EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Employment
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
Subsection 100(1)
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation
(Licence Eligibility—Ron Finemore Transport Services Pty Ltd) Declaration 2017
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 under subsection 100(1) of the Act. Subsection 100(1) of the Act provides that if the Minister is satisfied that it would be desirable for the Act to apply to employees of a corporation 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 legislative instrument, declare the corporation to be eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII of the Act.
Ron Finemore Transport Services Pty Ltd (ABN 40 005 471 036) (‘Ron Finemore Transport Services’) is a corporation carrying on business in competition with current or former Commonwealth authorities, including Pacific National. Ron Finemore Transport Services has requested that the Minister declare it to be an eligible corporation under subsection 100(1) of the Act.
Applications for declarations under subsection 100(1) of the Act are assessed against the following principles:
(a) the likely impact on the integrity of the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme;
(b) the likely impact on the operations of the state and territory worker’s compensation schemes; and
(c) the scope of the corporations’ operations across jurisdictions (based on a minimum threshold of two jurisdictions).
Having assessed the application against the principles, the Minister is satisfied that it would be desirable for the Act to apply to the employees of Ron Finemore Transport Services.
The declaration provides that Ron Finemore Transport Services is eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII of the Act.
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.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation was consulted regarding this declaration and indicated that a Regulation Impact Statement was not required for this declaration (OBPR ID Number 21050).
Consultation was undertaken with Comcare. Wider consultation was not undertaken as this declaration was made at the request of Ron Finemore Transport Services, and the effect of this declaration is to allow Ron Finemore Transport Services to make an application for the grant of a licence. Any application for a grant of a licence will be made by Ron Finemore Transport Services to the Commission under section 102 of the Act. The Commission, which will decide whether to grant the licence, includes 3 members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions; a member who, in the Minister’s opinion, represents licensees; and the Chief Executive Officer of Safe Work Australia.
This declaration is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003. This declaration takes effect on the day after it is registered on the Federal Register of Legislation.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation
(Licence Eligibility—Ron Finemore Transport Services Pty Ltd) Declaration 2017
This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Legislative Instrument
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation (Licence Eligibility—Ron Finemore Transport Services Pty Ltd) Declaration 2017 is made in accordance with subsection 100(1) of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (‘the Act’). 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 (‘the Minister’) under subsection 100(1) of the Act.
If the Minister makes a declaration that a corporation is an eligible corporation under subsection 100(1), then the Commission may, on application made in accordance with section 102 of the Act, grant the eligible corporation a licence for a specified period. If a licence is granted, the Commonwealth workers’ compensation scheme, as established by the Act, will apply to the eligible 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.
Declaration of Ron Finemore Transport Services as an ‘eligible corporation’
The declaration has the result that Ron Finemore Transport Services is eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII of the Act. A licence will only be granted if the Commission is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so.
Human rights implications
Article 9 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the right of everyone to social security, including social insurance. General Comment 19 by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights sets out the essential elements of the right to social security, including that ‘States parties should … ensure the protection of workers who are injured in the course of employment or other productive work’.[1]
Workers’ compensation legislation ensures the protection of injured workers by way of compensation payments, payment of medical expenses, permanent impairment benefits and other benefits, such as access to rehabilitation support. Workers’ compensation is generally available instead of the right of employees to sue their employer for these costs. In Australia, there are separate but largely comparable workers’ compensation jurisdictions in the Commonwealth, State and Territory jurisdictions.
The effect of this declaration is that Ron Finemore Transport Services is eligible to make an application to the Commission to be granted a licence. Members of the Commission include 3 members nominated by the Australian Council of Trade Unions; a member who, in the Minister’s opinion, represents licensees; and the Chief Executive Officer of Safe Work Australia.
Once this declaration is made, if Ron Finemore Transport Services makes an application for the grant of a licence to the Commission under section 102 of the Act, the Commission may grant the licence. In order to grant Ron Finemore Transport Services a licence, the Commission will be required to consider if it is appropriate to grant Ron Finemore Transport Services a licence. To be satisfied that it is appropriate to grant Ron Finemore Transport Services a licence, the Commission must be satisfied, among other things, that Ron Finemore Transport Services has sufficient resources to fulfil the responsibilities imposed on it under the licence, has the capacity to meet the Commission’s standards for the rehabilitation and work health and safety of Ron Finemore Transport Services employees, and that the grant of the licence will not be contrary to the interests of Ron Finemore Transport Services employees (section 104 of the Act).
This declaration engages but does not limit human rights. Its effect is that it allows Ron Finemore Transport Services to make an application for the grant of a licence, to be considered by the Commission. As a result, making the declaration does not affect the workers’ compensation rights of Ron Finemore Transport Services employees and so does not limit the right to social security.
Conclusion
The Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights because it does not negatively impact on human rights.
Senator the Hon Michaelia Cash
Minister for Employment
[1] Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, General Comment 19: The Right to Social Security (art. 9), U.N. Doc E/C.12/GC/19 (2008), [17].