Coal Mine Workers (Pensions) Amendment Act 1985 (WA)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

COAL MINE WORKERS

(PENSIONS).

No. 75 of 1985.

AN ACT to amend the Coal Mine Workers

(Pensions) Act 1943.

[Assented to 4 December 1985.]

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Coal Mine ?kcir=pal

Workers (Pensions) Amendment Act 1985.

Act.

(2) In this Act the Coal Mine Workers (Pensions) =,1/1,:a

Act 1943 is referred to as the principal Act.

1 9N84ovember

2. This Act shall come into operation on goemr.ence-

7 December 1985.

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

Section 2

amended.

Section 2 of the principal Act is amended in

the definition of "Mine worker" by deleting "male"

in paragraph (j).

Section 9

amended.

Section 9 of the principal Act is amended—

(a) in subsection (1)-

(i) by repealing paragraph (a) and substituting the following-

" (a) an additional payment at the appropriate rate in respect of the spouse of the mine worker, which amount shall be payable until the death of the spouse or until the spouse ceases to be the spouse of the mine worker; ";

(ii) by deleting "he" in paragraph (b) and substituting the following-

" the mine worker ";

(iii) by deleting "his earnings" in paragraph (b) and substituting the following-

" the earnings of the mine

worker ";

(iv) by deleting "one female" in para- graph (c) and substituting the following-

" 1 person ";

(v) by deleting "his earnings" in para- graph (c) and substituting the following-

" the earnings of the mine

worker ";

1985.]

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75.

(vi)	by deleting "her death or marriage" in paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" the death or marriage of that

person ";

(vii) by deleting "she" in paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" that person "; and

(viii) by deleting "female" in the proviso to paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" person ";

(b) in subsection (2)-

(i) by deleting "his wife" where first occurring and substituting the following-

" the spouse of the mine

worker ";

(ii) by deleting "the wife" and sub- stituting the following-

" the spouse of the mine

worker ";

(iii) by deleting "her husband" and sub- stituting the following-

" the mine worker ";

(iv) by deleting "the husband" and sub- stituting the following-

" the mine worker "; and

(v) by deleting "his wife" where secondly occurring and substituting the following-

" the mine worker's spouse "; and

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

(i) by deleting "his wife" and substitut- ing the following-

" the spouse of the mine

worker ";

(ii) by deleting "he employs" and sub- stituting the following-

" the mine worker employs ";

(iii) by deleting "a female over the age of sixteen years (whether or not such female" and substituting the following-

" a person over the age of 16 years

(whether or not that person ";

(iv) by deleting "for his wife" and sub- substituting the following-

" for the spouse of the mine

worker ";

and

(v) by deleting "his pension at the appropriate rate in respect of such female" and substituting the follow- ing

" the pension of the mine worker at the appropriate rate in respect of that person ".

Section 10

amended.

5. Section 10 of the principal Act is amended

(a) in subsection (1)-

(i) by deleting "his" in paragraph (b);

1985.]

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75.

(ii) by deleting "(not being an inten- tional self-inflicted injury)" in para- graph (b);

(iii) by deleting "his employment" in paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" employment ";

(iv) by deleting "his death" in paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" the death of the mine worker ";

(v) by deleting "the widow of such person or mine worker, or the female relative in respect of whom such person or mine worker, if he had remained alive, would have been entitled to an addition to his pension" and substituting the following

" any person in respect of whom, if the mine worker had not died, an amount would have been payable "; and

(vi) by deleting "such widow or female relative, as the case may be," and substituting the following-

" that person ";

(b) in subsection (2)—

(i) by deleting "widow" in paragraph (a) and substituting the following-

" surviving spouse "; and

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

(ii) by deleting "widow" in paragraph (b) and substituting the following-

" surviving spouse ";

(i) by deleting "female is recognized as the wife" in paragraph (a) and substituting the following-

" person is recognized as the

spouse ";

(ii) by deleting "married to him" in paragraph (a) and substituting the following-

" married to the mine worker

(iii) by deleting "that female were the wife" in paragraph (a) (i) and substituting the following-

" that person were the spouse ";

(iv) by deleting "such female" in paragraph (a) (ii) and substituting the following-

" such person ";

(v) by deleting "female were the widow of the mine worker" and substituting the following-

" person were the surviving spouse

of the mine worker ";

1985.]

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75.

(vi)	by deleting "wife or widow" in the proviso to paragraph (a) and sub- stituting the following-

" spouse or surviving spouse ";

and

(vii) by deleting "female" where twice occuring in paragraph (c) and substituting in each case the following-

" person "; and

(d) in subsection (4)-

(i) by deleting "female (other than a widow" and substituting the following

e l

person (other than the surviving

spouse "; and

(ii) by deleting "such female" and substituting the following-

" that person ".

6. Section 10C of the principal Act is repealed. ?AIM/10c

Section 11

Section 11 of the principal Act is amended in

amended.

subsection (1)—

(a)	by deleting "Where" in subsection (1) and substituting the following-

" Subject to section 13B, where "; and

(b)	by deleting "him until his death" and sub- stituting the following-

" the mine worker until the death of the

mine worker ".

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

Section 13A

amended.

8. Section 13A of the principal Act is amended

(a)	in subsection (4) by deleting "section." and substituting the following-

" section less any amount deemed to be received by that person under subsec- tion (5). "; and

(b) by inserting the following subsection

(5) A person who is entitled to a pension under this Act is deemed to receive the maximum amount of any pension or any payment in the nature of a pension (including a widow's pension and an invalid pension) pay- able to an eligible person under any law of the State or Commonwealth that is or would be payable to that person had that person not been in receipt of or entitled to receive a pension under this Act whether or not that person actually receives such a pension or payment under that State or Commonwealth law. ".

Section 13B

inserted.

9. After section 13A of the principal Act the

following section is inserted-

Commuta-

C' 13B. (1) Notwithstanding anything in this

tion of pension entitlements.

Act, a person who is entitled to receive a pension by virtue of section 6, 7 or 8 may elect to commute that pension to a lump sum payment in accordance with the Schedule.

(2) A person who desires to make an elec-

tion under subsection (1)-

(a)	shall make application to that effect to the Tribunal; and
(b)	subject to subsection (3), shall lodge the application not later than 31 December 1985.

1985.]

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75. (3) The Tribunal may, in relation to a particular application made under subsection (2), extend the time fixed under subsection (2) and where it does so it shall deduct from the amount payable to that person under this section the amount of any pension paid to that person after 7 December 1985. ".

10. Section 21 of the principal Act is amended— e %bloat 21

(a) in subsection (5)—

(i) by deleting "his employment" and substituting the following-

" the employment of the mine

worker ";

(ii) by deleting "entitle him" and substituting the following-

" entitle the mine worker ";

(iii) by deleting "him or his widow" and substituting the following-

" the mine worker or the surviving

spouse of the mine worker ";

and

(iv) by deleting "paid by him" and substituting the following-

" paid by the mine worker "; and

(b) in subsection (5a)—

(i) by deleting "he" wherever occurring and substituting in each case the following-

" the mine worker ";

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

(ii) by deleting "his attaining" in paragraph (a) and substituting the following-

" the mine worker attaining ";

(iii) by deleting "his retirement" in paragraph (a) and substituting the following

" the mine worker's retirement

(iv) by deleting paragraph (b) and substituting the following-

" (b) the ill-health of the mine

worker; ";

(v) by deleting "him or his widow" and substituting the following-

" the mine worker or the spouse

of the mine worker, "; and

(vi) by deleting "paid by him" and substituting the following-

" paid by the mine worker ".

Section 218

amended.

11. Section 21B of the principal Act is amended

(a)	in subsection (4) by deleting "his widow" in paragraph (c) and substituting the following-

" the surviving spouse of the mine

worker "; and

(b) in subsection (5)-

(i)	by deleting "him" and substituting the following-

" the mine worker ";

1985.]

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75.

(ii) by deleting "his resignation or dismissal" and substituting the following-

" the resignation or dismissal of

the mine worker "; and

(iii) by deleting "his widow" and sub- stituting the following-

" the surviving spouse of the mine

worker ".

12. Section 26 of the principal Act is amended in mended.6

subsection (3)—

(a)	by deleting "wife" and substituting the following

spouse ";

(b)	by deleting "her husband or who has been left by him" and substituting the follow- ing

" the mine worker or who has been left

by the mine worker ";

(c)	by deleting paragraphs (a) and (b) and substituting the following paragraphs

(a)	that proceedings under the Family Court Act 1975 have been under- taken against the mine worker for the payment of maintenance under that Act and that spouse has failed to obtain an order or that the order, if made, has not been complied with; and
(b)	that the whereabouts of the mine worker are not known. ";

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

(d)	by deleting "she is so deserted" and sub- stituting the following-

" the spouse is so deserted ";

(e)	by deleting "awarded to a deserted wife" and substituting the following

awarded to the spouse of a mine worker who has been deserted by the mine worker "; and

(f)	by deleting "the deserted wife" and sub- stituting the following-

" the spouse of the mine worker under

this subsection ".

Section 38

and schedule

13. After section 37 of the principal Act the

added.	following section and schedule are added-
Review of

Act.	38. (1) The Minister shall carry out a review of the operation of this Act as soon as is practicable after 1 January 1991 and every 5th anniversary of that date and in the course of such review the Minister shall consider and have regard to

(a)	the attainment of the objects of this Act;
(b)	the administration of this Act;
(c)	the effectiveness of the operations of the Tribunal;
(d)	the need for the continuation of the Tribunal;
(e)	such other matters as appear to the Minister to be relevant.

(2) The Minister shall prepare a report based on the review referred to in subsection (1) and shall, as soon as is practicable after its preparation, cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament.

1985.1

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). [No. 75.

SCHEDULE.

Section 13B,

1. An applicant for a lump sum who on 15 February 1985

had attained the age specified in column 1 is entitled

(a)	if the applicant is eligible for a pension under section 6, 7 or 8 and to an additional payment under section 9 (1) (a) or (c) to the lump sum specified opposite and corresponding to that age in column 2;
(b)	if the applicant is eligible for a pension under section 6, 7 or 8 and is not entitled to an additional payment under section 9 (1) (a) or (c) to the lump sum specified opposite and corresponding to that age in column 3;
(c)	if the applicant is eligible for a pension under section 10 to a lump sum specified opposite and corresponding to that age in column 4, and, if such a person is eligible to receive benefits under Table A of Schedule 3 to the Repatriation Act 1920 of the Parliament of the Commonwealth or any provision in substitution for that provision, or, is eligible to receive any benefits under the Social Services Act 1947 of the Parliament of the Commonwealth that are payable under that Act in respect of a person who is blind, to an additional amount equal to 100% of the amount payable under this paragraph.

2. Where a person who is entitled to a pension under section 6, 7, & or 10 is also entitled to an additional payment under section 9 (1) (b), (3) or (4) the lump sum payable in respect of each person in respect of whom an additional payment is payable under those provisions shall be calculated as follows

(a)	where the person in respect of whom the additional payment is payable has not attained the age of 18 years as at 15 February 1985 and the Tribunal is of the opinion that section 9 (4) applies or applied to that person as at 7 December 1985—an amount ascertained as follows

L= a x b

where

L represents the lump sum payable;

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

a represents the difference between 18 and the age, as at 15 February 1985, of the person in respect of whom the additional payment is payable;

b represents the amount that is equal to 75% of the annual amount payable in respect of the person as at 15 February 1985,

but in any event the amount payable shall be not less than the amount that is payable in respect of 2 years payments;

(b)

where the person in respect of whom the additional payment is payable had attained the age of 18 years as at 15 February 1985 and the Tribunal is of the opinion that section 9 (4) applies or applied to that person as at 7 December 1985—an amount that does not exceed the amount that is payable in respect of 2 years payments.

3. In clause 1

"column" means a column of the Table to this

Schedule.

Table.

Column

Column

35	22 540	17 172	5 395
36	22 469	17 094	5 487
37	22 393	17 011	5 573
38	22 312	16 922	5 653
39	22 224	16 827	5 727
40	22 131	16 727	5 794
41	22 032	16 620	5 854
42	21 926	16 506	5 907
43	21 813	16 386	5 954
44	21 694	16 258	5 995
45	21 567	16 124	6 032
46	21 432	15 982	6 064
47	21 290	15 832	6 090
48	21 138	15 676	6 111
49	20 978	15 510	6 125
50	20 809	15 336	6 133
51	20 630	15 153	6 133
52	20 443	14 962	6 124
53	20 244	14 762	6 104
54	20 035	14 554	6 075
55	19 815	14 335	6 036
56	19 583	14 107	5 989

1985.1

Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[No. 75.

Column

57	19 341	13 869	5 934
58	19 086	13 622	5 871
59	18 818	13 366	5 801
60	18 539	13 100	5 723
61	18 247	12 826	5 638
62	17 942	12 543	5 546
63	17 626	12 250	5 447
64	17 297	11 952	5 340
65	16 955	11 645	5 228
66	16 603	11 332	5 110
67	16 240	11 013	4 986
68	15 865	10 689	4 857
69	15 479	10 359	4 723
70	15 084	10 027	4 585
71	14 680	9 692	4 444
72	14 268	9 355	4 299
73	13 849	9 016	4 151
74	13 424	8 677	4 000
75	12 994	8 341	3 847
76	12 559	8 006	3 692
77	12 123	7 676	3 538
78	11 685	7 349	3 385
79	11 247	7 028	3 234
80	10 810	6 714	3 086
81	10 377	6 406	2 941
82	9 948	6 107	2 801
83	9 524	5 817	2 666
84	9 108	5 537	2 536
85	8 699	5 267	2 411
86	& 301	5 008	2 293
87	7 913	4 759	2 181
88	7 536	4 523	2 075
89	7 173	4 298	1 975
90	6 822	4 083	1 881
91	6 484	3 882	1 792
92	6 161	3 690	1 708
93	5 851	3 510	1 628
94	5 556	3 338	1 550
95	5 271	3 175	1 473
96	4 996	3 016	1 395
97	4 726	2 857	1 311
98	4 453	2 688	1 217

No. 75.] Coal Mine Workers (Pensions).

[1985.

Tapered

pensions.

14. (1) Notwithstanding anything in section 13B of the principal Act as enacted by this Act but subject to subsection (2), where immediately before the commencement day the former pension paid to a person under this Act was an amount that exceeded the current pension the Tribunal shall continue to pay to that person the former pension.

(2) The Tribunal shall reduce the amount of the pension paid to a person under subsection (1) as from the first full pension pay period in each quarter in the period of 2 years commencing on and from the pension pay period of 7 December 1985 by reducing the difference between the former pension and the current pension by the amount of the difference or by instalments as the Tribunal thinks fit over that period and so that not later than 6 December 1987 a person who is eligible to receive a pension under the principal Act as amended by this Act shall not be paid a pension that is in excess of the current pension.

(3) In this section

"commencement day" means the day on which

this Act came into operation;

"current pension" means the amount payable as a pension under section 13A of the principal Act as amended by this Act;

"former pension" means the amount of pension paid to a person immediately before this Act came into operation.

For the purposes of this section calculations shall be made to the nearest dollar.

(4)

Persona

becoming	15. Where a person becomes eligible to a pension of the amendment to section 2 of the principal Act effected by section 3 of this Act the amount of any pension or payment payable under the principal
eligible on
or after	or payment under the principal Act by reason only
7 December
1985.

1985.1 Coal Mine Workers (Pensions). 1No. 75. Act as amended by this Act to that person or to any person whose claim is derived through that person shall be calculated by reference to the day that that person-

(a)	became eligible to become a mine worker; and

(b) commenced to pay contributions,

under the principal Act as amended by this Act.