(1) If an application
for arbitration is accepted a party to the dispute must comply with the
provisions of the arbitration rules as to —
(a) the
documents, material and information that the party must provide to other
parties and the Registrar; and
(b) the
time or times at which, and manner in which, the documents, material and
information must be provided.
(2) Subject to
section 206, a party to a dispute who fails to comply with a requirement of
subsection (1) commits an offence.
Penalty: $2 000.
(3) Where a worker,
after an injury has occurred, makes a statement in writing, in relation to the
injury to the employer of the worker or to an insurer or to any person acting
on behalf of the employer or insurer, that statement is not to be admitted in
evidence if tendered by the employer or insurer or used by the employer or
insurer in a proceeding before an arbitrator unless the employer or insurer
has supplied to the worker or to a legal practitioner or agent acting on
behalf of the worker in the proceeding a copy in writing of the statement.
(4) Any document,
material or information that a party to a dispute has failed to provide in
contravention of subsection (1) cannot be admitted on behalf of the party in a
proceeding on the dispute before an arbitrator.
(5) A witness cannot
appear in a proceeding on a dispute before an arbitrator if a party to the
dispute has failed to file a statement from that witness in contravention of
this section.
(6) Subsections (2),
(4) and (5) do not apply if the party is a worker unless it is established
that the worker was represented by a legal practitioner or agent (as defined
in section 261) at the relevant time.
(7) The arbitration
rules may provide for exceptions to subsections (4) and (5) and may authorise
an arbitrator to permit —
(a) the
admission in a proceeding before the arbitrator in specified circumstances of
any document, material or information that would otherwise be not admissible
under subsection (4); or
(b) the
appearance in a proceeding before the arbitrator in specified circumstances of
a witness who would otherwise not be permitted to appear under subsection (5).
(8) If an arbitrator
is satisfied that a party has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with
a requirement of this section, the arbitrator may do any one or more of the
following —
(a)
refer the matter to WorkCover WA;
(b) note
the matter in a certificate issued by the arbitrator in respect of the dispute
(together with details of the documents, material or information to which the
failure relates);
(c)
order that a specified amount or proportion of the costs that would otherwise
be recoverable by the party in connection with the application to the
arbitrator are not recoverable.
[Section 183 inserted: No. 42 of 2004 s. 130;
amended: No. 31 of 2011 s. 44 and 76.]
[ 184. Deleted: No. 31 of 2011 s. 45.]