South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts (1) Subject to this
section, the Corporation is liable for the compensation that is payable under
this Act on account of the occurrence of a compensable disability.
(2) Where a
compensable disability 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
compensable disability.
(3) Subject to this
section, where a worker is, as a result of a compensable disability, wholly 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 two weeks or less—for the whole period of
the incapacity; or
(b) if
the period of the incapacity is more than two weeks—for the first two
weeks of the period of incapacity.
(4) If separate
periods of incapacity commence during the course of the same calendar year
(whether attributable to the same disability or not), an employer is not
liable to pay compensation under subsection (3) for those periods of
incapacity in excess of an amount equal to twice the worker's average
weekly earnings.
(5) Where a worker is,
at the commencement of a period of incapacity, in the employment of two or
more employers, they are liable to pay the compensation referred to in
subsection (3) in proportions determined by agreement between them or, in
default of agreement, by the Corporation.
(6) An employer who is
liable to pay compensation to a worker under subsection (3) shall 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.
(6a) Where an employer
(not being a self-insured employer) pays compensation under
subsection (3) in respect of an unrepresentative disability, the employer
may recover the amount of the payment from the Corporation.
(7) Where an employer
pays compensation under subsection (3) in respect of a disability 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 disability arose; or
(b) if
it appears that the worker was not entitled to that compensation—from
the worker.
(8) Where 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 (3) by the employer from whose employment the
worker's disability arose.
(8a) The regulations
may exempt prescribed classes of employers from the operation of
subsection (3) (and in that case the Corporation will undertake any
liability of those employers that would otherwise have arisen under that
subsection).
(8b) The Corporation
will also undertake any liability of an employer under subsection (3) in
respect of a particular disability if the Corporation is satisfied that the
employer has complied with the employer's responsibilities under
section 52(5) within 2 business 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).
(9) No compensation by
way of income maintenance is payable to a disabled self-employed worker whose
disability arises from self-employment in respect of the first week of
incapacity for work.