . 27
24 Amendment of s 9.6 (Specialty medical assessment tribunal) . . . . . . . . . . 27
25 Amendment of s 9.12 (Reference to tribunals) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
26 Amendment of s 9.20 (Further reference on fresh evidence) . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
27 Amendment of s 11.2 (Offences involving fraud) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
28 Amendment of s 12.1 (Regulations) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
29 Insertion of new Pt 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
PART 13--TRANSITIONAL AND SAVING PROVISIONS
13.5 Claims relating to injury . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
13.6 Numbering and renumbering of Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
30 Renumbering and relocation of transitional and saving provisions . . . . . . . 30
SCHEDULE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
MINOR AMENDMENTS
1994
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the Workers' Compensation Act 1990
s1 6 s4
Workers' Compensation Amendment
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
title 2
Short
Clause 1. This Act may be cited as the Workers' Compensation Amendment Act 3
1994. 4
5
Commencement
Clause 2.(1) Section 4(3) commences on the commencement of section 3 of the 6
Electricity Act 1994. 7
(2) Section 8 commences on 1 July 1995. 8
(3) Sections 11 and 16 commence a day to be fixed by proclamation. 9
(4) Section 20 commences on 1 January 1995. 10
Act 11
Amended
Clause 3. This Act amends the Workers' Compensation Act 1990. 12
of s 2.1 (Interpretation) 13
Amendment
Clause 4.(1) Section 2.1(1), definitions "commencement of this Act", 14
"department of government", "injury" and "medical treatment"-- 15
omit. 16
(2) Section 2.1(1)-- 17
insert-- 18
` "authorised person" means a person who is appointed as an authorised 19
person.1 20
"award" means an award within the meaning of-- 21
(a) the Industrial Relations Act 1990; or 22
1 Authorised persons are appointed under section 4A.5.
s5 7 s5
Workers' Compensation Amendment
(b) the Industrial Relations Act 1988 (Cwlth). 1
"industrial agreement" means an industrial agreement, certified 2
agreement or enterprise flexibility agreement under the Industrial 3
Relations Act 1990. 4
"injury" see section 2.1A. 5
"medical treatment" includes-- 6
(a) treatment by-- 7
(i) a registered medical practitioner; or 8
(ii) a registered dentist; or 9
(iii) a registered physiotherapist; or 10
(iv) a registered occupational therapist; or 11
(v) a registered psychologist; or 12
(vi) a registered chiropractor and osteopath; or 13
(vii) a registered podiatrist; or 14
(viii)a registered speech pathologist; and 15
(b) provision of diagnostic procedures or skiagrams; and 16
(c) provision of nursing, medicines, medical or surgical supplies, 17
curative apparatus, crutches or other devices of assistance. 18
"State" includes Territory.'. 19
(3) Section 2.1(1)-- 20
insert-- 21
` "department of government" includes Queensland Railways.'. 22
(4) Section 2.1(5)-- 23
omit. 24
of new s 2.1A 25
Insertion
Clause 5. After section 2.1-- 26
insert-- 27
s6 8 s6
Workers' Compensation Amendment
of "injury" 1
`Meaning
`2.1A(1) In this Act-- 2
"injury" means personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, 3
employment if the employment was a significant contributing factor to 4
the injury. 5
`(2) "Injury" includes-- 6
(a) a disease contracted in the course of employment, whether at or 7
away from the place of employment, if the employment was a 8
significant contributing factor to the contracting of the disease; 9
and 10
(b) an aggravation or acceleration of a disease if the employment was 11
a significant contributing factor to the aggravation or acceleration; 12
and 13
(c) loss of hearing resulting in the condition known as industrial 14
deafness if the employment was a significant contributing factor 15
to the loss of hearing; and 16
(d) death from personal injury arising out of, or in the course of, 17
employment if the employment was a significant contributing 18
factor to the personal injury; and 19
(e) death from a disease mentioned in paragraph (a), or an 20
aggravation or acceleration of a disease mentioned in 21
paragraph (b), if the employment was a significant contributing 22
factor to the disease, aggravation or acceleration. 23
`(3) "Injury" does not include a personal injury, disease, or aggravation 24
or acceleration of a disease, suffered by a worker because of-- 25
(a) reasonable disciplinary action taken against the worker in 26
connection with the worker's employment; or 27
(b) failure by the worker to obtain a promotion, transfer or benefit in 28
connection with the worker's employment.'. 29
of s 2.2 (Persons declared to be employers or workers) 30
Amendment
Clause 6.(1) Section 2.2(2A)-- 31
omit. 32
s7 9 s7
Workers' Compensation Amendment
(2) Section 2.2(3), `contract of employment'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`contract of service'. 3
(3) Section 2.2-- 4
insert-- 5
`(3A) A labour hire agency that arranges, for reward, for a worker who 6
is party to a contract of service with the agency to do work for someone else 7
continues to be the worker's employer while the worker does the work for 8
the other person under an arrangement made between the agency and the 9
other person.'. 10
(4) Section 2.2-- 11
insert-- 12
`(10) In this section-- 13
"arrangement" includes agreement, promise, scheme, transaction, 14
understanding and undertaking (whether express or implied). 15
"holding company" means-- 16
(a) for a waterside worker--Stevedoring Employers of Australia 17
Limited or its successor; or 18
(b) for a supervisor stevedore--the Association of Employers of 19
Waterside Labour or its successor. 20
"labour hire agency" means an entity, other than a holding company, that 21
conducts a business that includes the supply of services of workers to 22
others on a temporary basis.'. 23
of s 2.3 (Persons declared not to be workers) 24
Amendment
Clause 7.(1) Section 2.3, after `is not a worker'-- 25
insert-- 26
`in the capacity described'. 27
(2) Section 2.3(b)-- 28
omit, insert-- 29
s8 10 s8
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`(b) a person, other than a person mentioned in section 2.2(6),2 who, 1
as a professional sportsperson-- 2
(i) participates in a sporting or athletic activity as a contestant; or 3
(ii) is training or preparing for participating in a sporting or 4
athletic activity as a contestant; or 5
(iii) performs promotional activities offered to the person 6
because of the person's standing as a sportsperson; or 7
(iv) engages on any daily or other periodic journey in connection 8
with the participation, training or performance; or'. 9
of s 4.15 (Recovery of moneys paid in respect of 10
Replacement
uninsured worker) 11
Clause 8. Section 4.15-- 12
omit, insert-- 13
of claims costs and unpaid premium 14
`Recovery
`4.15(1) This section applies if-- 15
(a) an employer contravenes section 4.9(2);3 or 16
(b) the Board makes a payment for a worker who was injured when 17
the worker's employer was in contravention of section 4.9(2). 18
`(2) The Board may recover from the employer-- 19
(a) the amount of unpaid premium together with a penalty equal to 20
100% of the unpaid premium; and 21
(b) if the Board has made a payment for the injured worker--the 22
amount of the payment made together with a penalty equal to 23
50% of the payment. 24
`(3) An employer may apply to the General Manager to waive or reduce 25
the penalty because of extenuating circumstances. 26
2 Section 2.2(6) refers to jockeys.
3 Section 4.9 deals with an employer's legal liability and obligation to insure.
s9 11 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`(4) The General Manager must consider the application and may-- 1
(a) waive or reduce the penalty; or 2
(b) refuse to waive or reduce the penalty. 3
`(5) An employer who is dissatisfied with the General Manager's 4
decision may object to the decision in the same way an objection to a default 5
assessment may be made. 6
`(6) Sections 4.22 to 4.27 apply to the objection with all necessary 7
changes and any change prescribed under the regulations. 8
`(7) This section does not limit section 4.14.'. 9
of ss 4.164.19 10
Omission
Clause 9. Sections 4.16 to 4.19-- 11
omit. 12
of new Pt 4A 13
Insertion
Clause 10. After Part 4-- 14
insert-- 15
ART 4A--INVESTIGATION AND ENFORCEMENT 16
`P
1--General 17
`Division
of authorised persons 18
`Functions
`4A.1 Authorised persons have the following functions-- 19
(a) to conduct investigations and carry out inspections under this Act; 20
(b) to monitor compliance with this Act. 21
persons subject to directions from General Manager 22
`Authorised
`4A.2 An authorised person is subject to the General Manager's 23
directions in exercising powers of an authorised person. 24
s 10 12 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
of authorised persons 1
`Powers
`4A.3 An authorised person has the powers given under this Act. 2
on powers of authorised person 3
`Limitation
`4A.4 The powers of an authorised person may be limited-- 4
(a) under the regulations; or 5
(b) under a condition of appointment; or 6
(c) by written notice given by the General Manager to the authorised 7
person. 8
2--Appointment of authorised persons and other matters 9
`Division
of authorised persons 10
`Appointment
`4A.5(1) The General Manager may appoint an officer of the Board as an 11
authorised person. 12
`(2) The General Manager may appoint an officer to be an authorised 13
person only if-- 14
(a) the General Manager considers the officer has the necessary 15
expertise or experience to be an authorised person; or 16
(b) the officer has satisfactorily finished training approved by the 17
General Manager. 18
person's appointment conditions 19
`Authorised
`4A.6(1) An authorised person holds office on the conditions stated in 20
the instrument of appointment. 21
`(2) An authorised person-- 22
(a) if the appointment provides for a term of appointment--ceases 23
holding office at the end of the term; and 24
(b) may resign by signed notice given to the General Manager; and 25
(c) if the conditions of appointment provide--ceases holding office 26
s 10 13 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
as an authorised person on ceasing to hold another office stated in 1
the appointment conditions (the "main office"). 2
`(3) However, an authorised person may not resign from the office of 3
authorised person (the "secondary office") if a term of the authorised 4
person's employment to the main office requires the authorised person to 5
hold the secondary office. 6
person's identity card 7
`Authorised
`4A.7(1) The General Manager must give an identity card to each 8
authorised person. 9
`(2) The identity card must-- 10
(a) contain a recent photograph of the authorised person; and 11
(b) be signed by the authorised person; and 12
(c) identify the person as an authorised person for the Board; and 13
(d) include an expiry date. 14
`(3) A person who ceases to be an authorised person for the Board must 15
return the person's identity card to the General Manager within 21 days 16
after the person ceases to be an authorised person, unless the person has a 17
reasonable excuse. 18
Maximum penalty--10 penalty units. 19
of authorised person's identity card 20
`Display
`4A.8(1) An authorised person may exercise a power in relation to 21
someone else only if the authorised person-- 22
(a) first produces his or her identity card for the person's inspection; 23
or 24
(b) has the identity card displayed so it is clearly visible to the person. 25
`(2) However, if for any reason it is not practicable to comply with 26
subsection (1), the authorised person must produce the identity card for 27
inspection by the person at the first reasonable opportunity. 28
s 10 14 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
from liability 1
`Protection
`4A.9(1) An authorised person does not incur civil liability for an act 2
done, or omission made, honestly and without negligence under this Act. 3
`(2) If subsection (1) prevents a civil liability attaching to an authorised 4
person, the liability attaches instead to the Board. 5
3--Powers of authorised persons 6
`Division
7
`Definition
`4A.10 In this Division-- 8
"contractor" means a person who has contracted with someone else for 9
performance of work. 10
to workplaces 11
`Entry
`4A.11 An authorised person may, at any reasonable time, enter a 12
workplace (within the meaning of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 13
1989) to inspect-- 14
(a) the workplace; and 15
(b) documents required to be kept under this Act. 16
to require information from certain persons 17
`Power
`4A.12(1) This section applies if an authorised person believes, on 18
reasonable grounds, that a person has information relevant to making a 19
decision about whether the person or someone else is, or at any time was, 20
an employer or contractor for this Act. 21
`(2) The authorised person may require the person to give the authorised 22
person the stated information relevant to making the decision. 23
`(3) When making the requirement, the authorised person must warn the 24
person it is an offence to fail to give the information, unless the person has a 25
reasonable excuse. 26
`(4) The person must comply with the requirement, unless the person 27
s 10 15 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
has a reasonable excuse for not complying with it. 1
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 2
`(5) It is a reasonable excuse for the person to fail to give information if 3
giving the information might tend to incriminate the person. 4
`(6) The person does not commit an offence against this section if the 5
information sought by the authorised person is not in fact relevant to the 6
offence. 7
and inspection, of documents 8
`Keeping,
`4A.13(1) An employer or contractor must keep the documents about 9
employees, and contracts for the performance of work, prescribed under the 10
regulations. 11
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 12
`(2) A regulation may prescribe the particulars the documents must 13
contain. 14
`(3) The employer or contractor must-- 15
(a) keep each document for at least 3 financial years after the last 16
entry is made in it; and 17
(b) make available for inspection by an authorised person, or produce 18
to the authorised person for inspection, the documents at a 19
reasonable time and place nominated by an authorised person; 20
and 21
(c) permit the authorised person to make a copy of a document. 22
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 23
`(4) The authorised person may keep the document to make a copy of it. 24
`(5) The authorised person must return the document to the person as 25
soon as practicable after making the copy. 26
for entry 27
`Warrants
`4A.14(1) An authorised person may apply to a Magistrate for a warrant 28
for a place. 29
s 10 16 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`(2) The application must be sworn and state the grounds on which the 1
warrant is sought. 2
`(3) The Magistrate may refuse to consider the application until the 3
authorised person gives the Magistrate all the information the Magistrate 4
requires about the application in the way the Magistrate requires. 5
6
Example--
7
The Magistrate may require additional information supporting the application to
8
be given by statutory declaration.
`(4) The Magistrate may issue a warrant only if satisfied there are 9
reasonable grounds for suspecting-- 10
(a) there is a particular thing or activity (the "evidence") that may 11
provide evidence of an offence against this Act; and 12
(b) the evidence is, or may be within the next 7 days, at the place. 13
`(5) The warrant must state-- 14
(a) that the authorised person may, with necessary and reasonable 15
help and force, enter the place and exercise the authorised 16
person's powers under this Act; and 17
(b) the evidence for which the warrant is issued; and 18
(c) the hours when entry may be made; and 19
(d) the day, within 14 days after the warrant's issue, the warrant 20
ends. 21
`(6) The Magistrate must record the reasons for issuing the warrant. 22
made other than in person 23
`Warrants--applications
`4A.15(1) An authorised person may apply for a warrant by phone, fax, 24
radio or another form of communication if the authorised person considers 25
it necessary because of urgent circumstances or other special circumstances, 26
including, for example, the authorised person's remote location. 27
`(2) Before applying for the warrant, the authorised person must prepare 28
an application stating the grounds on which the warrant is sought. 29
`(3) The authorised person may apply for the warrant before the 30
application is sworn. 31
s 10 17 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`(4) After issuing the warrant, the Magistrate must immediately fax a 1
copy to the authorised person if it is reasonably practicable to fax the copy. 2
`(5) If it is not reasonably practicable to fax a copy of the warrant to the 3
authorised person-- 4
(a) the Magistrate must-- 5
(i) record on the warrant the reasons for issuing the warrant; 6
and 7
(ii) tell the authorised person the date and time the warrant was 8
signed; and 9
(iii) tell the authorised person the warrant's terms; and 10
(b) the authorised person must write on a form of warrant (the 11
"warrant form")-- 12
(i) the Magistrate's name; and 13
(ii) the date and time the Magistrate signed the warrant; and 14
(iii) the warrant's terms. 15
`(6) The facsimile warrant, or the warrant form properly completed by 16
the authorised person, authorises the entry and the exercise of the other 17
powers mentioned in the warrant issued by the Magistrate. 18
`(7) The authorised person must, at the first reasonable opportunity, send 19
to the Magistrate-- 20
(a) the sworn application; and 21
(b) if a warrant form was required to be completed by the authorised 22
person--the completed warrant form. 23
`(8) On receiving the documents, the Magistrate must attach them to the 24
warrant. 25
`(9) Unless the contrary is proven, a court must presume that a power 26
exercised by an authorised person was not authorised by a warrant issued 27
under this section if-- 28
(a) a question arises, in a proceeding before the court, whether the 29
exercise of power was authorised by a warrant; and 30
(b) the warrant is not produced in evidence. 31
s 10 18 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
to seize evidence 1
`Power
`4A.16(1) An authorised officer who enters a place under this Part with a 2
warrant may seize the evidence for which the warrant was issued. 3
`(2) An authorised officer may also seize another thing if the authorised 4
officer believes on reasonable grounds-- 5
(a) the thing is evidence of an offence against this Act; and 6
(b) the seizure is necessary to prevent the thing being concealed, lost 7
or destroyed. 8
for seized things 9
`Receipt
`4A.17(1) As soon as practicable after a thing is seized by an authorised 10
person under this Part, the authorised person must give a receipt for it to the 11
person from whom it was seized. 12
`(2) However, if for any reason it is not practicable to comply with 13
subsection (1), the authorised person must leave the receipt at the place of 14
seizure in a reasonably secure way and in a conspicuous position. 15
to seized things 16
`Access
`4A.18 Until a seized thing is returned or otherwise finally dealt with, an 17
authorised person must allow its owner-- 18
(a) to inspect it; or 19
(b) if it is a document--to make copies of it. 20
of seized things 21
`Return
`4A.19(1) The authorised person must return a seized thing to its owner 22
at the end of-- 23
(a) 6 months; or 24
(b) if a prosecution for an offence involving it is started within 25
6 months--the prosecution and any appeal from the prosecution. 26
`(2) Despite subsection (2), the authorised person must return the seized 27
s 10 19 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
thing to its owner immediately the authorised person stops being satisfied 1
its retention as evidence is necessary. 2
4--Other enforcement matters 3
Division
person to give notice of damage 4
`Authorised
`4A.20(1) This section applies if an authorised person damages anything 5
in the exercise of a power under this Part. 6
`(2) The authorised person must promptly give written notice of the 7
particulars of the damage. 8
`(3) The notice must be given to the person who appears to the 9
authorised person to be the thing's owner. 10
`(4) If the authorised person believes the damage was caused by a latent 11
defect in the thing or other circumstances beyond the officer's control, the 12
officer may state this in the notice. 13
`(5) If, for any reason, it is not practicable to comply with subsection (3), 14
the authorised person must-- 15
(a) leave the notice at the place where the damage happened; and 16
(b) ensure the notice is left in a reasonably secured way in a 17
conspicuous position. 18
`(6) This section does not apply to damage the authorised person 19
believes, on reasonable grounds, is trivial. 20
21
`Compensation
`4A.21(1) A person may claim compensation if the person incurs loss or 22
expense because of the exercise or purported exercise of a power under this 23
Part, including, for example, in complying with a requirement made of the 24
person under this Part. 25
`(2) The compensation may be claimed from the Board. 26
`(3) Payment of compensation may be claimed and ordered-- 27
(a) in a proceeding brought in a court with jurisdiction for the 28
recovery of compensation; or 29
s 10 20 s 10
Workers' Compensation Amendment
(b) in a proceeding for an offence against this Act brought against the 1
person making the claim for compensation. 2
`(4) A court may order the payment of compensation for the loss or 3
expense only if it is satisfied it is just to make the order in the circumstances 4
of the particular case. 5
`(5) The regulations may prescribe matters that may, or must, be taken 6
into account by the court when considering whether it is just to make the 7
order. 8
5--Offences 9
`Division
of authorised persons 10
`Obstruction
`4A.22(1) A person must not obstruct an authorised person in the 11
exercise of a power, unless the person has a reasonable excuse. 12
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 13
`(2) In this section-- 14
"obstruct" includes hinder, resist or attempt to obstruct. 15
of authorised persons 16
`Impersonation
`4A.23 A person must not pretend to be an authorised person. 17
Maximum penalty--20 penalty units. 18
or misleading information 19
`False
`4A.24(1) A person must not-- 20
(a) state anything to the General Manager or an authorised person the 21
person knows is false or misleading in a material particular; or 22
(b) omit from a statement made to the General Manager or an 23
authorised person anything without which the statement is, to the 24
person's knowledge, misleading in a material particular. 25
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 26
s 11 21 s 11
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`(2) It is enough for a complaint against a person for an offence against 1
subsection (1)(a) or (b) to state the statement made was false or misleading 2
to the person's knowledge. 3
misleading or incomplete documents 4
`False,
`4A.25(1) A person must not give the General Manager or an authorised 5
person a document containing information the person knows is false, 6
misleading or incomplete in a material particular. 7
Maximum penalty--50 penalty units. 8
`(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to a person who, when giving the 9
document-- 10
(a) informs the General Manager or authorised person, to the best of 11
the person's ability, how it is false, misleading or incomplete; and 12
(b) gives the correct information to the General Manager or 13
authorised person if the person has, or can reasonably obtain, the 14
correct information. 15
`(3) It is enough for a complaint against a person for an offence against 16
subsection (1) to state the document was false, misleading or incomplete to 17
the person's knowledge.'. 18
of new s 5.2A 19
Insertion
Clause 11. After section 5.2-- 20
insert-- 21
arrangements 22
`Interstate
`5.2A(1) If-- 23
(a) an injury is suffered by a worker in another State in 24
circumstances that, had the injury happened in Queensland, 25
would have entitled the worker, or the worker's dependants, to 26
compensation under this Act; and 27
(b) at the time of the injury, the worker's principal place of 28
employment was in Queensland; 29
compensation under this Act is payable in relation to the worker as if the 30
s 12 22 s 12
Workers' Compensation Amendment
injury happened in Queensland. 1
`(2) If-- 2
(a) an injury is suffered by a worker in Queensland; and 3
(b) at the time of the injury, the worker's principal place of 4
employment was in another State; 5
compensation under this Act is not payable in relation to the worker for the 6
injury. 7
`(3) For this section, a worker's principal place of employment is in a 8
State if-- 9
(a) the worker usually carries out his or her work in that State; or 10
(b) for a worker who usually carries out his or her work in more than 11
1 State--the employer's principal place of business is in that 12
State. 13
`(4) In deciding whether a worker usually carries out his or her work in a 14
State, regard must be had to the worker's work history with the employer 15
and the intention of the worker and employer. 16
`(5) However, regard must not be had to any temporary arrangement 17
under which the worker works in a State for a continuous period of not 18
longer than 6 months.'. 19
of s 5.4 (Injuries that arise out of or in the course of 20
Amendment
employment) 21
Clause 12.(1) Section 5.4(2)(a)(ii)-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`(ii) while the worker is temporarily absent from that place 24
during an ordinary recess if the injury is not due to the 25
worker voluntarily being subjected to an abnormal risk of 26
injury during the recess; or'. 27
(2) Section 5.4-- 28
insert-- 29
`(2A) For subsection (2) (other than subsection (2)(a)(i) and (iii) and 30
s 13 23 s 15
Workers' Compensation Amendment
(b)(iii)), employment need not be a significant contributing factor to the 1
injury.'. 2
of s 5.5 (Compensation not payable in certain cases) 3
Amendment
Clause 13.(1) Section 5.5(1)-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`5.5(1) Compensation under this Act is not payable in relation to an 6
injury to a worker-- 7
(a) that is intentionally self-inflicted; or 8
(b) if not intentionally self-inflicted--that is caused by the serious and 9
wilful misconduct of the worker, unless the injury results in death 10
or serious permanent disability.'. 11
(2) Section 5.5-- 12
insert-- 13
`(4) In this section-- 14
"serious and wilful misconduct" of a worker does not include conduct 15
engaged in at the express or implied direction of the worker's 16
employer.'. 17
of s 7.8 (Lump sum upon worker moving abroad) 18
Amendment
Clause 14. Section 7.8-- 19
insert-- 20
`(4) A worker in relation to whom a lump sum payment is made under 21
an agreement or determination under this section or another provision of 22
this Act in relation to an injury is not entitled to payment, under this Act, of 23
compensation, or expenses of any description, in relation to the injury for 24
any period after the lump sum is agreed or determined.'. 25
of new s 7.15A 26
Insertion
Clause 15. After section 7.15-- 27
insert-- 28
s 16 24 s 17
Workers' Compensation Amendment
must notify Board of return to work 1
`Worker
`7.15A(1) A worker receiving compensation under this Act for an injury 2
must give the Board written notice of the worker's return to work. 3
`(2) The notice may be a medical certificate stating the worker's fitness 4
for work. 5
`(3) The notice must be given within 14 days of the worker's return to 6
work.'. 7
of s 8.1 (Total incapacity) 8
Amendment
Clause 16.(1) Section 8.1(1), table, item (f), column 2, `an amount not exceeding 9
$40'-- 10
omit, insert-- 11
`an amount worked out under subsection (4)'. 12
(2) Section 8.1-- 13
insert-- 14
`(4) For subsection (1), table, item (f), column 2, the amount payable to 15
the worker is the lesser of-- 16
(a) the amount the worker was earning in the calling in which the 17
worker was engaged at the time of the injury; and 18
(b) the amount the worker is entitled to earn before a person's 19
maximum pension is reduced. 20
`(5) A regulation may prescribe how the amount a worker is entitled to 21
earn before the pension is reduced may be worked out.'. 22
of s 8.13 (Benefits for total or partial dependants) 23
Amendment
Clause 17. Section 8.13(1), table, item (a), column 2, `$89 000'-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`$120 000'. 26
s 18 25 s 20
Workers' Compensation Amendment
of s 8.17 (Entitlement to additional compensation) 1
Amendment
Clause 18.(1) Section 8.17(2)-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`(2) Compensation under this Act payable for prescribed disfigurement 4
must not be more than the amount allowable. 5
`(2A) Compensation may vary as a percentage of the amount allowable 6
according to the severity of the disfigurement or scarring.'. 7
(2) Section 8.17-- 8
insert-- 9
`(4) In this section-- 10
"amount allowable" means 50% of the maximum amount prescribed by 11
section 8.31(1)(b).'. 12
of s 8.21 (Extent of liability for medical treatment) 13
Amendment
Clause 19. Section 8.21(2)-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`(2) The Board's liability for the cost of treatment by a registered 16
chiropractor and osteopath extends only to the cost of treatment involving 17
the manipulation, mobilisation and management of the 18
neuromusculoskeletal system of the human body.'. 19
of s 8.25 (Extent of Board's liability for hospital 20
Amendment
treatment) 21
Clause 20.(1) Section 8.25(1) and (2)-- 22
omit, insert-- 23
`8.25(1) The Board's liability for the cost of hospitalisation of an injured 24
worker extends only to the cost of treatment provided to the worker-- 25
(a) as an in-patient in a public ward of a public hospital; or 26
(b) as an in-patient at a private hospital-- 27
(i) for non-elective hospitalisation--for not more than 4 days; 28
s 21 26 s 21
Workers' Compensation Amendment
or 1
(ii) for non-elective hospitalisation for more than 4 days--to the 2
extent agreed to by the Board under earlier arrangements 3
entered into between the Board and the worker or someone 4
for the worker; or 5
(iii) for elective hospitalisation--to the extent agreed to by the 6
Board under earlier arrangements entered into between the 7
Board and the worker or someone for the worker. 8
`(2) Before agreeing to arrangements under subsection (1)(b)(ii) or (iii), 9
the Board must be satisfied that-- 10
(a) a public hospital is not reasonably available to the injured worker 11
or a public hospital that is reasonably available cannot admit the 12
injured worker as an in-patient to a public ward within a 13
reasonable time; or 14
(b) admission of the injured worker to a private hospital-- 15
(i) would relieve prolonged pain and suffering to the worker; or 16
(ii) would result in material saving of costs to the Fund.'. 17
(2) Section 8.25-- 18
insert-- 19
`(5) In this section-- 20
"elective" hospitalisation means hospitalisation involving a treatment or 21
procedure decided on by a worker or the worker's medical practitioner 22
that is of advantage to the worker, but is not fundamental in the therapy 23
of the worker's case. 24
"private hospital" includes a ward or room of a public hospital that is not 25
a public ward.'. 26
of Pt 8, Div 7 (Maximum compensation not otherwise 27
Amendment
prescribed) 28
Clause 21. Part 8, Division 7, heading-- 29
omit, insert-- 30
`Division 7--Maximum entitlement for 1 incident'. 31
s 22 27 s 25
Workers' Compensation Amendment
of s 8.31 (Maximum entitlement for 1 incident) 1
Amendment
Clause 22.(1) Section 8.31, `Except where it is otherwise prescribed, the 2
maximum amount'-- 3
omit, insert-- 4
`The maximum amount'. 5
(2) Section 8.31-- 6
insert-- 7
`(2) A worker in relation to whom the maximum amount of 8
compensation is paid under subsection (1) is not entitled to further 9
compensation for the incident under another provision of this Part for any 10
period after the payment is made.'. 11
of s 9.1 (Assessment tribunals to be maintained) 12
Amendment
Clause 23. Section 9.1(1)(e)-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`(e) Neurology/Neurosurgical Assessment Tribunal;'. 15
of s 9.6 (Specialty medical assessment tribunal) 16
Amendment
Clause 24. Section 9.6(4), `not more than 25'-- 17
omit. 18
of s 9.12 (Reference to tribunals) 19
Amendment
Clause 25. Section 9.12(2)(a)-- 20
insert-- 21
`(iii) if the tribunal determines that the worker has suffered a 22
permanent partial disability resulting from the injury and the 23
General Manager asks--the nature and extent of the 24
disability; and'. 25
s 26 28 s 27
Workers' Compensation Amendment
of s 9.20 (Further reference on fresh evidence) 1
Amendment
Clause 26.(1) Section 9.20(2), `the chairperson of the General Medical 2
Assessment Tribunal or, if the chairperson is unavailable, a deputy 3
chairperson of that tribunal'-- 4
omit, insert-- 5
`the chairperson or a deputy chairperson of the General Medical 6
Assessment Tribunal'. 7
(2) Section 9.20(2)(a), (b) and (c)-- 8
omit, insert-- 9
`(a) the chairperson of the specialty medical assessment tribunal that 10
determined the claim or matter in question (the "original 11
tribunal") or, if the chairperson is unavailable, a member of the 12
original tribunal; 13
(b) the chairperson of the prescribed disfigurement assessment 14
tribunal that determined the claim or matter in question (the 15
"original tribunal") or, if the chairperson is unavailable, a 16
member of the original tribunal; 17
(c) the deputy chairperson of the General Medical Assessment 18
Tribunal that determined the claim or matter in question (the 19
"original tribunal") or, if the deputy chairperson is unavailable, 20
a member of the original tribunal.'. 21
of s 11.2 (Offences involving fraud) 22
Amendment
Clause 27.(1) Section 11.2(1)(c)-- 23
omit, insert-- 24
`(c) obtains, or attempts to obtain, compensation, or a benefit, under 25
this Act by misrepresenting the person's capacity for work; or'. 26
(2) Section 11.2(1), `and is liable to a penalty of 50 penalty units or 27
2 months imprisonment'-- 28
omit. 29
(3) Section 11.2(1)-- 30
insert-- 31
s 28 29 s 29
Workers' Compensation Amendment
`Maximum penalty--200 penalty units or imprisonment for 1 year.'. 1
(4) Section 11.2-- 2
insert-- 3
`(2A) A person who makes an application for compensation under this 4
Act because of total incapacity for work and, after making the application, 5
engages in any calling without first informing the Board of the person's 6
intention to return to work, is taken to have attempted to defraud the 7
Board.'. 8
of s 12.1 (Regulations) 9
Amendment
Clause 28. Section 12.1-- 10
insert-- 11
`(ea) amounts that may, or may not, be taken into account when 12
deciding the weekly rate of salary or wages; or'. 13
of new Pt 13 14
Insertion
Clause 29. After Part 12-- 15
insert-- 16
ART 13--TRANSITIONAL AND SAVING 17
`P
PROVISIONS 18
relating to injury 19
`Claims
`13.5(1) If a worker suffers injury before the commencement, an 20
application for compensation under this Act in relation to the injury, 21
whether made before or after the commencement, must be decided under 22
the Act as in force at the time the injury was suffered. 23
`(2) Also, if the injury suffered by the worker was death, the amount of 24
compensation payable in relation to the injury is the amount payable under 25
the Act as in force at the time the injury was suffered. 26
`(3) Despite subsection (1), if the application is for compensation for the 27
cost of hospitalisation under section 8.25, the application is to be decided, 28
s 30 30 s 30
Workers' Compensation Amendment
and compensation paid, under the Act as in force on 1 January 1995 or 1
from time to time after that day. 2
`(4) In this section-- 3
"commencement" means-- 4
(a) for an injury in relation to which compensation is sought under 5
section 5.2A--the day the section comes into force; or 6
(b) for another injury--the commencement of this section. 7
and renumbering of Act 8
`Numbering
`13.6 Section 43 (Numbering and renumbering of provisions) of the 9
Reprints Act 1992 must be used in the next reprint of the Act produced 10
under that Act.'. 11
and relocation of transitional and saving provisions 12
Renumbering
Clause 30. Sections 1.6 to 1.9-- 13
relocate in Part 13 and renumber as 13.1 to 13.4 respectively. 14
15
31
Workers' Compensation Amendment
CHEDULE 1
¡S
INOR AMENDMENTS 2
M
section 3 3
1. Sections 2.1(1), definition "accident pay", 2.3(e), 5.4(4), definition 4
"place of pick-up", paragraph (c), 8.1, 8.3(1)(a), (4) and (6)(b) and 5
8.5(1), `industrial award or registered industrial agreement'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`award or industrial agreement'. 8
2. Sections 2.1(1), definition "accident pay", 8.1(1), table, 9
paragraph (c)(a)(ii), 8.2(1), table, paragraph (c)(a) and 8.3(4), `weekly 10
rate of wages'-- 11
omit, insert-- 12
`weekly rate of salary or wages'. 13
3. Section 2.1(1), definition "policy", `section 1.6'-- 14
omit, insert-- 15
`section 13.1'. 16
4. Section 5.8(2)(b), `section 1.9'-- 17
omit, insert-- 18
`section 13.4'. 19
5. Section 8.1(2) and (3), `award or agreement'-- 20
omit, insert-- 21
`award or industrial agreement'. 22
32
Workers' Compensation Amendment
SCHEDULE (continued)
6. Section 8.5(1), definition "WR", `industrial award'-- 1
omit, insert-- 2
`award'. 3
4
© State of Queensland 1994
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