RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 143
RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 143
(1) A premium payable
by an employer in relation to a particular period (other than an employer who
is not liable to pay a premium under this Division) will be—
(a)
determined in accordance with a RTWSA premium order under this section; or
(b) to
the extent that a RTWSA premium order does not apply to the employer—the
aggregate base premiums applying to that employer in respect of all classes of
industry in which the employer employs workers (subject to any adjustments or
requirements that apply in the circumstances).
(2) For the purposes
of subsection (1)(a), the Corporation may, after consultation with the
Minister and applying any principle specified by the Minister for the purposes
of this section, fix the manner in which a premium payable by an employer (or
a person who proposes to become an employer) will be calculated.
(3) The Corporation
must, for the purposes of subsection (2), publish an order (or orders) in
the Gazette (and any such order will be referred to as a
"RTWSA premium order").
(4) A
RTWSA premium order will take effect from the commencement of a financial year
specified by the order (and will then apply, including in relation to a
succeeding financial year, until superseded by another RTWSA premium order).
(5) The Corporation
must ensure that a RTWSA premium order operates on the basis that the costs of
all claims made by an employer's workers in the relevant period (including
claims in respect of damages but not including claims in respect of
unrepresentative injuries) are taken into account in relation to the
determination of the premium payable by the employer.
(6) A
RTWSA premium order may—
(a)
apply generally or be limited in its application by reference to specified
factors or exceptions; and
(b)
apply differently according to—
(i)
categories of employers; and
(ii)
different factors of a specified kind; and
(c)
authorise any matter to be determined, applied or regulated by a specified
person or body,
or may do any combination of these things.
(7) Without limiting a
preceding subsection, a RTWSA premium order may—
(a)
apply any principle relevant to the claims experience of a particular category
or class of employer, or the size of an employer (after applying such
principles or assumptions as the Corporation thinks fit); and
(b) fix
and apply various principles, weights, adjustments, caps, limits (including
limits on the reduction of premiums), assumptions or exclusions according to
specified factors; and
(c)
without limiting any other provision, specify any adjustment or assumption
relating to the remuneration paid to workers over a particular period
(including a period into the future); and
(d) make
provision with respect to liabilities for damages under Part 5; and
(e)
allow employers who satisfy any specified criteria, on application and at the
discretion of the Corporation, to pay a premium determined by the Corporation
according to an alternative set of principles—
(i)
specified in the order; or
(ii)
specified in another RTWSA premium order that applies in
the circumstances; or
(iii)
agreed between the Corporation and the employer; and
(f)
require that employers of a specified class must provide a deposit, bond or
guarantee, or some other form of security, specified in the order; and
(g) make
any other provision or impose any other requirement prescribed by the
regulations.
(8) Subject to any
remission or reduction of premium granted by the Corporation, where—
(a) the
amount of premium payable by an employer in respect of a designated period
would, apart from this subsection, be less than the designated minimum
premium; or
(b) an
employer is registered but no premium would, apart from this subsection, be
payable by the employer for a designated period,
the premium payable by the employer for the designated period is the
designated minimum premium.
(9) For the purposes
of subsection (8), the Corporation may, from time to time, as part of the
RTWSA premium provisions, fix—
(a) the
designated period; and
(b) the
designated minimum premium.
(10) The Corporation
may, if it considers that there is an error in a RTWSA premium order, after
consultation with the Minister, amend the RTWSA premium order by notice in the
Gazette.
(11) A notice under
subsection (10) may, if the notice so provides, take effect from a date
that is earlier than its date of publication (being on or after the date on
which the relevant RTWSA premium order took effect).