6   Constitution of Fund

(1)  There shall be established a Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Fund which shall consist of:

(a)  all balances, investments and moneys of which the Silicosis Fund consisted immediately before the commencement of Part 2 of the Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Amendment Act 1967 and all moneys that, immediately before that commencement, were owing to the Silicosis Fund and are paid after that commencement, and

(a1)  all balances, investments and moneys of which the fund established under the scheme of the Workmen’s Compensation (Broken Hill) Act 1920 consisted immediately before the repeal of that Act, and all moneys that, immediately before that repeal, were owing to that fund and are paid after that repeal,

(b)  all money paid to the board as contributions by insurers under and in accordance with this section, and

(c)  any moneys provided by Parliament for the purposes of the Fund, and

(d)  any fees paid under section 5A, and

(e)  all amounts that immediately before the commencement of this paragraph stood to the credit of the Dust Diseases Reserve Fund, and

(f)  all amounts contributed by insurers under subsection (6) or (7D), and

(g)  money paid into the Fund under section 7 of the Safety, Return to Work and Support Board Act 2012.

(2)  The board is responsible for administering the Fund and is required to pay out of the Fund:

(a)  all compensation payable under this Act,

(b)  all money required to pay the fees of members of the board,

(c)  the remuneration payable to the staff of the board,

(d)  the fees payable to the medical authority,

(d1)  the costs involved in reimbursing workers under section 9A,

(d2)  to the Minister administering the District Court Act 1973, such of the costs of operation of the District Court relating to appeals under section 8I, being costs incurred after 30 June 2005, as the Minister administering the District Court Act 1973 and the Minister administering this Act agree are to be paid from the Fund,

(e)  the costs of administering this Act and any other money that the board is required to pay under this Act, and

(f)  the costs involved in the operation of the Dust Diseases Tribunal of New South Wales (including the remuneration payable to the registrar and other staff of that Tribunal).

(2AA)  Money in the Fund is authorised to be made available for investment as provided by section 7 of the Safety, Return to Work and Support Board Act 2012.

(2A)  The board is authorised to make from the fund:

(a)  grants for the purpose of clinical or research work relating to the prevention and treatment of dust diseases or for any other purpose relating to the prevention and treatment of dust diseases, and

(b)  grants for the purpose of providing assistance to groups or organisations that provide support for victims of dust diseases or their families.

(2B)  Where, in the opinion of the board, employment in a particular industry or location exposes workers in that industry or location to a substantial risk of contracting a dust disease, the board may expend money from the Fund in arranging for, and causing to be carried out, medical examinations of such of those workers as it thinks fit.

(3)  The board shall, from time to time, make a determination as to the class or classes of employment (in this section hereinafter referred to as determined class or classes of employment) in any industry or process, which employment is of such a nature as to expose the worker to the risk of contracting a dust disease and shall from time to time notify the WorkCover Authority of their determination.

(4)  The board shall in or before the month of May in each year make an estimate of the amount to be expended out of the Fund for the next following year commencing on 1st July.

(5)  Any such estimate shall:

(a)  include particulars of any moneys provided by Parliament for the purposes of the Fund in respect of the relevant period,

(b)  be set out in writing in a certificate signed by the chairperson of the board,

(c)  be forwarded as soon as practicable after the making thereof to the WorkCover Authority, and

(d)  be accompanied by a statement certified by the chairperson of the board setting forth the liability estimated by the board to be outstanding under awards made by it to or in respect of workers employed in any industry or process employment in which is of such a nature as to expose workers to the risk of contracting a dust disease and the basis upon which such liability is estimated.

(6)  The amount of such estimate (less the moneys referred to in subsection (5) (a)) shall be paid to the board by way of contributions by insurers in accordance with the provisions of this section. The contributions to be so paid by any insurer shall be of such amount and shall be made at such times as the WorkCover Authority determines.

(7)  The WorkCover Authority shall, in respect of any such estimate, determine:

(a)  the insurers or classes of insurers by whom the contributions under this section are to be paid,

(b)  the amount of the contributions to be so paid by such insurers or classes of insurers,

(c)  the times at which such contributions shall be so paid.

The WorkCover Authority may determine different amounts of contributions in respect of different insurers or classes of insurers.

The WorkCover Authority shall make a determination under and in accordance with this section:

(i)  in respect of the estimate made for the year ending on 30th June next following the commencement of section 3 of the Workers’ Compensation (Amendment) Act 1945 as soon as practicable after the commencement of the Workers’ Compensation (Amendment) Act 1946, and

(ii)  in respect of the estimate made for any succeeding year as soon as practicable after the estimate made for such year has been forwarded to the WorkCover Authority.

(7A) 

(a)  Any determination under subsection (7) (a) may be made so as to apply to insurers or classes of insurers insuring or indemnifying employers against liability under the Principal Act or the 1998 Act in respect of any class or classes of employment other than a determined class or classes of employment as well as to insurers or classes of insurers insuring or indemnifying employers against liability under the Principal Act or the 1998 Act in respect of any determined class or classes of employment.

(b)  Without prejudice to the generality of any power conferred on the WorkCover Authority by this section the WorkCover Authority may determine that the amount of any contribution payable by an insurer in respect of any determined class or classes of employment shall be at the rate which prior to 1st July 1945 had been levied by the Silicosis Committee for the purposes of the Silicosis Fund upon the wages paid to workers in such determined class or classes of employment or at such other rate as the WorkCover Authority deems equitable in the circumstances.

(c)  In determining the contributions payable by a self-insurer the WorkCover Authority may have regard to the number of workers employed by such self-insurer and to the wages paid to workers so employed and to the premium which such self-insurer would have paid had the self-insurer’s liability been insured under the Principal Act or the 1998 Act respecting workers so employed with an insurer licensed under the Principal Act or the 1998 Act.

(7B)  An insurer may, subject to the provisions of the Principal Act and the 1998 Act, adjust the premium payable in respect of a policy of insurance or indemnity required by that Act to be obtained by an employer so as to include an amount equivalent to such part of the contributions payable by the insurer under this section as relates to that employer and that policy.

(7C)  (Repealed)

(7D)  The WorkCover Authority may determine additional amounts of contributions to be paid by insurers from their premium income to the board if it considers that it is necessary having regard to relevant prevailing circumstances and the financial stability of the Fund.

(7E)  If any contribution payable under subsection (6) or (7D) is not paid within the time determined by the WorkCover Authority the amount of such contribution may be recovered by the board as a debt and the insurer concerned shall be guilty of an offence against this Act and liable to a penalty not exceeding 20 penalty units.

Proceedings in respect of the recovery of any such contribution or the enforcement of any such penalty may be instituted by the board.

(7F)  A certificate by the WorkCover Authority setting forth the fact that any determination has been made under and in accordance with subsection (7) or (7D) and the amount of contribution payable by any insurer shall in any proceedings for the recovery of any contribution payable under this section or in proceedings for a penalty under subsection (7E) be conclusive evidence of the matters stated in such certificate.

(8)  Every insurer shall in each year at such time as the WorkCover Authority may notify, furnish to the Authority such particulars as it may require for the purpose of enabling it to make any determination under this section.

(9)  No contribution shall be payable under this section by the operator of a mine, or by an insurer of any such operator, in so far as the business of the insurer relates to insurance of liability under the Principal Act or the 1998 Act of any such operator.

(10)  The board shall from time to time furnish to the WorkCover Authority such information as the WorkCover Authority may require in regard to employment in any industry or process which is of such a nature as to expose the worker to the risk of contracting a dust disease, compensation paid and payable to workers in such employment, the financial position of the Fund, and any other matter arising out of the board’s duties under this Act which the WorkCover Authority considers will assist it in carrying out its duties under this section.

(11), (12)  (Repealed)