RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 64
RETURN TO WORK ACT 2014 - SECT 64
(1) Subject to this
section, the Corporation is liable for the compensation that is payable under
this Part on account of the occurrence of a work injury.
(2) If a work injury
arises from employment by a self-insured employer, the self-insured employer
is liable to make all payments of compensation to which any person becomes
entitled in consequence of the occurrence of that work injury.
(3) A self-insured
employer is liable to make all outstanding payments of compensation to which a
person is entitled in consequence of the occurrence of a work injury arising
from employment by the employer that occurred before the employer became a
self-insured employer.
(4) In connection with
the assumption of liability by a self-insured employer under
subsection (3) to make outstanding payments of compensation, the
Corporation must determine, in accordance with the code of conduct for
self-insured employers published by the Corporation in the Gazette under
Part 9, whether—
(a) the
Corporation is required to make a payment to the self-insured employer; or
(b) the
self-insured employer is required to make a payment to the Corporation,
and the amount of any such payment.
(5) Subject to this
section, if a worker is, as a result of a work injury, totally or partially
incapacitated for work and is in employment when the incapacity arises, the
worker's employer is liable to pay compensation by way of income
maintenance—
(a) if
the period of incapacity is no more than the excess liability period—for
the whole period of incapacity; or
(b) if
the period of incapacity is more than the excess liability period—for
the excess liability period.
(6) For the purposes
of subsection (5), the excess liability period is the first 2 weeks
of the period of incapacity.
(7) If separate
periods of incapacity commence during the course of the same calendar year
(whether attributable to the same injury or not), an employer is not liable to
pay compensation under subsection (5) for those periods of incapacity in
excess of an amount equal to twice the worker's average weekly earnings.
(8) If a worker is, at
the commencement of a period of incapacity, in the employment of 2 or
more employers, they are liable to pay the compensation referred to in
subsection (5) in proportions determined by agreement between them or, in
default of agreement, by the Corporation.
(9) An employer who is
liable to pay compensation to a worker under subsection (5) must make the
payment—
(a) if
the claim for compensation is not disputed—within 14 days after the date
of the claim; or
(b) if
the claim for compensation is disputed—forthwith after the dispute is
determined.
(10) If an employer
(not being a self-insured employer) pays compensation under
subsection (5) in respect of an unrepresentative injury, the employer may
recover the amount of the payment from the Corporation.
(11) If an employer
pays compensation under subsection (5) in respect of an injury that did
not arise from employment by that employer, that employer may recover the
amount of the payment from the Corporation, and the Corporation may, in turn,
recover that amount—
(a) from
the employer from whose employment the injury arose; or
(b) if
it appears that the worker was not entitled to that compensation—from
the worker.
(12) If the
Corporation pays compensation by way of income maintenance to a worker who was
not in employment when the incapacity for work arose, the Corporation may
recover any amount that would, if the worker had been in employment, have been
payable under subsection (5) by the employer from whose employment the
worker's injury arose.
(13) The regulations
may exempt prescribed classes of employers from the operation of
subsection (5) (and in that case the Corporation will undertake any
liability of those employers that would otherwise have arisen under that
subsection).
(14) The Corporation
will also undertake any liability of an employer under subsection (5) in
respect of a particular injury if the Corporation is satisfied that the
employer has complied with the employer's responsibilities under
section 30(5) within 5 days after receipt of the relevant claim (and
if an employer pays compensation despite the operation of this subsection, the
employer may recover the amount of the payment from the Corporation up to the
amount of compensation payable to the worker under this Act in respect of the
relevant period).
(15) No compensation
by way of income maintenance is payable to an injured self-employed worker
whose injury arises from self-employment in respect of the first week of
incapacity for work.
(16) An employer may
pay compensation by way of income maintenance after the period that applies
under subsection (5) (being compensation that would otherwise be payable
by the Corporation) in accordance with any guidelines published by the
Corporation for the purposes of this subsection.
(17) If an employer
makes a payment under subsection (16), the employer may recover the
amount of the payment from the Corporation if—
(a) the
employer applies to the Corporation in the designated manner and form; and
(b) the
Corporation receives the application within 3 months from the date of the
payment to the worker, or within such longer period (if any) as the
Corporation may, in its absolute discretion, allow in the particular case.
(18) If an employer is
liable to make weekly payments of compensation, the Corporation may, at the
request of the employer, undertake that liability on the employer's behalf in
consideration of the payment by the employer to the Corporation of an amount
fixed by the Corporation.
(19) If an employer
fails to make a payment of compensation that the employer is liable to make
under this Act, the Corporation will make that payment on behalf of the
employer.
(20) If the
Corporation makes a payment of compensation under subsection (19), the
Corporation is entitled to recover from the employer as a debt—
(a) the
amount of the payment; and
(b) an
administration fee fixed in accordance with the regulations,
(and the Corporation will take all reasonable steps to recover that debt).
(21) Nothing in this
section requires an employer (not being a self-insured employer) to undertake
a liability under section 40.