Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Transport Accident Act 1986 - SECT 4

Pre-accident weekly earnings

4. Pre-accident weekly earnings



(1) In this Act, pre-accident weekly earnings, in relation to an earner (other
than a self-employed person) who is injured as a result of a transport
accident, means the weekly average of the gross earnings received by the
earner as an earner during the 12 months immediately before the relevant day,
unless subsection (2) applies.

(1A) In this section relevant day means the day of the accident or the day
when the injury first manifested itself, whichever is the later day.





* * * * *





* * * * *





* * * * *







(2) In the following cases, in this Act pre-accident weekly earnings, in
relation to an earner (other than a self-employed person) who is injured as a
result of a transport accident, means-

   (a)  if, on the relevant day, the earner was earning continuously, but had
        not been earning continuously for at least 12 months, the weekly
        average of the gross earnings received by the earner as an earner
        during the period from when the earner started to earn continuously to
        immediately before the relevant day; or

   (b)  if subsection (3) applies, the weekly average of the gross earnings
        received by the earner as an earner during the period from when the
        change of circumstance referred to in that subsection occurred to
        immediately before the relevant day; or

   (c)  if the earner is an earner by reason of an arrangement to which
        section 3(2)(b) applies, the average weekly gross earnings that the
        earner could reasonably have been expected to earn, but for the
        injury, in employment under that arrangement.

Note This section, as amended by section 5 of the Transport Accident
(Amendment) Act 2004, only applies to an earner who was injured in a transport
accident that occurs on or after the date of commencement of section 5-see
section 185. Section 5 inserted subsections (1), (1A), (2), (2A) and (3).

(2A) For the purposes of this section, an earner earns continuously if he or
she obtains earnings from permanent employment or from a source that, on the
relevant day, was likely to continue for a period of at least 6 months to
provide earnings to the earner on the same, or a similar, basis to the basis
on which the earnings were being provided as at the relevant day.

(3) This subsection applies, if during the 12 months immediately before the
relevant day, there was, as a result of any action taken by the earner, a
significant change in his or her earnings circumstances that resulted in the
earner regularly earning, or becoming entitled to earn, more on a weekly basis
than he or she was earning before the change occurred.

Examples Examples of a change of circumstances to which this subsection would
apply include a change of job, a promotion, a move from part-time to full-time
employment, or a pay increase arising from the achievement of performance
standards. This subsection does not apply to a pay rise applying across an
industry.

* * * * *





* * * * *





* * * * *



(7) If an earner at the time of the accident was a full-time student, the
earner's pre-accident weekly earnings for the purposes of this Act-

   (a)  until the time that the earner would have completed the course of
        studies in which the earner was a full-time student, shall be
        calculated in accordance with subsection (1); and

   (b)  as from the time that the earner would have completed the course of
        studies in which the earner was a full-time student, shall be the
        weekly earnings which the earner would have received upon being
        employed on the completion of the course of studies in which the
        earner was a full-time student.

(8) For the purposes of subsection (7), if at the time of the accident the
earner is a full-time student at a secondary school, weekly earnings under
subsection (7)(b) shall be calculated on the basis that the earner will
successfully complete the final year of secondary school.