EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
Section 100
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Licence Eligibility) Notice 2006 (4)
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (the Act) establishes the Commonwealth workers’ compensation and rehabilitation scheme.
Under Part VIII of the Act, an ‘eligible corporation’ may apply to the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (the Commission) for a licence to:
(a) accept liability to pay workers’ compensation in respect of its employees in accordance with the Act; and
(b) manage the claims of its employees in accordance with the Act.
An ‘eligible corporation’ is a corporation that has been declared to be such by the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations under section 100 of the Act. Section 100 of the Act provides that if the Minister is satisfied that it would be desirable for the Act to apply to employees of a body that:
(a) is, but is about to cease to be, a Commonwealth authority; or
(b) was previously a Commonwealth authority; or
(c) is carrying on business in competition with a Commonwealth authority or with another corporation that was previously a Commonwealth authority;
the Minister may, by notice in writing, declare the corporation to be eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII.
If the Commission subsequently decides to grant an eligible corporation a licence, State and Territory workers’ compensation legislation will cease to apply to that corporation from the date the licence comes into force. Any liability or obligation incurred by the corporation under a State or Territory law in relation to the injury or death of an employee, or any loss or damage suffered by an employee, before the licence comes into force is not affected.
Applications for declarations under section 100 of the Act are assessed against the following principles:
(a) the likely impact on employees of the applicant;
(b) the likely impact on the applicant;
(c) the likely impact on the operation of the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme; and
(d) the likely impact on the operation of the State and Territory schemes.
In considering these principles the Minister may also take into account:
- the size of the corporation (based on a minimum threshold of 500 employees);
- the scope of the corporation’s operation across jurisdictions (based on a minimum threshold of two jurisdictions); and
- where competition exists, whether this is a substantial part of the applicant’s business.
John Holland Group Pty Ltd (ABN 37 050 242 147), John Holland Pty Ltd (ABN 11 004 282 268) and John Holland Rail Pty Ltd (ABN 61 009 252 653) are corporations carrying on business in competition with a Commonwealth authority or a former Commonwealth authority. These corporations have requested that the Minister declare them to be eligible corporations under section 100 of the Act.
Having assessed the applications against the principles, the Minister is satisfied that it would be desirable for the Act to apply to the employees of John Holland Group Pty Ltd, John Holland Pty Ltd and John Holland Rail Pty Ltd.
The notice declares that John Holland Group Pty Ltd, John Holland Pty and John Holland Rail Pty Ltd are eligible to be granted licences under Part VIII of the Act.
An exemption from the preparation of a Regulatory Impact Statement for the above corporations was granted by the Office of Regulatory Review. Wider consultation was not undertaken as this declaration was made at the request of the John Holland group of companies and it is not likely to have a direct, or substantial indirect, effect on business or restrict competition.
This declaration takes effect upon registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
This Notice is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.