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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
WORKCOVER QUEENSLAND
AMENDMENT BILL 2002
Queensland
WORKCOVER QUEENSLAND
AMENDMENT BILL 2002
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Section Page
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Commencement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Act amended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Amendment of s 52 (Employer's obligation to insure) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
5 Amendment of s 55 (Offence of contravening general obligation
to insure) ......................................... 4
6 Amendment of s 59 (Setting premium on change of ownership of
business) .......................................... 5
7 Replacement of ch 3, pt 2, div 2 hdg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8 Replacement of s 139 (Entitlement depends on where injury
is sustained) ........................................ 6
139 Employment must be connected with State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
139A Recognition of determination of State of connection in
another State ................................. 7
9 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 2A hdg . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
10 Amendment of s 140 (Interstate and overseas arrangements). . . . . . . . . . . . 8
11 Replacement of ch 3, pt 3, div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Division 1--Workers on ships
145 Application of div 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
146 Payment on account of workers on ships. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
12 Insertion of new s 252A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
252A Period of limitation under Limitation of Actions Act 1974
never affected ................................. 10
13 Insertion of new ch 5 pt 7A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
PART 7A--STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS
2
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
310A Court may make consent order for structured settlement . . . . . . . . . 10
14 Insertion of new ch 5A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CHAPTER 5A--CHOICE OF LAW FOR DAMAGES
PART 1--APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 5A
329A Claims to which chapter applies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
PART 2--INTERPRETATION
329B Meaning of "substantive law" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
329C What constitutes injury and employment and who is employer . . . . 12
PART 3--SUBSTANTIVE LAW THAT GOVERNS CLAIM
329D The applicable substantive law for work injury claims . . . . . . . . . . . 13
329E Availability of action in another State not relevant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
15 Insertion of new ch 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
CHAPTER 16--TRANSITIONAL PROVISION FOR WORKCOVER
QUEENSLAND AMENDMENT ACT 2002
592 Cross border rules . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
16 Insertion of new sch 2B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SCHEDULE 2B
ADJACENT AREAS
17 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2002
A BILL
FOR
An Act to amend the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996
s1 4 s5
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
1 Short title
Clause 2
This Act may be cited as the WorkCover Queensland Amendment 3
Act 2002. 4
2 Commencement
Clause 5
Sections 4 and 5, 7 to 11 and 14 to 17 commence on 1 July 2003. 6
3 Act amended
Clause 7
This Act amends the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996. 8
4 Amendment of s 52 (Employer's obligation to insure)
Clause 9
Section 52(6)-- 10
omit. 11
5 Amendment of s 55 (Offence of contravening general obligation
Clause 12
to insure) 13
Section 55-- 14
insert-- 15
`(2) It is a defence to prove that at the time of the alleged 16
contravention-- 17
(a) the employer believed on reasonable grounds that the employer 18
could not be liable under this Act in relation to the worker 19
because under section 139 the worker's employment was not 20
connected with this State; and 21
(b) the employer had workers' compensation cover in relation to the 22
worker's employment under the law of the State with which the 23
employer believed on reasonable grounds the worker's 24
employment was connected under section 139. 25
`(3) In subsection (2)-- 26
s6 5 s6
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
"workers' compensation cover" means insurance or registration required 1
under the law of a State in relation to liability for statutory workers' 2
compensation under that law.'. 3
6 Amendment of s 59 (Setting premium on change of ownership of
Clause 4
business) 5
(1) Section 59(2), `must'-- 6
omit, insert-- 7
`may'. 8
(2) After section 59(2)-- 9
insert-- 10
`(2A) In deciding whether to have regard to the claims experience of the 11
business under a former employer, WorkCover may consider any relevant 12
matter, including the following-- 13
(a) if the new employer is an individual, whether the new employer 14
is or was-- 15
(i) a partner of the former employer; or 16
(ii) an officer or shareholder of the former employer; or 17
(iii) an officer or shareholder of a related body corporate of the 18
former employer; 19
(b) if the new employer is a partnership, whether any of the partners 20
of the new employer is or was-- 21
(i) an individual who was the former employer; or 22
(ii) a partner of the former employer; or 23
(iii) an officer or shareholder of the former employer; or 24
(iv) an officer or shareholder of a related body corporate of the 25
former employer; 26
(c) if the new employer is a body corporate, whether the new 27
employer is or was a related body corporate of the former 28
employer; 29
(d) if the new employer is a body corporate, whether any of the 30
officers or shareholders of the new employer is or was-- 31
(i) an individual who was the former employer; or 32
s7 6 s8
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
(ii) a partner of the former employer; or 1
(iii) an officer or shareholder of the former employer; or 2
(iv) an officer or shareholder of a related body corporate of the 3
former employer.'. 4
(3) Section 59(3), `and location of the business remain'-- 5
omit, insert-- 6
`of the business remains'. 7
(4) Section 59-- 8
insert-- 9
`(4) In this section-- 10
"officer" has the meaning given by the Corporations Act.'. 11
7 Replacement of ch 3, pt 2, div 2 hdg
Clause 12
Chapter 3, part, 2 division 2, heading-- 13
omit, insert-- 14
`Division 2--Entitlement according to jurisdiction'. 15
8 Replacement of s 139 (Entitlement depends on where injury
Clause 16
is sustained) 17
Section 139-- 18
omit, insert-- 19
`139 Employment must be connected with State 20
`(1) Compensation under this Act is only payable in relation to 21
employment that is connected with this State. 22
`(2) The fact that a worker is outside this State when the injury is 23
sustained does not prevent compensation being payable under this Act in 24
relation to employment that is connected with this State. 25
`(3) A worker's employment is connected with-- 26
(a) the State in which the worker usually works in that employment; 27
or 28
s8 7 s8
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
(b) if no State or no 1 State is identified by paragraph (a), the State in 1
which the worker is usually based for the purposes of that 2
employment; or 3
(c) if no State or no 1 State is identified by paragraph (a) or (b), the 4
State in which the employer's principal place of business in 5
Australia is located. 6
`(4) In the case of a worker on a ship, if no State or no 1 State is 7
identified by subsection (3), a worker's employment is, while on a ship, 8
connected with the State in which the ship is registered or (if the ship is 9
registered in more than 1 State) the State in which the ship most recently 10
became registered. 11
`(5) If no State is identified by subsection (3) or (if applicable) (4), a 12
worker's employment is connected with this State if-- 13
(a) the worker is in this State when the injury is sustained; and 14
(b) there is no place outside Australia under the legislation of which 15
the worker may be entitled to compensation for the same matter. 16
`(6) In deciding whether a worker usually works in a State, regard must 17
be had to the worker's work history with the employer and the intention of 18
the worker and employer. 19
`(7) However, regard must not be had to any temporary arrangement 20
under which the worker works in a State for a period of not longer than 21
6 months. 22
`(8) Compensation under this Act does not apply in relation to the 23
employment of a worker on a ship if the Seafarers Rehabilitation and 24
Compensation Act 1992 (Cwlth) applies to the worker's employment. 25
`(9) In this section-- 26
"State", in a geographical sense, includes a State's relevant adjacent area 27
as described in schedule 2B. 28
`139A Recognition of determination of State of connection in 29
another State 30
`(1) If a designated court makes a determination of the State with which 31
a worker's employment is connected for the purposes of a corresponding 32
law, that State is to be recognised for the purposes of section 139 as the 33
State with which the worker's employment is connected. 34
s9 8 s 10
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
`(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent or affect the operation of a 1
determination of the State with which a worker's employment is connected 2
for the purposes of section 139 made by a court of this State before the 3
determination is made by a designated court. 4
`(3) Subsection (1) does not prevent any appeal relating to a 5
determination of a designated court and, if the determination is altered on 6
appeal, the altered determination is to be recognised under subsection (1). 7
`(4) In this section-- 8
"corresponding law" means the provisions of the statutory workers' 9
compensation scheme of another State that correspond with 10
section 139. 11
"designated court" means-- 12
(a) the Supreme Court of a State in which a corresponding law is in 13
force; or 14
(b) a court, tribunal or other decision-making body of a State in 15
which a corresponding law is in force that is declared under a 16
regulation to be a designated court for the purposes of this 17
section.'. 18
9 Insertion of new ch 3, pt 2, div 2A hdg
Clause 19
Before section 140-- 20
insert-- 21
`Division 2A--Overseas arrangements'. 22
10 Amendment of s 140 (Interstate and overseas arrangements)
Clause 23
(1) Section 140, heading-- 24
omit, insert-- 25
`140 Overseas arrangements'. 26
(2) Section 140, `State or'-- 27
omit. 28
(3) Section 140(5), `continuous'-- 29
omit. 30
s 11 9 s 12
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
11 Replacement of ch 3, pt 3, div 1
Clause 1
Chapter 3, part 3, division 1-- 2
omit, insert-- 3
`Division 1--Workers on ships 4
`145 Application of div 1 5
`This division applies to an injury sustained by a worker who was 6
employed on a ship when the injury was sustained. 7
`146 Payment on account of workers on ships 8
`(1) Compensation is not payable for the death of the worker who leaves 9
no dependants, if the owner or charterer of the ship on which the worker 10
was employed when the injury was sustained is, under an Act or law in 11
force in the State, liable to pay the expenses of the worker's funeral. 12
`(2) Compensation is not payable for injury sustained by the worker for a 13
period during which the owner or charterer of the ship on which the worker 14
was employed when the injury was sustained is, under another Act or law 15
in force in the State, liable to pay the expenses, maintenance or wages of 16
the worker. 17
`(3) Compensation payable for injury sustained by the worker must be 18
paid in full, despite any limitation of liability prescribed by another law. 19
`(4) Subsection (3) applies subject to section 141.1'. 20
12 Insertion of new s 252A
Clause 21
Chapter 5, part 1 after section 252-- 22
insert-- 23
1 Section 141 (Entitlement ends if compensated under corresponding laws)
s 13 10 s 13
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
`252A Period of limitation under Limitation of Actions Act 1974 1
never affected 2
`(1) It is declared that nothing in this Act affects, or has ever affected, the 3
commencement of the period of limitation provided by the Limitation of 4
Actions Act 1974, section 11.2 5
`(2) To remove any doubt, it is declared that the period of limitation 6
provided by the Limitation of Actions Act 1974, section 11 applicable to an 7
action for damages for injury sustained by a worker in circumstances 8
creating, independently of this Act, a legal liability in the worker's 9
employer to pay the damages for the injury is, and always has been, the 10
same as would have been applicable to that action if this Act had not been 11
enacted. 12
`(3) This section is subject to section 308.3'. 13
13 Insertion of new ch 5 pt 7A
Clause 14
After section 310-- 15
insert-- 16
`PART 7A--STRUCTURED SETTLEMENTS 17
`310A Court may make consent order for structured settlement 18
`(1) This section applies if the parties to a claim agree to settle the claim 19
by making a structured settlement and apply to a court for an order 20
approving of or in the terms of the structured settlement. 21
`(2) The court may make the order even though the payment of damages 22
is not in the form of a lump sum award of damages. 23
`(3) In this section-- 24
"structured settlement" means an agreement providing for the payment 25
of all or part of an award of damages in the form of periodic payments 26
funded by an annuity or other agreed means.'. 27
2 Limitation of Actions Act 1974, section 11 (Actions in respect of personal injury)
3 Section 308 (Alteration of period of limitation)
s 14 11 s 14
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
14 Insertion of new ch 5A
Clause 1
After section 329-- 2
insert-- 3
`CHAPTER 5A--CHOICE OF LAW FOR DAMAGES 4
`PART 1--APPLICATION OF CHAPTER 5A 5
`329A Claims to which chapter applies 6
`(1) This chapter applies only to a claim for damages against a worker's 7
employer in relation to an injury that was caused by-- 8
(a) the negligence or other tort (including breach of statutory duty) 9
of the worker's employer; or 10
(b) a breach of contract by the worker's employer. 11
`(2) Subsection (1)(a) applies even if damages resulting from the 12
negligence or other tort are claimed in an action for breach of contract or 13
other action. 14
`PART 2--INTERPRETATION 15
`329B Meaning of "substantive law" 16
`(1) In this chapter, "substantive law" includes-- 17
(a) a law that establishes, modifies, or extinguishes a cause of action 18
or a defence to a cause of action; and 19
(b) a law prescribing the time within which an action must be 20
brought (including a law providing for the extension or 21
abridgment of that time); and 22
(c) a law that provides for the limitation or exclusion of liability or 23
the barring of a right of action if a proceeding on, or arbitration 24
of, a claim is not commenced within a particular time limit; and 25
(d) a law that limits the kinds of injury, loss or damage for which 26
damages or compensation may be recovered; and 27
s 14 12 s 14
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
(e) a law that precludes the recovery of damages or compensation or 1
limits the amount of damages or compensation that can be 2
recovered; and 3
(f) a law expressed as a presumption, or rule of evidence, that affects 4
substantive rights; and 5
(g) a provision of a State's legislation about damages for a work 6
related injury, whether or not it would be otherwise regarded as 7
procedural in nature; 8
but does not include a law prescribing rules for choice of law. 9
`(2) In this section-- 10
"a State's legislation about damages for a work related injury" 11
means-- 12
(a) for Queensland--chapter 5 and any other provision of this Act 13
providing for the interpretation of anything in chapter 5; and 14
(b) otherwise--any provisions of a law of a State that are declared 15
under a regulation to be the State's legislation about damages for 16
work related injury. 17
`329C What constitutes injury and employment and who is employer 18
`For this chapter-- 19
(a) injury and employer include anything that is within the scope of a 20
corresponding term in the statutory workers' compensation 21
scheme of another State; and 22
(b) the determination of what constitutes employment or whether or 23
not a person is the worker's employer is to be made on the basis 24
that those concepts include anything that is within the scope of a 25
corresponding concept in the statutory workers' compensation 26
scheme of another State. 27
s 14 13 s 14
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
`PART 3--SUBSTANTIVE LAW THAT GOVERNS 1
CLAIM 2
`329D The applicable substantive law for work injury claims 3
`(1) If compensation is payable (whether or not it has been paid) under 4
the statutory workers' compensation scheme of a State in relation to an 5
injury to a worker, the substantive law of that State is the substantive law 6
that governs-- 7
(a) whether or not a claim for damages in relation to the injury can 8
be made; and 9
(b) if it can be made, the determination of the claim. 10
`(2) For the purposes of this section, compensation is considered to be 11
payable under a statutory workers' compensation scheme of a State in 12
relation to an injury if compensation in relation to it-- 13
(a) would have been payable apart from a provision of the scheme 14
that excludes the worker's right to compensation because the 15
injury is attributable to any conduct or failure of the worker that 16
is specified in that provision; or 17
(b) would have been payable if a claim for that compensation had 18
been properly made, and (if applicable) an election to claim that 19
compensation (instead of damages) had been properly made. 20
`329E Availability of action in another State not relevant 21
`(1) It makes no difference for the purposes of this chapter that, under 22
the substantive law of another State-- 23
(a) it is the nature of the circumstances that they would not have 24
given rise to a cause of action had they occurred in that State; or 25
(b) the circumstances on which the claim is based do not give rise to 26
a cause of action. 27
`(2) In this section-- 28
"another State" means a State other than the State with which the injury is 29
connected.'. 30
s 15 14 s 16
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
15 Insertion of new ch 16
Clause 1
Before schedule 1-- 2
insert-- 3
`CHAPTER 16--TRANSITIONAL PROVISION FOR 4
WORKCOVER QUEENSLAND AMENDMENT ACT 5
2002 6
`592 Cross border rules 7
`(1) This section applies to the amendments to the Act made by the 8
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Act 2002, sections 4 and 5, 7 to 11 and 9
14 to 17 (the "amending provisions"). 10
`(2) The provisions of this Act, as in force immediately before 1 July 11
2003, continue to apply in relation to an injury sustained by a worker 12
before 1 July 2003 as if the amending provisions had not been enacted.'. 13
16 Insertion of new sch 2B
Clause 14
After schedule 2A-- 15
insert-- 16
`SCHEDULE 2B 17
`ADJACENT AREAS 18
section 139(9) 19
`1 Definitions 20
In this schedule-- 21
"continental shelf" has the same meaning as in the Seas and Submerged 22
Lands Act 1973 (Cwlth). 23
"territorial sea" has the same meaning as in the Seas and Submerged 24
Lands Act 1973 (Cwth). 25
s 16 15 s 16
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
`2 Adjacent areas 1
(1) The adjacent area for New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia or 2
Tasmania is so much of the area described in the Petroleum (Submerged 3
Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth), schedule 2 in relation to that State as is within the 4
outer limits of the continental shelf and includes the space above and below 5
that area. 6
(2) The adjacent area for Queensland is-- 7
(a) so much of the area described in the Petroleum (Submerged 8
Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth), schedule 2 in relation to Queensland as 9
is within the outer limits of the continental shelf; and 10
(b) the Coral Sea area (within the meaning of the Petroleum 11
(Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth), section 5A(7)) other than 12
the territorial sea within the Coral Sea area; and 13
(c) the areas within the outer limits of the territorial sea adjacent to 14
certain islands of Queensland as determined by proclamation on 15
4 February 1983 under the Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973 16
(Cwth), section 7; and 17
(d) the space above and below the areas described in paragraphs (a), 18
(b) and (c). 19
(3) The adjacent area for Western Australia is so much of the area 20
described in the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth), 21
schedule 2 in relation to Western Australia as-- 22
(a) is within the outer limits of the continental shelf; and 23
(b) is not within Area A of the Zone of Cooperation; 24
and includes the space above and below that area. 25
(4) The adjacent area for the Northern Territory is-- 26
(a) so much of the area described in the Petroleum (Submerged 27
Lands) Act 1967 (Cwlth), schedule 2 in relation to the Northern 28
Territory as-- 29
(i) is within the outer limits of the continental shelf; and 30
(ii) is not within Area A of the Zone of Cooperation; and 31
(b) the adjacent area for the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands 32
(within the meaning of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 33
1967 (Cwlth), section 5A(3)) other than the territorial sea within 34
that area; and 35
s 17 16 s 17
WorkCover Queensland Amendment Bill 2002
(c) the space above and below the areas described in paragraphs (a) 1
and (b). 2
(5) However, the adjacent area for a State does not include any area 3
inside the limits of any State or Territory.'. 4
17 Amendment of sch 3 (Dictionary)
Clause 5
(1) Schedule 3, definitions "coaster", "port", "Queensland ship", 6
"seafarer", "ship" and "State ship"-- 7
omit. 8
(2) Schedule 3-- 9
insert-- 10
` "ship" means any kind of vessel used in navigation by water, however 11
propelled or moved, and includes-- 12
(a) a barge, lighter, or other floating vessel; and 13
(b) an air-cushion vehicle, or other similar craft, used wholly or 14
primarily in navigation by water. 15
"substantive law", for chapter 5A, see section 329B.'. 16
17
© State of Queensland 2002
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