Commonwealth Numbered Acts

SEAFARERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION ACT 1992 No. 234, 1992 - SECT 3

3. In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears:

"adoption" means adoption under a law of a State or Territory or of a foreign
country;

"aggravation" includes acceleration or recurrence;

"ailment" means any physical or mental ailment, disorder, defect or morbid
condition (whether of sudden onset or gradual development);

"approved Guide" means:

   (a)  the document, prepared by the Authority in accordance with section 42
        under the title 'Guide to the Assessment of the Degree of Permanent
        Impairment', that has been approved by the Minister and is for the
        time being in force; and

   (b)  if an instrument varying the document has been approved by the
        Minister-that document as so varied;

"approved industry training course" means an industry training course approved
in writing by the Authority for the purposes of this definition;

"approved program provider" has the meaning given by section 48;

"attendant care services", in relation to an employee, means services (other
than household services, medical or surgical services or nursing care)
required for the essential and regular personal care of the employee;

"Authority" means the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Authority
established by section 103;

"CERC Act" means the Commonwealth Employees' Rehabilitation and Compensation 
Act 1988 ;

"certified agreement" has the same meaning as in the Industrial Relations  Act
1988 ;

"Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority;

"claim" means a claim under Part 5;

"claimant", in relation to a time after the death of a claimant, means the
claimant's legal personal representative;

"Comcare" has the same meaning as in the CERC Act;

"Comcare officer" means a person referred to in subsection 88(1) of the CERC
Act;

"compensation leave" means any period during which an employee is absent from
his or her employment due to an incapacity for work resulting from an injury
in respect of which compensation is payable under section 31 or 37;

"damages" includes any amount paid under a compromise or settlement of a claim
for damages, whether or not legal proceedings have been instituted, but does
not include an amount paid in respect of costs incurred in connection with
legal proceedings;

"default event", in relation to an employer, happens when:

   (a)  the employer:

        (i)    becomes bankrupt or insolvent; or

        (ii)   applies to take the benefit of any law for the relief of
               insolvents; or

        (iii)  compounds with the employer's creditors for their benefit; or

        (iv)   if the employer is a body corporate-is being wound-up; or

        (v)    if the employer is a body corporate-ceases to exist; or

        (vi)   no longer engages in trade or commerce in Australia; and

   (b)  the employer is unable to meet the employer's liabilities under this
        Act;

"dependant", in relation to a deceased employee, means a person:

   (a)  who is the spouse of the employee; or

   (b)  who is the father, mother, step-father, step-mother, father-in-law,
        mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter, step-son,
        step-daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother
        or half-sister of the employee; or

   (c)  in relation to whom the employee stood in the position of a parent or
        who stood in the position of a parent to the employee; being a person
        who was wholly or partly dependent on the employee at the date of the
        employee's death; Note: see also section 16.

"dependent" means dependent for economic support;

"disease" means:

   (a)  any ailment suffered by an employee; or

   (b)  the aggravation of any such ailment; being an ailment or an
        aggravation that was contributed to in a material degree by the
        employee's employment;

"employee" has the meaning given in section 4;

"financial corporation" means a financial corporation within the meaning of
paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution;

"foreign corporation" means a foreign corporation within the meaning of
paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution and includes a body that is incorporated
in an external Territory;

"Fund" has the meaning given in section 96;

"Government ship" means a ship:

   (a)  that belongs to the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; or

   (b)  the beneficial interest in which is vested in the Commonwealth or a
        State or Territory; or

   (c)  that is for the time being demised or sub-demised to, or in the
        exclusive possession of, the Commonwealth or a State or Territory; and
        includes a ship that belongs to an arm of the Defence Force, but does
        not include a ship:

   (d)  that belongs to a trading corporation that is an authority or agency
        of the Commonwealth or of a State or a Territory; or

   (e)  the beneficial interest in which is vested in such a trading
        corporation; or

   (f)  that is for the time being demised or sub-demised to, or in the
        exclusive possession of, such a trading corporation; or

   (g)  that is operated by seafarers supplied (directly or indirectly) by a
        corporation under a contract with the Commonwealth or a State or
        Territory;

"household services", in relation to an employee, means services of a domestic
nature (including cooking, house cleaning, laundry and gardening services)
required for the proper running and maintenance of the employee's household;

"impairment" means the loss, the loss of the use, or the damage or
malfunction, of any part of the body or of the whole or part of any bodily
system or function;

"injury" means:

   (a)  a disease; or

   (b)  an injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee, being a
        physical or mental injury arising out of, or in the course of, the
        employee's employment; or

   (c)  an aggravation of a physical or mental injury (other than a disease)
        suffered by an employee (whether or not that injury arose out of, or
        in the course of, the employee's employment), being an aggravation
        that arose out of, or in the course of, that employment; but does not
        include anything suffered by an employee as a result of reasonable
        disciplinary action taken against the employee, or failure by the
        employee to obtain a promotion, transfer or benefit in connection with
        his or her employment;

"loss", in relation to property used by an employee, includes destruction;

"medical treatment" means:

   (a)  medical or surgical treatment by, or under the supervision of, a
        legally qualified medical practitioner; or

   (b)  therapeutic treatment obtained at the direction of a legally qualified
        medical practitioner; or

   (c)  dental treatment by, or under the supervision of, a legally qualified
        dentist; or

   (d)  therapeutic treatment by, or under the supervision of, a
        physiotherapist, osteopath, masseur or chiropractor registered as such
        under the law of a State or Territory; or

   (e)  an examination, test or analysis carried out at the request or
        direction of a legally qualified medical practitioner or dentist, and
        the provision of a report in respect of it; or

   (f)  the supply, replacement or repair of an artificial limb or other
        artificial substitute or of a medical, surgical or other similar aid
        or appliance; or

   (g)  treatment and maintenance as a patient at a hospital; or

   (h)  nursing care, and the provision of medicines, medical and surgical
        supplies and curative apparatus, whether in a hospital or not;

"member" means a member of the Authority;

"Navigation Act" means the Navigation Act 1912;

"non-economic loss", in relation to an employee who has suffered an injury
resulting in a permanent impairment, means loss or damage of a non-economic
kind suffered by the employee (including pain and suffering, a loss of
expectation of life or a loss of the amenities or enjoyment of life) as a
result of that injury or impairment and of which the employee is aware;

"normal weekly earnings" means the normal weekly earnings of an employee
worked out under section 13;

"permanent" means likely to continue indefinitely;

"place of residence", in relation to an employee, means:

   (a)  the place in Australia where the employee normally resides; or

   (b)  a place in Australia, other than the place mentioned in paragraph (a),
        where the employee resides temporarily, as a matter of necessity or
        convenience, for the purposes of his or her employment; or

   (c)  any other place in Australia where the employee stays, or intends to
        stay, overnight, if a journey to it from the employee's place of work
        does not substantially increase the risk of sustaining an injury when
        compared with the journey from his or her place of work to the place
        referred to in paragraph (a) or (b);

"place of work", in relation to an employee, means any place at which the
employee is required to attend for the purpose of carrying out the duties of
his or her employment and:

   (a)  if the employee is a seafarer-includes the prescribed ship on which
        the seafarer is employed or engaged; and

   (b)  if the employee is a trainee-includes a ship on which the trainee is
        required to train as part of an approved industry training course;

"prescribed child" means:

   (a)  a person under 16; or

   (b)  a person who:

        (i)    is 16 or over but under 25; and

        (ii)   is receiving full-time education at a school, college,
               university or other educational institution; and

        (iii)  is not ordinarily in employment or engaged in work on his or
               her own account;

"prescribed person", in relation to an employee, means:

   (a)  the spouse of the employee; or

   (b)  any of the following who is 16 or over:

        (i)    the father, mother, step-father, step-mother, father-in-law,
               mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter,
               step-son, step-daughter, grandson, grand-daughter, brother,
               sister, half-brother or half-sister of the employee;

        (ii)   a person in relation to whom the employee stands in the
               position of a parent or who stands in the position of a parent
               to the employee;

        (iii)  a person (other than the spouse of the employee or a person
               referred to in subparagraph (i) or (ii)) who is wholly or
               mainly dependent on the employee and has the care of a
               prescribed child who is wholly or mainly dependent on the
               employee; Note: see also sections 16 and 17.

"prescribed ship" means:

   (a)  a ship to which Part II of the Navigation Act applies; or

   (b)  an off-shore industry vessel in relation to which a declaration under
        subsection 8A(2) of that Act is in force; or

   (c)  a trading ship in relation to which a declaration under subsection
        8AA(2) of that Act is in force; but does not include a
        Government ship;

"property used by an employee" means an artificial limb or other artificial
substitute, or a medical, surgical or other similar aid or appliance, used by
the employee;

"rehabilitation program" includes medical, dental, psychiatric and hospital
services (whether on an in-patient or out-patient basis), physical training
and exercise, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and vocational training;

"seafarer" means a person employed in any capacity on a prescribed ship, on
the business of the ship, other than:

   (a)  a pilot; or

   (b)  a person temporarily employed on the ship in port; or
(c) a person included in the class of persons defined as "special personnel"
in section 283 of the Navigation Act;

"seafarer berth" means a berth on a prescribed ship that is normally used by a
seafarer;

"spouse" includes:

   (a)  in relation to an employee or a deceased employee-a person of the
        opposite sex to the employee who lives with, or immediately before the
        date of the employee's death lived with, the employee as the spouse of
        the employee on a genuine domestic basis although not legally married
        to the employee; and

   (b)  in relation to an employee or a deceased employee who is or was a
        member of the Aboriginal race of Australia or a descendant of
        indigenous inhabitants of the Torres Strait Islands-a person who is or
        was recognised as the employee's husband or wife by the custom
        prevailing in the tribe or group to which the employee belongs or
        belonged;

"suitable employment", in relation to an employee who has suffered an injury
in respect of which compensation is payable under this Act, means any
employment (including self-employment) for which the employee is suited having
regard to:

   (a)  the employee's age, experience, training, language and other skills;
        and

   (b)  the employee's suitability for rehabilitation or vocational
        retraining; and

   (c)  if employment is available in a place that would require the employee
        to change his or her place of residence-whether it is reasonable to
        expect the employee to change his or her place of residence; and

   (d)  any other relevant matter;

"superannuation amount", in relation to a pension received by an employee in
respect of a week, or a lump sum benefit received by an employee, being a
pension or benefit under a superannuation scheme, means an amount equal to:

   (a)  if the scheme identifies a part of the pension or lump sum as
        attributable to the contributions made under the scheme by the
        employee's employer or any former employer-the amount of that part; or

   (b)  in any other case-the amount assessed by the person administering the
        superannuation scheme to be the part of the pension or lump sum that
        is so attributable;

"superannuation scheme" means any superannuation scheme or superannuation fund
under which an employer makes contributions on behalf of his or her employees;

"therapeutic treatment" includes:

   (a)  an examination, test or analysis done for the purpose of diagnosing an
        injury; and

   (b)  treatment given for the purpose of alleviating an injury;

"trading corporation" means a trading corporation within the meaning of
paragraph 51(xx) of the Constitution;

"trainee" means a person who:

   (a)  although ordinarily employed or engaged as a seafarer, is not so
        employed or engaged but is undergoing an
        approved industry training course; or

   (b)  is undergoing an approved industry training course before becoming a
        seafarer.