Mine Workers' Relief Act Amendment Act 1977 (WA)

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

MINE WORKERS' RELIEF.

No. 29 of 1977.

AN ACT to amend the Mine Workers' Relief

Act, 1932-1973.

'Assented to 3rd November, 1977.1

BE it enacted by the Queen's Most ExcellentMajesty, 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 Mine Workers' Relief Act Amendment Act, 1977.	Short title
and
citation.

(2) In this Act the Mine Workers' Relief Act,	Reprinted
In Vol. 16 of

1932-1973 is referred to as the principal Act.

reprintedActs as

approved

for

reprint

The principal Act as amended by this Act may be cited as the Mine Workers' Relief Act, 1932-	19th June,
/962 and
amended
1977.	by Acts Nos.
96 of 1964
and 62 of

(3)

No. 29.] Mine Workers' Relief. [1977.

Commence-

ment.	2. The provisions of this Act shall come into operation on such day or days as is or are, respec- tively, fixed by proclamation.
Section 4

amended. 3. Section 4 of the principal Act is amended

(a)	by deleting the word "PROHIBITION" in line three and substituting the word "NOTIFICATION"; and
(b)	by deleting the words "Prohibited and" in line fourteen.

Section 5	4. Section 5 of the principal Act is amended—
amended

(a) by deleting the interpretation "Laboratory";

(h) by adding after the interpretation "Medical Board" an interpretation as follows

"Medical Officer" means the Mines Medical Officer, or a medical officer or medical practitioner, employed under this Act, a Mines Medical Officer within the meaning of the Mines Regulation Act Regulations or an officer in charge of a mobile X-ray unit conducting X-ray examinations for the purposes of those regula- tions. ;

(c) as to the interpretation "Mine worker"—

(i)    by adding after the figures "1946" at the end of the second paragraph, the words "and a ventilation officer employed in the department"; and

(ii)    by adding after the third paragraph a paragraph as follows

The term does not include

(a) the manager or an office worker solely engaged in clerical work:

1977.1 Mine Workers' Relief. [No. 29.

(b)	a person who is the holder of a valid certificate of exemption from the require- ments of the Mines Regula- tion Act Regulations; or
(c)	a person employed in or about a mine that is defined or classified as a Class C mine under and for the purposes of the Mines Regu- lation Act Regulations. ; and

(d) by adding after the interpretation "Mines Medical Officer" an interpretation as follows

"Mines Regulation Act Regulations" means the regulations relating to occupational diseases in force from time to time under the Mines Regulation Act, 1946. .

Heading

5. The heading preceding section 8 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the word "PROHIBITION" and substituting the word "NOTIFICATION". amended.

6.    Section 8 of the principal Act is amended— amended.

(a) as to subsection (1)-

(i)    by deleting the words "the Mines" in

line two and substituting the word

c<e;

(ii)  by adding after the word "symptoms" in line four the words "or evidence"; and

No. 29.] Mine Workers' Relief. [1977.

(b) by repealing subsection (3) and re-enacting that subsection as follows

(3) Where a medical officer other than the Mines Medical Officer carries out an examination of a person under this Act or under the Mines Regulation Act Regula- tions that medical officer shall furnish details of the examination to the Mines Medical Officer as soon as practicable. .

Section 9

Section 9 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the words "the Mines" in line one of para- graph (c) of subsection (1) and substituting the word "a".

amended. 7.

Section 13	8.	Section 13 of the principal Act is amended
amended.

(a) by deleting the passage "served on such mine worker and his employer, prohibit the employment of such mine worker as a mine worker" in the last three lines of subsection (1) and substituting the words "notify such mine worker accordingly";

(b) as to subsection (2A)—

(i)    by deleting the words "of prohibition" wherever they occur in line six, line eight, lines sixteen and seventeen and the penultimate line; and

(ii)    by deleting the word "both" in line thirteen and the words "and his employer" in line fourteen;

(c) as to subsection (3)-

(i) by deleting subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) and substituting a paragraph as follows

(ii) he has submitted himself for medical examination to the Mines Medical Officer and has then been found to be no longer

1977. ] Mine Workers' Relief. [No. 29.

suffering from active tuber- culosis as defined in this Act and has received a notice in the prescribed form to that effect and has also been issued with a Mine Worker's Health Certifi- cate under the Mines Regu- lation Act Regulations or a certificate of exemption from the requirements of those regulations. ; and

(ii) by deleting the penalty and substi-

tuting a penalty as follows-

Penalty—Two hundred dollars. ;

(d)	by repealing subsection (3a) ;
(e)	by repealing subsection (4) and re-enacting that subsection as follows

(4) Subsection (1) of this section does not apply to a person employed as a mine worker under the authority of a pro- visional health certificate unless, within two years immediately prior to the issue of the provisional health certificate, he was examined and issued with, and prior to the issue of the provisional health certificate, was lawfully employed by virtue of, a certificate under this Act or a certificate (other than a provisional health certificate) under the Mines Regulation Act Regulations or to a person employed pending his initial examina- tion under those regulations or his examination under those regulations for re-admission as a mine worker unless that person is deemed to be a mine worker pursuant to subsection (2) of this section. ;

(f) as to subsection (5), by deleting the passage commencing with the word "provisional" in line two and ending with the word "permit- ting" in tine six, and substituting the passage 'provisional health certificate"

No. 29.] Mine Workers' Relief. [1977.

means a certificate issued pursuant to the Mines Regulation Act Regulations permit- ting' ; and

as to subsection (6), by deleting the passage

(g) commencing with the word "and" in line seven and ending with the figures "1946" in line ten, and substituting the words "by a mines medical officer exercising any power conferred in that regard under the Mines Regulation Act Regulations". .

Section 15	9.	Section 15 of the principal Act is amended by
amended.

deleting the words "prohibited from employment"

in line four and substituting the word "notified".

Section 16

Subsection (1) of section 16 of the principal Act is amended by adding after the word "section" in line one the passage "and subsection (3) of sec- tion forty-eight of this Act".

amended. 10.

Section 18	11.	Section 18 of the principal Act is amended by
amended.

repealing subsection (6).

Section 19	12.	Section 19 of the principal Act is amended—
amended.

(a) as to subsection (8)-

(i)   by adding after the figures "1946" in line three the words "or a ventilation officer employed in the department";

(ii)    by deleting the words "or workmen's inspector" in line seven and substitu- ting the passage ", workmen's inspector or ventilation officer"; and

(iii)    by adding after the word "inspectors" in the penultimate line the words "and officers"; and

(b) by repealing subsection (9).

1977. -J Mine Workers' Relief. [No. 29.

Heading

13. The heading immediately preceding section amended.

45 of the principal Act is amended by deleting the

words "Prohibited and".

Section 46

14. Section 46 of the principal Act is amended by amended.

repealing subsection (1) and re-enacting that sub-

section as follows

(1) Wherever notice under subsection (1) of section thirteen of this Act is served on a mine worker, and his name has been entered in the register kept in the department in accordance with section fifteen of this Act, the department shall cause notice thereof in the prescribed form to be sent to the Board. .

15. Section 48 of the principal Act is amended— .9 m e cet n t odne

(a) as to subsection (1)—

(i)    by deleting the passage commencing with the word "has" in line one and ending with the word "worker" in line four, and substituting the passage "receives any notice under subsection (1) of section thirteen of this Act";

(ii)    by deleting the words "prohibited or" where they occur in line eleven and line thirteen;

(b) as to subsection (2)-

(i)    by deleting the passage commencing with the word "as" in line seventeen and ending with the word "an" in line twenty, and substituting the word "an"; and

(ii)   by deleting the words "prohibited and" in the penultimate line; and

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(c) by adding after subsection (2) subsections as follows

(3) Where a person has submitted him- self for examination under the Mines Regulation Act Regulations for re-admis- sion as a mine worker and has been found at that examination to be suffering from silicosis in the advanced stage

(a)	that person shall not be entitled to receive any notice under sub- section (1) of section sixteen of this Act; and
(b)	that person and his dependants shall not be entitled to any benefit under subsection (2) of this section,

unless

(c)	that person was, at the time that examination was made, a person whose name was registered under section fifty of this Act; or
(d)	that examination was made within three years of that person having ceased work as a mine worker.

(4) Nothing in subsection (3) of this

section entitles

(a) a person to receive any notice;

Or

(b) a person or his dependants to any benefit,

unless, under this Act, he is otherwise entitled to receive that notice or he or they are otherwise entitled to that benefit, as the case may be. .

1977.] Mine Workers' Relief. [No. 29.

Section 49

16. Section 49 of the principal Act is amended amended.

(a) by deleting the words "prohibited from employment as a mine worker under section thirteen of this Act on the ground" in lines one, two and three of subsection (1), and substituting the passage "notified under subsection (1) of section thirteen of this Act";

(b) as to subsection (2)—

(i)    by deleting the passage "on the date of the prohibition;" in the penulti- mate and last lines of paragraph (a) and substituting the passage "when the medical examination that results in his being notified as referred to in subsection (1) of this section takes place; or"; and

(ii)    by deleting paragraphs (b) and (c) and the word "or" after paragraph (b) and substituting a paragraph as follows

(b) the day of the medical exam- ination that results in his being notified as referred to in subsection (1) of this section, if he is not employed as a mine worker at a mine when that medical examination takes place. ;

(c) as to subsection (3)—

by adding after the word "Act" in

(i) the last line of paragraph (a) the words "and has been issued with either of the certificates referred to in that subparagraph"; and

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(ii) by deleting the passage commencing with the word "determines" in line twelve and ending with the word "section" in the last line, and substi- tuting the word "determines"; and

(d) by adding after subsection (3) subsections as follows

(3a) Where a mine worker to whom subsection (1) of this section applies

(a)	receives a notice such as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of this section and is issued with a certificate such as is mentioned in that paragraph and does not there- after resume work as a mine worker; or
(b)	receives a notice such as is men- tioned in paragraph (b) of sub- section (3) of this section,

he shall be entitled to further medical examinations by a medical officer on such occasions as may be approved by the Minister or the Mines Medical Officer.

(3b) Where, pursuant to subsection (3) of this section, benefits under this section have ceased to be payable to a mine worker and, as a result of a medical examination conducted under section eight of this Act or under subsection (3a) of this section, the Mines Medical Officer is satisfied that the mine worker has suffered a recurrence of his tuberculous condition, the mine worker and his dependants (if any) are thereupon, as from the date of that medical examina- tion, again entitled to benefits under this section. .

1977.] Mine Workers' Relief. [No. 29.

17. The principal Act is amended by repealing IS= iaol ield4 . 9 A

section 49A.

Section 53

18. Section 53 of the principal Act is amended by amended.

deleting the words "prohibited or" in the penulti-

mate line of subsection (2).

Section 57

Section 57 of the principal Act is amended by

deleting paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and sub-

stituting a paragraph as follows

amended.

19.

(a) he is not suffering from silicosis and is otherwise medically fit for employment as a mine worker; .