Western Australian Numbered Acts

WORKERS COMPENSATION AND INJURY MANAGEMENT ACT 2023 (NO. 21 OF 2023) - SECT 271

271 .         Recovery of uninsured employer payment from officer of body corporate

        (1)         If a body corporate was uninsured in respect of a liability to which a payment from the DI Fund under section 266 or  267 relates and WorkCover WA has judgment for the recovery from the body corporate of the amount paid, WorkCover WA may sue for and recover from a responsible officer of the body corporate any amount of the judgment that is not recoverable from the body corporate.

        (2)         A person is a responsible officer of the body corporate if the person was a director or other officer concerned in the management of the body corporate at the time the body corporate was uninsured.

        (3)         A person is not a responsible officer of the body corporate if the person proves that —

            (a)         the body corporate was uninsured in respect of the liability because of a failure by the body corporate to obtain a workers compensation policy and that failure occurred without the person’s consent or connivance; and

            (b)         the person exercised all due diligence to prevent that failure as ought to have been exercised having regard to the nature of the person’s functions and to all the circumstances.

        (4)         An amount is considered to be not recoverable from a body corporate if WorkCover WA certifies that it will be unable or unlikely to recover the amount from the body corporate by reasonable efforts at recovery, whether because the body corporate is being wound up and is unable to pay its debts, or otherwise.

        (5)         This section applies even if the body corporate has ceased to exist.