Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Act 1938 (WA)
| No. 50.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1938. |
WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
| 2° and 3° GEO. | No. L. |
No. 50 of 1938.
AN ACT to amend the Workers' Compensation Act,
19124934.
[Assented to 31st January, 1939.]
RE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and consent of the Legis- lative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
| Short title. | 1. This Act may be cited as the Workers' Compensa- tion Act Amendment Act, 1938, and shall be read as one with the Workers' Compensation Act, 1912-1934 (No. 69 of 1912) as reprinted in the appendix to the sessional volume of the Statutes for the year 1937, hereinafter re- ferred to as "the principal Act." |
| Amendment | 2. Section ten of the principal Act is amended by add- |
| of s.10 of th | e |
| principal Act | . ing the following paragraphs to subsection (1) thereof :— |
| (a) | by inserting after the word "section" in line twelve the words "for the purpose of this sec- tion the term 'incorporated insurance office' includes any duly incorporated company carry- ing on insurance business in Western Australia under the provisions of the Commonwealth Insurance Act, 1932 (No. 4 of 1932) " ; |
| (b) | by inserting the words "or group of employers" after the word "employer" wherever appear- ing in the proviso to subsection (1). |
| 193S.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 50. |
| 3. Section ten of the principal Act is amended by | Amendmentof a 10 of the principal |
| adding thereto subsections as follows :— | Act. |
(3) If and when the State Government Insurance Office becomes an approved office within the mean- ing of this section, the Minister shall forthwith grant approval to every incorporated insurance office as herein defined which does in fact make application to become approved under the provisions of this section.
(4) Where by virtue of the conditions of any policy or contract of insurance obtained by an employer in compliance with this section the amount of premium payable for such policy or contract of insurance, or for a renewal thereof, is ascertained by reference to, or upon the basis of the aggregate amount of, wages paid by such employer to his employees during a specified period as disclosed by a statement to be furnished by the employer to the insurer, such employer shall, if so requested by the insurer, verify the particulars furnished in such statement by a statutory declaration made by the employer under section one hundred and six of the Evidence Act, 1906.
4. Section thirteen of the principal Act is amended ti;;,6.178,:.
by the insertion after paragraph (1) thereof of a new
paragraph (la) as follows
(la) Payment by the employer of any compensa- tion due or proceedings taken by the worker against the employer to recover compensation clue under this Act, whether successful or otherwise, shall not oper- ate, by way of election, estoppel or otherwise, as a bar to proceedings by the worker to recover damages from such other person liable to pay damages as in this section herehabefore referred to : Provided that where the worker is successful in such proceedings to recover damages the employer's liability to pay compensation under this Act shall thereupon cease and be forever determined to the extent of all such damages actually recovered by the worker from such other person and any amount paid by the employer to the worker as compensation under this Act whether voluntarily or by order of the Court shall be a charge upon and shall be refunded out of such damages actually recovered by the worker from such other person liable as aforesaid.
| No. 50.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1938. |
Amendment
| of s. 13 of | 5. Section thirteen of the principal Act is amended |
| the principal |
| Act. | by inserting a new paragraph in the section as follows :— (3) If the worker has been successful in such pro- ceedings to recover damages as is mentioned in para- graph 1 (a) of this section and does not recover the full amount of such damages and any portion of the compensation under this Act paid by the employer to the worker has not been refunded to the employer out of such damages then the employer shall be entitled at his own expense and in the name of the worker and upon giving the worker an indemnity against all costs and expenses to take any proper steps for the purpose of enforcing payment by such third person of the amount of the damages awarded to the worker or any balance of such damages then remaining unpaid: Provided always. that any damages so recovered from such third person in excess of the amount of compensation paid to the worker under this Act shall be payable to and re- |
ceived by the worker.
| ofmendment | A |
| the first | 6. The first schedule to the principal Act is amended |
| the principal | schedule to as follows:— |
| Act. |
| (a) | by deleting subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of clause (1) of the schedule and inserting in lieu thereof a subparagraph as follows :— |
(i) If the worker leaves any dependants wholly dependent upon his earnings, the sum of seven hundred and fifty pounds, less the amount of any weekly payments made under this Act and less the amount of any lump sum paid in redemption thereof ;
| (b) | by inserting in paragraph (c) of the proviso to clause (1) of the schedule, after the words "arti- ficial limbs" in line ten of the said paragraph, the words "including artificial teeth, artificial eyes glasses or spectacles as an aid to vision where an injury to an eye renders the use of glasses or spectacles necessary"; | ||
| (c) |
|
| 1938.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 50. |
his employer's duly authorised agent, or medical adviser to travel from the place where he resides to a hospital or other place for treatment or medical examination, then in addition to the compensation payable to such worker under this section, the employer shall pay all reasonable fares and expenses in- curred by the worker in such travelling and return and also a sum not exceeding six shil- lings per day, but not exceeding the sum of thirty-five shillings per week, to cover the cost of meals and lodging necessarily incurred by the worker whilst away from his home for the purpose of such treatment or examination.
Further
| 7. The first schedule to the principal Act is further | amendment |
| amended as follows :— | schedule toof the first the principal |
| (a) | by adding to clause (4) of the schedule a para- | Act. |
graph to stand as paragraph (b) as follows:—
(b) Where a worker, in order to submit
himself for examination by a medical practi-
tioner in compliance with this clause, is re-
quired to travel from the place where he
resides to another place then, in addition to
the compensation payable to such worker
under any preceding section of this Act, the
employer shall pay all reasonable expenses
incurred by the worker in such travelling and
also the sum of six shillings per day, but not
exceeding the sum of thirty-five shillings per
week, to cover the cost of meals and lodging
necessarily incurred by the worker while
away from his home for the purpose of such
medical examination;
| (b) | by adding to paragraph (a) of clause (14) of the |
schedule a proviso as follows :—
Provided that the party who desires the reference of a matter to a medical referee shall make the said application within one month after the date of the receipt by him of a copy of the medical report furnished to him by the other party;
| (c) | by inserting after clause (16) a new clause as fol- |
lows :—
| 16A. When the court orders redemption calculation of | lump sum. |
as provided for in clause (16) of this schedule
| No. 50.] | Workers' C om pens ation. | [1938. |
the lump sum shall be assessed upon a calcu- lation by the Government Actuary of the pre- sent value of the balance of compensation still payable or likely to be payable to the appli- cant under the Act by way of weekly pay- ments. No deduction of any nature or kind shall be made by the court from such actuarial assessment for any reason whatsoever ;
| (d) | by inserting in clause (20) of the schedule after the word "genuineness" in line eight of the clause, the words "and, where the agreement provides for the payment of compensation or other moneys, as to the adequacy of the amount thereof"; |
| (e) | by deleting paragraph (d) of clause (20) of the schedule and inserting in lieu thereof a new paragraph as follows: |
(d) (i) Upon receipt of a memorandum for registration, the clerk of the court shall examine the same in order to satisfy himself as to the genuineness of the agreement and as to the adequacy of the amount of any com- pensation or other moneys payable there- under, and if it appears to the clerk of the court as the result of such examination or as the result of any information which he con- siders sufficient that an agreement as to the redemption of weekly payments by a lump sum or an agreement as to the amount of com- pensation payable to the worker or to a per- son under any legal disability or to depend- ants, ought not to be registered by reason of the inadequacy of the sum or amount, or by reason of the agreement having been obtained by fraud or undue influence or other improper means, he shall refuse to record the memoran- dum of the agreement sent to him for regis- tration, and in that case shall refer the mat- ter to the magistrate who shall, in accordance with rules of court, make such order (includ- ing an order as to any sum already paid under the agreement) as under the circumstances he may think just.
(ii) For the purpose of carrying out his
duties under subparagraph (i) of this para-
| 1938.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 50. |
graph the clerk of the court may, by notice in Writing, require the attendance before him of the parties to the agreement and interrogate them in relation to the agreement and where the medical opinion of a medical practitioner is material and relevant to the question of the adequacy of the amount of compensation pay- able under the agreement, the clerk of the court may require the employer to have the worker examined by a medical practitioner nominated by the cleric of the court, at the expense of the employer, in any case where the clerk of the court is of the opinion that a report from such medical practitioner will assist him in determining the matter of the adequacy or inadequacy of the amount of the compensation aforesaid.
| (f) | by inserting in paragraph (e) of clause (20) of the schedule, after the word "means" in line seven of the said paragraph, the words "or that the amount of compensation payable under the agreement is inadequate." |
8. The third schedule to the principal Act is amended tiler
| by adding at the end of the words "Mining or quarrying 8 | ;1 1=Itir |
| or stone crushing or cutting" where they appear in the second column of the schedule under the heading "Description of Process" the words "or stone or metal screening." |
ation of
| 9. | (1) The principal Act as amended by this Act p° | neipal Act |
| may be cited as the Workers' Compensation Act, a | amended. |
| 1912-1938. |
| (2) | The principal Act as amended by this Act shall |
be reprinted by the Government Printer under the super-
vision of the Clerk of Parliaments.
(3) In any such reprint
| (a) | the sections shall be renumbered in arithmetical order and appropriate references shall be made in the margins to the section; |
(b) the cross-references shall be adjusted where
necessary;
| (c) | the short title of the reprint shall be in con- formity with subsection (1) of this section. |
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