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WORKERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1988 - SECT 3 Interpretation

WORKERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1988 - SECT 3

Interpretation

(1)  In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears –
accredited medical practitioner means a medical practitioner accredited under section 77C to assess the degree of a worker's permanent impairment;
accredited person means a person accredited under section 77C ;
AMA Guides means –
(a) the American Medical Association Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, fourth edition, as modified by this Act; or
(b) such later edition of those Guides as may be prescribed, as modified by this Act;
applicant means a person who has referred a claim for compensation to the Tribunal under this Act or an agent of that person;
application means an application referred to in section 42 (2) ;
arbitrated hearing means a hearing under Division 3 of Part V ;
authorized officer means a person appointed as, or authorized to perform the functions and exercise the powers of, an authorized officer under section 150A ;
basic salary means –
(a) during the year beginning 1 January 1991, $311·30; and
(b) during any subsequent year beginning 1 January, the basic salary for the previous year as varied by the relevant percentage;
Board means the WorkCover Tasmania Board established under section 8 ;
caring partner , in relation to a person, means –
(a) the person who is in a caring relationship with that person which is the subject of a deed of relationship registered under Part 2 of the Relationships Act 2003 ; or
(b) the person who was, at the time of the death of the first-mentioned person, in a caring relationship with that person which was the subject of a deed of relationship registered under Part 2 of the Relationships Act 2003 ;
claim for compensation means a claim for compensation under this Act and includes any matter or question arising in connection with or incidental to such a claim;
dependants means such members of the family of the worker in relation to whom the term is used as –
(a) were dependent, wholly or in part, upon the earnings of that worker at the time of his death; or
(b) would have been so dependent but for the incapacity due to the injury;
disease means any ailment, disorder, defect, or morbid condition, whether of sudden or gradual development;
employer means the person with whom a worker has entered into a contract of service or training contract and may include –
(a) the Crown; and
(b) the employer of any person or class of persons taken to be a worker for the purposes of this Act; and
(c) the legal personal representative of a deceased employer;
financial year means the period of 12 months ending on the last day of June;
Fund means the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Fund established under section 145 ;
Health Practitioner Regulation National Law means –
(a) the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law –
(i) as in force from time to time, set out in the Schedule to the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 of Queensland; and
(ii) as it applies as a law of Tasmania or another State or a Territory; and
(b) the law of another State or a Territory that substantially corresponds to the law referred to in paragraph (a);
industrial deafness means permanent loss of hearing caused by exposure to industrial noise in a worker's employment;
injury includes –
(a) a disease; and
(b) the recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any pre-existing injury or disease where the employment was the major or most significant contributing factor to that recurrence, aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration –
but does not, except for the purposes of section 97(1)(b) and (c) , include an asbestos-related disease within the meaning of the Asbestos-Related Diseases (Occupational Exposure) Compensation Act 2011 ;
injury management means the management of an injured worker intended to provide the worker with a timely, safe and durable return to work following an injury;
insurer means a body corporate authorized under the Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth to carry on insurance business and includes a person who, at the time a relevant policy of insurance or indemnity was taken out, was so authorized;
licence means a licence issued and in force under Division 2 of Part IX ;
licensed insurer means an insurer who is the holder of a licence and includes a specialized insurer;
medical panel means a medical panel formed under section 50 ;
medical practitioner means –
(a) a person registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law in the medical profession; and
(b) a person who is authorised under a law of another country to carry out all of the functions in respect of which the person would, if they were carried out in Australia, be required to be registered under the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law in the medical profession;
medical question means a question relating to –
(a) the existence, nature or extent of an injury; or
(b) whether an injury is, or is likely to be, permanent or temporary; or
(c) a worker's capacity for work or specific work duties; or
(d) the loss, or the degree of loss, of any of the parts or faculties of the body; or
(e) the permanent loss of the effective use of a part of the body; or
(f) the assessment of the degree of permanent impairment, including whether the impairment is permanent;
(g) a medical service provided or to be provided to a worker for an injury, including the adequacy, appropriateness or frequency of that service;
member of the family , in relation to a worker, means –
(a) the spouse, caring partner, father, step-father, grandfather, mother, step-mother, grandmother, son, grandson, daughter, grand-daughter, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother, and half-sister of that worker; or
(b) a person to whom the worker stood in loco parentis ;
mining employee means a worker who is engaged in mining operations under a contract of service or apprenticeship with an employer, whether the contract is express or implied or is oral or in writing;
mining operations means –
(a) the disturbing, removing, carting, carrying, sifting, smelting, refining, crushing or otherwise dealing with or treating any rock, stone, quartz, clay, sand, soil, ore or mineral by any method for the purpose of obtaining metals or minerals or for prospecting for metals or minerals; and
(b) any process in connection with the dealing with, treating or handling of, any rock, stone, quartz, clay, sand, soil, ore or mineral for that purpose; and
(c) the dealing with, treating or handling, in connection with a process mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) , of any by-products or residues produced by, or arising from, that process; and
(d) the cutting, dressing, shaping or working on any stone, granite, marble or other similar substance; and
(e) the quarrying of blue metal or freestone; and
(f) the driving of a tunnel –
but does not include sluicing, dredging or any similar operations or mining for coal or shale, or the quarrying or crushing of any materials required for the construction or maintenance of roads;
motor vehicle has the same meaning as it has in the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 ;
Nominal Insurer means the body established as the Nominal Insurer under section 121 ;
notified dispute means a claim for liability disputed under section 77AA ;
outworker means a person to whom articles or materials are given out to be made up, cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented, finished, repaired, or adapted for sale, in premises not under the management or control of the person giving them out;
permit means a permit issued and in force under Division 2 of Part IX ;
place of residence includes the curtilage, messuages, and appurtenances of the place of residence;
police officer includes a junior constable and a trainee as defined in the Police Service Act 2003 ;
policy of insurance means a policy of insurance that an employer is required to maintain under section 97 (1) ;
President has the same meaning as in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 ;
primary treating medical practitioner , in relation to a worker, means the medical practitioner referred to in a notice given by the worker in accordance with section 143G(1) ;
psychiatric impairment means an illness of the mind or a disorder of the mind;
Registrar has the same meaning as in the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2020 ;
the regulations means the regulations made and in force under this Act;
repealed Act means the Workers' Compensation Act 1927 ;
second injury scheme means a scheme established by the Board to encourage the employment of injured workers by providing financial incentives to employers in relation to insurance liabilities arising from further injuries to the injured workers;
Secretary means the Secretary of the Department;
self-insurer means an employer who is the holder of a permit;
specialized insurer means an insurer or proposed insurer whose business is, or is intended to be, specialized insurance for employers of a particular class or particular classes;
spouse includes the person with whom a person is, or was at the time of his or her death, in a significant relationship, within the meaning of the Relationships Act 2003 ;
State includes a Territory;
State of connection means the State with which the employment of a worker is connected as determined under Division 2 of Part III ;
training contract has the same meaning as in the Training and Workforce Development Act 2013 ;
Tribunal means the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal;
weekly payment means a weekly payment determined in accordance with section 69 ;
worker means –
(a) any person who has entered into, or works under, a contract of service or training contract with an employer, whether by way of manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, and whether the contract is express or implied, or is oral or in writing; and
(b) any person or class of persons taken to be a worker for the purposes of this Act –
and when used in relation to a person who has been injured and is dead, includes the legal personal representatives or dependants of that person or other person to whom or for whose benefit compensation is payable;
workers' compensation insurance business means the business of insuring employers against the employers' liability to their workers under this Act;
working day , in relation to a worker's place of employment, means any day on which work is normally carried on at that place;
workplace injury , in relation to a worker, means an injury for which the worker's employer is or may be liable to pay compensation under this Act;
workplace rehabilitation provider means a person who is accredited under section 77C to provide workplace rehabilitation services;
workplace rehabilitation services means –
(a) initial workplace rehabilitation assessment; or
(b) assessment of the functional capacity of a worker; or
(c) workplace assessment; or
(d) job analysis; or
(e) advice concerning job modification; or
(f) rehabilitation counselling; or
(g) vocational assessment; or
(h)
(i)
(j) any other service that is prescribed by the regulations.
(2)  For the purposes of this Act, a person who is engaged in plying for hire with a vehicle or vessel, the use of which is obtained from the owner of the vehicle or vessel under a contract of bailment (other than a hire-purchase agreement) in consideration of the payment of a fixed sum or a share in the earnings of the vehicle or vessel, shall be deemed to be a worker employed by that owner.
(2A)  For the purposes of this Act, employment contributed to a disease to a substantial degree only if it is the major or most significant factor.
(3)  For the purposes of this Act, the exercise and performance of the powers and duties of a local or other public authority shall be deemed to be the carrying on by such authority of a trade or business.
(4)  At the request of the governing body of a church, the Minister –
(a) may, by notice published in the Gazette , declare that clergymen, as defined in the notice, of that church shall be deemed to be workers for the purposes of this Act and, where he makes such a declaration, the Minister shall also declare, in the same notice, by whom such clergymen are, for those purposes, deemed to be employed; and
(b) may at any time, by subsequent notice so published, revoke or amend the first-mentioned notice –
and the notice so published has effect according to its terms as if they were provided in this Act.
(5)  For the purposes of this Act, where a worker suffers an injury that is a disease, that injury shall be deemed to have occurred –
(a) on the day on which the worker became totally or partially incapacitated by reason of that injury; or
(b) if a day cannot be ascertained under paragraph (a) , on the day on which a medical practitioner has certified that the worker was first incapacitated by reason of that injury.
(5A)  Nothing in subsection (5) precludes a worker who suffers from industrial deafness from maintaining a claim for compensation under the relevant provisions of this Act notwithstanding that the deafness did not cause incapacity.
(6)  Where a medical practitioner is unable to certify as to the day on which a worker was first incapacitated by reason of an injury referred to in subsection (5) or where there is a dispute as to the day on which such an injury occurred, the matter may be referred by the worker or his employer, to the Tribunal for determination as to the day on which the injury occurred and the day so determined by the Tribunal shall be deemed to be the day on which that injury occurred.