Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Act 1964 (WA)
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
WORKERS' COMPENSATION.
13' Elizabeth II., No. LXXXVIII.
No. 88 of 1964.
AN ACT to amend the Workers' Compensation
Act, 1912-1963.
[Assented to 14th December, 1964.]
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 Workers' =Vie.
Compensation Act Amendment Act, 1964.
(2) In this Act the Workers' Compensation Act, triroef=
| 1912-1963 is referred to as the principal Act. | Reprinted | ||
| |||
|
(3) The principal Act as amended by this Act may iris mat
| be cited as the Workers' Compensation Act, 1912- nit(' by | Acts Nos. 66 |
| 1964. | of 1959, 81 of |
| 1960, 63 of | |
| 1961 and |
| 80 of 1963. |
| No. 88.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1964. |
B. 7
| emended. | 2. Section seven of the principal Act is amended— |
| (a) | by repealing subsection (la) and substitut- ing the following subsections |
(la) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), but subject to the succeeding provisions, of this section, a worker is deemed to have suffered per- sonal injury by accident arising out of or in the course of his employment, where
| (a) | the worker suffers a personal injury without any substantial default or wilful act, on his part, while he is travelling on any regular, daily or periodic journey- |
(i) between his place of resi- dence and place of em- ployment or place of pick-up; or
(ii) between his place of resi- dence or place of employ- ment and any trade, technical or other training school that he is required, by the terms of his em- ployment or as an appren- tice, to attend;
and
| (b) | the injury arises out of, and in the course of, the journey, |
unless the injury is incurred during, or after, any substantial interruption of, or substantial deviation from, the journey, made for any reason unconnected with his employment or with his attendance at the trade, technical or other training school.
(lb) For the purposes of subsection (la) of this section and notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any injury to which a disease is a contribut- ing factor, and any aggravation, accelera-
| tion, exacerbation, recurrence or re-crudescence of any such injury or of any |
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
pre-existing disease, is not, whether of sudden occurrence or of gradual develop- ment, a personal injury by accident.
(lc) For the purposes of subsection (la) of this section, any housing, lodg- ing or other residential accommodation that is
| (a) | provided, whether under the contract of employment or otherwise, by the employer for the full time occupation of the worker; |
or
| (b) | occupied by the worker, under an express or implied term of his employment, |
is, while so provided or occupied, the place of residence, and the only place of residence, of the worker. ;
and
| (b) | as to subsection (3), by substituting for the words, "two thousand four hundred",— |
(i) in the penultimate line of paragraph (a);
(ii) in line six of paragraph (f); and
(iii) in the penultimate line of paragraph (g),
the words, "three thousand five hundred",
in every case.
3. Section eight of the principal Act is amended— S. 8
amended.
| (a) | by substituting for the passage, commenc- ing with the word, "Where", at the beginning of subsection (1) and ending with, "Act,", at the end of paragraph (b) of that subsection, the passage, |
"Where a worker is disabled from earning full wages by reason of suffering from, or his death is caused by, any disease, except pneumoconiosis, mentioned in the first column of the Third Schedule to this Act";
| No. 88.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1964. |
| (b) | by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis or miner's phthisis", in lines three and four of subsection (la), the word, "pneumoconiosis"; |
| (c) | by substituting for subsection (lb) the following subsection |
(lb) Subsection (la) of this section applies and shall be deemed always to have applied to every worker who, being disabled in the manner and circum- stances therein provided (irrespective of when he was so disabled), is living at the date of the coming into operation of the Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Act, 1964. ;
| (d) | by adding, after subsection (lb), the following subsections |
(lc) Where, after the coming into operation of the Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Act, 1964, a worker becomes disabled from earning full wages, by reason of suffering from chronic bronchitis in association with silicosis, and the latter of those diseases is, or was, due to the nature of his employment in the mining industry, he is deemed to be so disabled by pneumoconiosis and is entitled to compensation under the provisions of this Act; but a worker who, after receiving compensation pursuant to this subsection, is subsequently employed in the mining industry, whether by the same or any other employer, shall not be entitled to any further compensation or benefit, in respect of any period of incapacity due to pneumoconiosis of any kind or to the aggravation or acceleration of any such disease, arising from his subsequent employment in that industry.
(1d) Whenever a claim is made by a worker for compensation under subsec- tion (la) or (1c) of this section, the question of the worker's condition and
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
fitness for employment shall be referred, by the Registrar, to a medical board comprising
| (a) | the Mines Medical Officer, ap- pointed under the Mine Workers' Relief Act, 1932; |
| (b) | a physician of the Department of Public Health, specialising in occupational diseases, nominated from time to time by t h e Commissioner of Public Health; and |
| (c) | a physician specialising in diseases of the chest, nominated, from time to time, by the Commissioner of Public Health; |
and the question of the worker's condition and fitness for employment shall be determined by, or by a majority of, the Board whose determination shall be final, conclusive and binding on the worker, on his employer and on any tribunal hearing a matter in which any such determina- tion is relevant. ;
| (e) | by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis or miner's phthisis" in lines five and six of subsection (5), the word, "pneumoconiosis"; |
| (f) | by substituting for paragraph (iii) of the proviso to subsection (5) the following paragraph |
(iii) if the disease is of such a nature as to be contracted by a gradual process, any other employers who during the said period of three years employed the worker in the employment to the nature of which the disease was due shall be liable to make to the employer from whom compensation is recoverable such contribution as, in default of agreement, may be determined in proceedings under this Act for settling the amount of the compensation. ;
| No. 88.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1964. |
| (g) | by substituting for the passage, "proviso (i)", in line one of subsection (5a), the words, "the proviso"; |
(h) as to subsection (13)-
(i) by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis, or miner's phthisis", in lines five and six, the word, "pneumoconiosis"; and
(ii) by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis, or miner's phthisis, as the case may be", at the end of the subsection, the word, "pneumoconiosis";
(i) as to subsection (14)-
(i) by substituting for the first para- graph, commencing at line one and ending at line eighteen, the f ollow- ing
Notwithstanding any provisions of the Mine Workers' Relief Act, 1932 or any other provisions of this Act, the compensation payable to a worker in respect of any period or periods of total or partial incapa- city due, or deemed due, solely to pneumoconiosis, arising, or deemed to arise, out of or in the course of employment in a process, described in the second column of the Third Schedule to this Act as, any process entailing exposure to mineral dusts harmful to the lungs, or to that disease in combination with any other disease, shall not in any case exceed three thousand five hun- dred pounds; and the provisions of this subsection shall apply whether the period or periods of incapacity occur or result while the worker is employed by the same employer or by different, successive employers. ; and
(ii) by substituting for the passage, commencing with, "1956,", in line
| four of paragraph (e), and ending |
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
with the word, "silicosis", being the last word in the subsection, the passage
"1956; or
(f) of the sum of three thousand five hundred pounds prior to the coming into operation of the Workers' Compensation Act Amendment Act, 1964,
in respect of such period or periods of incapacity or, in the case of a worker whose disease has resulted in an injury also entitling him to compensation under t h e Second Schedule of this Act, of the appro- priate maximum amount in respect of such period or periods of incapacity and such injury, and who is subsequently employed in a process, described in the second column of the Third Schedule to this Act as, any process entailing expo- sure to mineral dusts harmful to the lungs, whether by the same employer or by different, successive employers, shall not, in any circumstances, be entitled to further compensation or benefit, for any period of incapacity due to pneumoconiosis, or to the combination of that disease with any other disease, or to the aggravation or acceleration of pneumoconiosis or of that disease in combination with any other disease, arising or deemed to arise from his subsequent employ- ment in any such process";
and
| (j) | by deleting the passage, "the first proviso to |
regulation six (e) of", in lines five and six
of paragraph (c) of subsection (16).
4. Section ten A of the principal Act is repealed. srpted.
| No. 88.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1964. |
S. 11
| amended. | 5. Section eleven of the principal Act is |
amended
| (a) | by substituting for the word s, "two thousand four hundred", in line nine of subsection (1), the words, "three thousand five hundred"; |
| (b) | by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis or miner's phthisis", in lines four and five of subsection (2), the word, "pneumoconiosis"; and |
| (c) | by substituting for the word s, "two thousand four hundred", in lines eight and nine of subsection (3), the words, "three thousand five hundred". |
S. 25
| amended. | 6. Section twenty-five of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the passage, "governing body of the Australian Labour Party, Western Australian Branch.", at the end of paragraph (b) of subsection (6), the passage, "body known as the Trades and Labor Council of Western Australia.". |
| S. 30 | |
| amended. | 7. Section thirty of the principal Act is amended by substituting for the interpretation, "rate", in subsection (la), the following interpretation |
"rate" means the premium rate to be charged for insurance by employers against liability under this Act in respect of pneumoconiosis arising out of or in the course of employ- ment in a process described in the second column of the Third Schedule to this Act as, any process entailing exposure to mineral dusts harmful to the lungs; .
First
| Schedule | 8. The First Schedule to the principal Act is |
| amended. | amended |
(a) as to clause 1,-
(i) by substituting for the words, "three
thousand", in line three, and the
word, "seventy-five", in line four, of
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a), the words, "three thousand five hundred" and "one hundred ", respectively;
(ii) by deleting paragraph (iii) of paragraph (a) and inserting in lieu the following:
(iii) if he leaves no dependants, the reasonable expenses of his medical attendance and burial, the cost of which may be awarded to and upon the application of any person by whom the expenses were properly incurred, or to whom the whole or any part of the expenses is owed.
(iii) by substituting for the passage, "silicosis, pneumoconiosis, or miner's phthisis", in lines five and six of the proviso to paragraph (b), the word, "pneumoconiosis";
(iv) by substituting for the words, "two thousand four hundred", in line four of the final paragraph of the interpretation, "a v e r a g e weekly earnings", in paragraph (c), the words, "three thousand five hundred"; and
(v) by substituting for the words, "two hundred", in line twenty-one, and for the words, "three hundred and twenty-five", in line twenty- eight, of paragraph (c) of the proviso to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c), the words, "two hundred and fifty", and "four hundred and twenty-five", respec- tively;
| and |
| (b) | as to clause 11, by substituting for the words, "two thousand seven hundred and fifty", in line five of paragraph (i), the words, "three thousand five hundred". |
| No. 88.] | Workers' Compensation. | [1964. |
Second
| Schedule | 9. The principal Act is amended by repealing |
| repealed and |
| re-enacted. | the Second Schedule and re-enacting it with amendments as follows |
SECOND SCHEDULE.
TABLE.
Amount of
| Nature of Injury. | Compensation |
Payable.
| Total loss of the sight of both eyes | 3,500 |
| Total loss of the sight of an only eye .... | 3,500 |
| Loss of both hands .... | 3,500 |
| Loss of both feet | ... | 3,500 |
| Loss of a hand and a foot ... | 3,500 |
| Total and incurable loss of mental powers |
| involving inability to work .... | 3,500 |
Total and incurable paralysis of the limbs
| or of mental powers | 3,500 |
and in addition, when a medical Practitioner certi- fies the injury to be total and incur- able paralysis of the limbs, an at- tendant's remun- eration at a rate not exceeding three Pounds per week.
Total loss of the right arm or of the
| greater part of the right arm .... | 2,800 |
Total loss of the left arm or of the greater
| part of the left arm . | 2,620 |
Total loss of the right hand or of five
fingers of the right hand, or of the
| lower part of the right arm .... | - | 2,450 |
Total loss of the same for the left hand
| and arm ... | 2,270 |
| Total loss of a leg .. | 2,620 |
| Total loss of a foot or the lower part of |
| theleg | . | •... | -- | 2,100 |
| Total loss of the sight of one eye, together with the serious diminution of the sight of the other eye | 2,620 |
| Total loss of hearing | 2,100 |
| Partial deafness of both ears | Such percentage of £2,100 as is equal to the percentage of diminution of hearing. |
| Complete deafness of one ear | 700 |
| Total loss of the sight of one eye .... | 1,400 |
| Loss of binocular vision .... | 1,400 |
| Total loss of the thumb of the right hand | 1,050 |
| Total loss of the thumb of the left hand | 910 |
| Total loss of the forefinger of the right |
| hand | 700 |
| 1964.] | Workers' Compensation. | [No. 88. |
Amount of
| Nature of Injury. | Compensation |
Payable.
Total loss of the forefinger of the left
| hand. | .... | .... | .... | 555 |
| Total loss of a joint of the thumb .... | 555 |
| Total loss of the first joint of the fore- |
| finger of either hand ... .... ... | 275 |
| Total loss of the middle finger of the hand | 415 |
| Total loss of the little or ring finger of |
| the | hand | . | . | .. | .... | 380 |
| Total loss of the great toe of either foot | 700 |
| Total loss of a joint of the great toe of |
| eitherfoot | .. | .... | ... | .... | 350 |
Total loss of any other toe or of a joint
| of a finger | ... | .... | .... | .... | 205 |
| Total loss of a joint of any other toe .. | 65 |
| Partial loss of the sight of both eyes ... | Such percentage of £3,500 as is equal to the percentage of the diminution of sight measured without the aid of a correcting lens. |
| Partial loss of the sight of one eye | Such percentage of £1,400 as is equal to the percentage of the diminution of sight measured without the aid of a correcting lens. |
10. The Third Schedule to the principal Act is =ile
| amended— | amended. |
| (a) | by substituting for those descriptions of diseases, in the first column, commencing with, "*Trade spasms and cramps", and ending with, "*Dermatitis", the description, "Wneumoconiosie; |
| (b) | by deleting the bracket embracing the descriptions of diseases first mentioned in paragraph (a) of this section; and |
| (c) | by substituting for the description of process, "Mining, or quarrying, or stone crushing or cutting, or stone or metal screening", in the second column, the description, "Any process entailing exposure to mineral dusts harmful to the lungs", so as to appear directly opposite the description of disease, "Pneumo- coniosis". |
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