Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Accident Compensation (WorkCover Insurance) Act 1993 - SECT 66

Groups

66. Groups



(1) For the purposes of this Act, if-

   (a)  an employer that is a body corporate and another body corporate
        (related person) are, by reason of section 50 of the Corporations Act
        related to each other; or

   (b)  one or more workers of an employer perform duties for or in connection
        with one or more businesses carried on by the employer and one or more
        other persons (associates); or





   (c)  one or more workers of an employer are employed solely or mainly to
        perform duties for or in connection with one or more businesses
        carried on by one or more other persons (associates); or

   (d)  one or more workers of an employer perform duties for or in connection
        with one or more businesses carried on by one or more other persons
        (associates), being duties performed in connection with, or in
        fulfilment of the employer's obligation under, an agreement,
        arrangement or undertaking for the provision of services to any one or
        more of the associates in connection with that business or those
        businesses-

   (i)  whether the agreement, arrangement or undertaking is formal or
        informal, express or implied; and

   (ii) whether or not the agreement, arrangement or undertaking provides for
        duties to be performed by the workers or specifies the duties to be
        performed by them- the employer and all persons who are related
        persons or associates in relation to that employer together constitute
        a group and each is a member of that group. Note Subsection (8) allows
        the Authority to exclude members from a group constituted under this
        subsection in certain circumstances.





(2) If the same person has, or the same persons have together, a controlling
interest under subsection (3) in each of two businesses, the persons who carry
on those businesses constitute a group and each is a member of the group.

Note Subsection (8) allows the Authority to exclude members from a group
constituted under this subsection in certain circumstances.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), the same person has, or the same
persons have together, a controlling interest in each of two businesses if
that person has, or those persons have together, a controlling interest under
any of the following paragraphs in one of the businesses and a controlling
interest under the same or another of the following paragraphs in the other
business-

   (a)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest in a
        business, being a business carried on by a corporation, if the
        directors, or a majority of the directors, or one or more of the
        directors, being a director or directors who is or are entitled to
        exercise a majority in voting power at meetings of the directors, of
        the corporation are or is accustomed or under an obligation, whether
        formal or informal, to act in accordance with the directions,
        instructions or wishes of that person or of those persons acting
        together;

   (b)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest in a
        business, being a business carried on by a corporation that has a
        share capital, if that person or those persons acting together may
        (whether directly or indirectly) exercise, control the exercise of, or
        substantially influence the exercise of, 50 per cent or more of the
        voting power attached to voting shares, or any class of voting shares,
        issued by the corporation;

   (c)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest in a
        business if that person, or those persons together-

   (i)  constitute more than 50 per cent of the board of management (by
        whatever name called) of the body corporate or unincorporate carrying
        on the business; or

   (ii) control the composition of that board;

   (d)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest in a
        business, being a business carried on by a partnership, if that person
        or those persons-

   (i)  owns, or own together, (whether or not beneficially) 50 per cent or
        more of the capital of the partnership; or

   (ii) is, or are together, entitled (whether or not beneficially) to 50 per
        cent or more of any profits of the partnership;

   (e)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest in a
        business, being a business carried on under a trust, if that person
        (whether or not as the trustee of, or beneficiary under, another
        trust) is the beneficiary, or those persons (whether or not as the
        trustees of, or beneficiaries under, another trust) are together the
        beneficiaries, in respect of 50 per cent or more of the value of the
        interests in the trust first-mentioned in this paragraph;





   (f)  a person has a controlling interest in a business if, whether or not
        the person is a trustee of a trust, the person is the sole owner of
        the business or persons, being two or more trustees of a trust, have a
        controlling interest in a business if they are the owners of the
        business.

(4) A person who, as the result of the exercise of a power or discretion by
the trustee of a discretionary trust or by any other person or by that trustee
and other person, may benefit under that trust is deemed, for the purposes of
this Act, to be a beneficiary in respect of 50 per cent or more of the value
of the interests in that trust.

(5) If a body corporate has a controlling interest under subsection (3) in a
business, it is deemed, for the purposes of subsection (3), to have a
controlling interest in any other business in which another body corporate
that is, by reason of section 50 of the Corporations Act, related to it, has a
controlling interest.

(6) If-

   (a)  a person has, or persons have together, a controlling interest under
        subsection (3) in a business; and

   (b)  the person or persons who carries or carry on that business has or
        have such a controlling interest in another business-

the person or persons referred to in paragraph (a) are deemed, for the
purposes of subsection (3), to have a controlling interest in the business
referred to in paragraph (b).





(7) If-

   (a)  a person is a beneficiary under a trust; or

   (b)  two or more persons together are beneficiaries under a trust-

in respect of 50 per cent or more of the value of the interests in that trust
and the trustee or trustees of that trust has or have under subsection (3) a
controlling interest in a business, that beneficiary or those beneficiaries
are deemed, for the purposes of subsection (3) to have a controlling interest
in that business.

(8) If the Authority is satisfied, having regard to the nature and degree of
ownership and control of the businesses, the nature of the businesses and any
other matters the Authority considers relevant, that a business carried on by
a member of a group, other than a group constituted by reason of subsection
(10), is carried on independently of, and is not connected with the carrying
on of, a business carried on by any other member of that group, the Authority
may exclude the member from that group.

(9) The Authority must not, under subsection (8), exclude a person from a
group if the person is a body corporate that, by reason of section 50 of the
Corporations Act, is related to another body corporate that is a member of
that group.

(10) Subject to subsection (11), for the purposes of this section, if an
employer is a member of a group and that person or another member of that
group is a member of another group, a person who is a member of that other
group is-

   (a)  deemed to be a member of the first-mentioned group; and

   (b)  called an associate.

(11) Subsection (10) does not apply if a person satisfies the Authority that-

   (a)  the trade, business or profession carried on by that person is carried
        on independently of, and is not connected with the carrying on of a
        trade, business or profession carried on by a member of the
        first-mentioned group; and

   (b)  that trade, business or profession is not carried on with an
        intention, either directly or indirectly, of reducing the amount of
        premium payable by that person or another member of the group.

(12) In this section-

business includes-

   (a)  a trade or profession; and

   (b)  any other activity carried on for fee, gain or reward; and

   (c)  the activity-

   (i)  of employing one or more persons if that person performs, or those
        persons perform, duties for or in connection with another business; or

   (ii) of holding any money, property or shares used for or in connection
        with another business.; person includes a body or association
        (corporate or unincorporate) and a partnership.

(13) This section applies whether or not an employer became a member of the
group before, on or after the commencement of section 12 of the Treasury and
Finance Legislation (Amendment) Act 2004.

(14) This section does not affect the calculation of premium for any period
before 1 July 2004.