New South Wales Consolidated Acts

WORKPLACE INJURY MANAGEMENT AND WORKERS COMPENSATION ACT 1998 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(cf 1987 s 3; 1989 s 3)

(1) In this Act--

"Authority" means the State Insurance Regulatory Authority constituted under the State Insurance and Care Governance Act 2015 .

"claim" means a claim for compensation or work injury damages that a person has made or is entitled to make.

"claimant" means a person who makes or is entitled to make a claim.

"coal miner matter" means any matter arising under the Workers Compensation Acts concerning a claim in respect of a worker employed in or about a mine.

"Commission" means the Personal Injury Commission of New South Wales established by the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 .

"Commission rules" has the same meaning as in the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 .

"compensation" means compensation under the Workers Compensation Acts, and includes any monetary benefit under those Acts.

"Compensation Court" means the Compensation Court of New South Wales constituted under the Compensation Court Act 1984 .

"current work capacity" --see Schedule 3 to the 1987 Act.

"death benefit compensation" means compensation under Division 1 (Compensation payable on death) of Part 3 of the 1987 Act.

"dependants" of a worker means such of the members of the worker's family as were wholly or in part dependent for support on the worker at the time of the worker's death, or would but for the incapacity due to the injury have been so dependent, and includes--

(a) a person so dependent to whom the worker stands in the place of a parent or a person so dependent who stands in the place of a parent to the worker, and

(b) a divorced spouse of the worker so dependent, and

(c) a person so dependent who--

(i) in relation to an injury received before the commencement of Schedule 7 to the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Dust Diseases and Other Matters) Act 1998 --although not legally married to the worker, lived with the worker as the worker's husband or wife on a permanent and genuine domestic basis, or

(ii) in relation to an injury received after that commencement--is the de facto partner of the worker.

Note--: "De facto partner" is defined in section 21C of the Interpretation Act 1987 .

"Deputy President" means a Deputy President of the Commission.

"doctor" means a medical practitioner.

"dust disease" has the same meaning as it has in the Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942 .

"employer" includes--

(a) the legal personal representative of a deceased employer, or

(b) a government employer, or

(c) a former employer.

Without limiting the meaning of the expression, an employer can be an individual, a corporation, a firm, an unincorporated body of persons, a government agency or the Crown.

"exercise" a function includes perform a duty.

"existing claim" has the same meaning as in Chapter 7 (New claims procedures).

"existing claim matter" has the same meaning as in Chapter 7 (New claims procedures).

"financial year" means a year commencing 1 July.

"former 1926 Act" means the Workers' Compensation Act 1926 .

"former licensed insurer" means a person (not being a licensed insurer) who--

(a) was previously a licensed insurer under this Act, the 1987 Act or section 27 of the former 1926 Act, and

(b) continues to have liabilities under policies of insurance previously issued or renewed by the person.

"function" includes a power, authority or duty.

"government agency" means any department, person or body exercising executive or administrative functions on behalf of the Government.

"government employer" means the Crown or any government agency, and includes--

(a) a public health organisation within the meaning of the Health Services Act 1997 , and

(a1) a person exercising employer functions for the Crown or a government agency in relation to a worker, and

Example--: The Government Sector Employment Act 2013 , sections 26 and 31 provide for Secretaries of Departments and certain other heads of Public Service agencies to exercise the employer functions of the Government of New South Wales.

(b) an employer prescribed by the regulations.

"government worker" means a worker whose employer is a government employer.

"GST" has the same meaning as in the A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999 of the Commonwealth.

"ICNSW" means Insurance and Care NSW constituted under the State Insurance and Care Governance Act 2015 .

"incapacity" includes a disfigurement that is sufficient to affect the earning capacity of a worker or a worker's opportunities for employment.

"Independent Review Officer" means the Independent Review Officer appointed under Schedule 5 to the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 .

"injury" --

(a) means a personal injury arising out of or in the course of employment, and

(b) includes--

(i) a disease contracted by a worker in the course of employment, where the employment was a contributing factor to the disease, or

(ii) the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of any disease, where the employment was a contributing factor to the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration, but

(c) does not include (except in the case of a worker employed in or about a mine)--

(i) a dust disease, or

(ii) the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of a dust disease.

"insurance" includes indemnity.

"lump sum compensation" means compensation under Division 4 (Compensation for non-economic loss) of Part 3 of the 1987 Act.

"mandatory notification requirement" --see section 40D.

"mediator" means a person appointed as a mediator for the purposes of this Act under the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 .

"medical assessment" means assessment of a medical dispute by a medical assessor under Part 7 of Chapter 7.

"medical assessor" means a person appointed under the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 as a medical assessor for the purposes of this Act.

"medical certificate" means a certificate given by a medical practitioner.

"medical dispute" has the meaning given by section 319.

"medical expenses compensation" means compensation under Division 3 (Compensation for medical, hospital and rehabilitation expenses etc) of Part 3 of the 1987 Act.

"member of a family" means spouse (including wife or husband), father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister.

"motor accident damages" means damages to which Part 6 of the Motor Accidents Act 1988 , Chapter 5 of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 or Part 4 of the Motor Accident Injuries Act 2017 applies.

"new claim" has the same meaning as in Chapter 7 (New claims procedures).

"new claim matter" has the same meaning as in Chapter 7 (New claims procedures).

"no current work capacity" --see Schedule 3 to the 1987 Act.

"non-presidential member" means a member of the Commission other than a presidential member.

"pain and suffering compensation" means compensation for pain and suffering under section 67 of the 1987 Act.

"permanent impairment compensation" means compensation for permanent impairment under section 66 of the 1987 Act.

"policy of insurance" means a policy of insurance that an employer obtains under the 1987 Act or the former 1926 Act.

"premium income" --

(a) in relation to contributions payable under this Act or the 1987 Act by an insurer (other than a specialised insurer) in respect of a financial year--means the amount the insurer receives during that financial year as premiums in respect of policies of insurance issued or renewed by the insurer (whether the policies are issued or renewed during that financial year or during a previous financial year), or

(b) in relation to contributions payable under this Act or the 1987 Act by a specialised insurer in respect of a financial year--means the amount the insurer receives, whether during or after that financial year, as premiums in respect of policies of insurance issued or renewed by the insurer during that financial year,

and, in relation to contributions payable by any insurer, includes any amount comprising or attributable to GST and any amount prescribed by the regulations as included for the purposes of this definition in relation to that financial year, but does not include any amount prescribed by the regulations as excluded for the purposes of this definition in relation to that financial year.

"President" means the President of the Commission.

"presidential member" has the same meaning as in the Personal Injury Commission Act 2020 .

"principal registrar" means the principal registrar of the Commission.

"records" includes books, accounts, minutes, registers, deeds, documents and any other sources of information compiled, recorded or stored in written form, on microfilm, by electronic process or in any other manner.

"related body corporate" has the same meaning as it has in the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.

"SafeWork NSW" means SafeWork NSW as referred to in clause 1 of Schedule 2 to the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 .

"Self Insurance Corporation" means the NSW Self Insurance Corporation constituted by the NSW Self Insurance Corporation Act 2004 .

"spouse" of a person means--

(a) in relation to an injury received before the commencement of Schedule 7 to the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment (Dust Diseases and Other Matters) Act 1998 --a person to whom the person is legally married (including a husband or wife), or

(b) in relation to an injury received after that commencement--

(i) a person to whom the person is legally married (including a husband or wife), or

(ii) a de facto partner of the person.

"suitable employment" --see section 32A of the 1987 Act.

"the 1987 Act" means the Workers Compensation Act 1987 .

"training contract" has the meaning it has in the Apprenticeship and Traineeship Act 2001 .

Note--: A training contract is a contract entered into for the purpose of establishing an apprenticeship or traineeship.

"weekly payment" , in relation to compensation, means a weekly payment of compensation under Division 2 of Part 3 of the 1987 Act in respect of a period of total or partial incapacity for work.

"work capacity decision" --see section 43 of the 1987 Act.

"work health and safety legislation" means--

(a) the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 and the instruments under that Act, or

(b) any other Act or instrument (or part) prescribed by the regulations under this Act.

"work injury" means an injury in respect of which compensation is payable.

"work injury damages" has the same meaning as in Chapter 7 (New claims procedures).

"Workers Compensation Guidelines" means guidelines issued under section 376.

"Workers Compensation Operational Fund" means the Workers Compensation Operational Fund established under this Act.

"worker" means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service or a training contract with an employer (whether by way of manual labour, clerical work or otherwise, and whether the contract is expressed or implied, and whether the contract is oral or in writing). However, it does not include--

(a) a member of the NSW Police Force who is a contributor to the Police Superannuation Fund under the Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906 , or

(b) a person whose employment is casual (that is for 1 period only of not more than 5 working days) and who is employed otherwise than for the purposes of the employer's trade or business, or

(c) an officer of a religious or other voluntary association who is employed upon duties for the association outside the officer's ordinary working hours, so far as the employment on those duties is concerned, if the officer's remuneration from the association does not exceed $700 per year, or

(d) except as provided by Schedule 1, a registered participant of a sporting organisation (within the meaning of the Sporting Injuries Insurance Act 1978 ) while--

(i) participating in an authorised activity (within the meaning of that Act) of that organisation, or

(ii) engaged in training or preparing himself or herself with a view to so participating, or

(iii) engaged on any daily or periodic journey or other journey in connection with the registered participant so participating or the registered participant being so engaged,

if, under the contract pursuant to which the registered participant does any of the things referred to above in this paragraph, the registered participant is not entitled to remuneration other than for the doing of those things.

"Workers Compensation Acts" means this Act and the 1987 Act.

"workers compensation legislation" means--

(a) this Act and the instruments under this Act, or

(b) the 1987 Act and the instruments under that Act, or

(c) the Workers Compensation (Bush Fire, Emergency and Rescue Services) Act 1987 and the instruments under that Act, or

(d) the Workers' Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942 and the instruments under that Act, or

(e) any other Act or instrument (or part) prescribed by the regulations.

Note--: The Interpretation Act 1987 contains definitions and other provisions that affect the interpretation and application of this Act.

(2) Extended meaning of injured worker A reference in this Act to a worker who has been injured includes, if the worker is dead, a reference to the worker's legal personal representative, or the worker's dependants, or any other person to whom or for whose benefit compensation is payable.

(3) Notes Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.

(5) Meaning of "related" The following provisions have effect for the purposes of this section--

(a) Persons are
"related" if--

(i) one is the parent, or another ancestor, of the other, or

(ii) one is the child, or another descendant, of the other, or

(iii) they have a parent in common.

(b) For the purposes of paragraph (a)--

(i) a person is taken to be an ancestor or descendant of another person even if the relationship between them is traced through, or to, a person who is or was an adopted child, and

(ii) the relationship of parent and child between an adoptive parent and an adopted child is taken to continue even though the order by which the adoption was effected has been annulled, cancelled or discharged or the adoption has otherwise ceased to be effective, and

(iii) the relationship between an adopted child and the adoptive parent, or each of the adoptive parents, is taken to be or to have been the natural relationship of child and parent, and

(iv) a person who has been adopted more than once is taken to be the child of each person by whom he or she has been adopted.

(c) In paragraph (b),
"adopted" means adopted under the law of any place, whether in Australia or not, relating to the adoption of children.

(5A) Subsection (5) applies in relation to a child whose parentage is transferred as a result of a parentage order, or an Interstate parentage order, within the meaning of the Surrogacy Act 2010 in the same way as it applies in relation to an adopted child. For that purpose, a reference in that subsection to an adoptive parent is to be read as a reference to a person to whom the parentage of a child is transferred under such a parentage order.

(6) Certain references to "mines" A reference to a mine in the definitions of
"coal miner matter" and
"injury" is a reference to a mine within the meaning of the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982 as in force immediately before its repeal by the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act 2002 , but does not include a reference to any place that, in accordance with section 10 (2) of the Work Health and Safety (Mines and Petroleum Sites) Act 2013 , is a place to which that Act does not apply.

Note--: Section 2A of the 1987 Act provides that the 1987 Act is to be construed with, and as if it formed part of, this Act. Accordingly, a reference in this Act to this Act generally includes a reference to the 1987 Act.