Victorian Consolidated Regulations Victorian Consolidated Regulations(1) Subject to regulation 16, the advisory committee for the purpose of providing an expert opinion—
Reg. 14(1)(a) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(1).
(a) must, as far as reasonably practicable, provide the firefighter or vehicle and equipment maintenance employee with an opportunity to provide information that is relevant to the request for expert opinion; and
Reg. 14(1)(b) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(1).
(b) may seek advice or information from other persons, including the firefighter or vehicle and equipment maintenance employee, the Authority and the relevant fire services agency; and
(c) may inform itself on any matter relevant to the request as it sees fit.
Reg. 14(2) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(2).
(2) For the purposes of providing an expert opinion to the Authority under section 12 or 12C of the Act, the advisory committee may assist by obtaining relevant records, brigade records, CFA data, employer data and local knowledge.
(3) The advisory committee is not bound by any advice received under subregulation (1).
(4) An expert opinion must be signed by at least a majority of the members of the advisory committee.
(5) The advisory committee must provide an expert opinion and the reasons for the opinion to the Authority—
Reg. 14(5)(a) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(2).
(a) in the case of a request under section 12 or 12C of the Act, within 10 days after receiving a request from the Authority; or
(b) in the case of an application for special consideration under section 16 of the Act, within 60 days after receiving a request from the Authority.
(6) The expert opinion provided under subregulation (5) must be in the form approved by the Authority.
Reg. 14(7) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(3).
(7) Following the determination of their claim under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 , the firefighter or vehicle and equipment maintenance employee may request a copy of the expert opinion and the reasons for the expert opinion provided under subregulation (5).
Reg. 14(8) amended by S.R. No. 71/2022 reg. 8(3).
(8) Where the firefighter or vehicle and equipment maintenance employee makes a request under subregulation (7), the Authority must provide them with a copy of the expert opinion and the reasons for the expert opinion within 7 days from the date the request is received by the Authority.