This Act may be cited as the Sporting Injuries Insurance Act 1978.
(1) Section 1, Part 2, Part 6 (other than section 36), Schedule 2 and this section shall commence on the date of assent to this Act.(2) Except as provided in subsection (1), this Act shall commence on such day as may be appointed by the Governor in respect thereof and as may be notified by proclamation published in the Gazette.
Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.
(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:authorised activity, in relation to a prescribed organisation, means an activity of a kind that is:
(a) specified in relation to the organisation in the rules, or(b) pursuant to the rules, deemed to be an authorised activity in relation to the organisation.Authority means the WorkCover Authority constituted under the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998.
Chief Executive Officer means the Chief Executive Officer of Safety, Return to Work and Support holding office as such under Chapter 1A of the Public Sector Employment and Management Act 2002.
compensable injury means an injury in respect of which an amount of money is prescribed in Schedule 1.
Court means the District Court of New South Wales established under the District Court Act 1973.
enrolled participant, in relation to the Department, means a person who, in accordance with the rules or a determination made under the rules, is to be treated as an enrolled participant of the Department for the purposes of this Act.
enrolled student participant, in relation to a school, means a person who, in accordance with the rules or a determination made under the rules, is to be treated as an enrolled student participant of the school for the purposes of this Act.
function includes power, authority and duty.
Fund means the Sporting Injuries Fund established under section 11 (1).
injury means personal injury arising out of or in the course of an authorised activity of a prescribed organisation, and includes a disease:
(a) contracted in the course of any such activity, and(b) to which the activity was a contributing factor,but does not include the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation of, or deterioration resulting from, a disease.medical panel means a medical panel appointed under section 6 (4).
perform, in relation to a function that is a power or an authority, means exercise the power or authority and, in relation to a duty, means discharge the duty.
prescribed organisation means a sporting organisation, a school or the Department.
referee means a person who is a referee under section 6 (1) or (2).
registered participant, in relation to a sporting organisation, means a person who, in accordance with the rules or a determination made under the rules, is to be treated as a registered participant of the organisation for the purposes of this Act.
regulations means regulations made under this Act.
rules means rules made under this Act.
school means a government school or a registered non-government school under the Education Reform Act 1990.
sexual organs means genitals and, in the case of a woman, includes breasts.
sporting organisation means an individual, a body corporate or an unincorporated association declared under section 5 (1) to be a sporting organisation for the purposes of this Act.
Supplementary Fund means the Supplementary Sporting Injuries Fund established under section 11A (1).
the Department means the Department of Education and Communities.
(1A) A reference in this Act to an authorised activity:(a) in relation to a sporting organisation, does not include a reference to an activity of a kind that is not, or is not carried on in connection with, or is not related to, a sporting or athletic activity in respect of which the organisation is for the time being declared under section 5, and(b) in relation to the Department, does not include a reference to an activity for the participation in which no fee is payable to the Department.(1B) Where an authorised activity of a sporting organisation is also an authorised activity of a school or of the Department, a person:(a) who is participating in the activity as a registered participant of the organisation, and(b) who, if this subsection had not been enacted, would also be participating in the activity as an enrolled student participant of the school, as an enrolled participant of the Department, or as both,shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed not to be an enrolled student participant of the school or an enrolled participant of the Department while participating in the activity.(2) A reference in this Act to the due day for payment of a premium is a reference to the day specified under section 17 (1) (a) (v) in a notice served under section 17 (1) on a sporting organisation and requiring payment of the premium.(3) Where a sporting organisation changes its name, any reference in:(a) an order made under section 5 (1),(b) a rule, or(c) a notice served on the organisation in accordance with section 34,to the former name of the organisation shall be read and construed as a reference to the name as changed by the organisation, but nothing in this subsection affects an entitlement to a benefit under this Act that would have arisen if this subsection had not been enacted.
5 Declaration of sporting organisations
(1) An individual, a body corporate or an unincorporated association, who or which is concerned, directly or indirectly, in the regulation and conduct of any sporting or athletic activity or activities, may be declared, by an order made:(a) by the Minister, or(b) with the consent of the Minister, by the Chief Executive Officer,to be a sporting organisation in respect of that activity or those activities.(2) Orders made under subsection (1) may declare more than one individual, body corporate or unincorporated association, or any 2 or more of any of them, to be sporting organisations in respect of the same sporting or athletic activity.(3) An order made under subsection (1) has effect when it is made and shall be published in the Gazette not later than 30 days after it has been made.
5A Insurance exemption for sporting organisations
(1) The Authority may grant a sporting organisation an insurance exemption if satisfied that the organisation will have adequate private insurance for the period for which the exemption will be in force.(2) An insurance exemption operates as follows:(a) a premium is not payable under Part 4 by the sporting organisation in respect of the period for which the exemption is in force,(b) no benefits are payable under this Act in respect of an injury suffered by a registered participant of the sporting organisation, or in respect of the death of a person as a consequence of an injury suffered by the person as such a registered participant, during the period for which the exemption is in force,(c) the exemption does not affect the operation of paragraph (d) of the definition of worker in section 4 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 in respect of a registered participant of the organisation.(3) A sporting organisation has adequate private insurance for the period for which an insurance exemption will be in force if:(a) a policy of insurance provides for payment of benefits, or indemnification of the sporting organisation in connection with a liability to pay benefits, in respect of an injury suffered by a registered participant of the sporting organisation, or in respect of the death of a person as a consequence of an injury suffered by the person as such a registered participant, during the period for which the exemption will be in force, and(b) those benefits are of no lesser amount than the benefits that would be payable under this Act in respect of the injury or death, and(c) the insurer under the policy of insurance is a body corporate that is authorised to carry on insurance business under the Insurance Act 1973 of the Commonwealth.(4) An insurance exemption may be granted for a period of up to 12 months and may be granted by way of renewal or further renewal for a further period or further periods of up to 12 months.(5) On each occasion of the grant or renewal of an insurance exemption, there is payable by the sporting organisation a levy of 10% of the amount that the Authority determines to be the amount that would otherwise be determined for and payable by the organisation as premium under Part 4 in respect of the period for which the insurance exemption will be in force.(6) The levy is due and payable as required by a notice sent to the sporting organisation by the Authority. If the levy is not paid as required by the notice, the insurance exemption is of no effect while the levy remains unpaid.(7) A levy payable under this section is payable to the Authority for payment into the Fund.(8) The Authority must cancel an insurance exemption by notice in writing to the sporting organisation if the Authority is satisfied that the organisation does not or will not have adequate private insurance for any period for which the exemption is in force.(9) The Authority may cancel an insurance exemption by notice in writing to the sporting organisation for any other reason that the Authority considers sufficient. The Authority must first give the sporting organisation a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions to the Authority on the matter.
6 Appointment of referees and medical panels
(1) An approved medical specialist under the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 is taken to be a referee for the purposes of this Act and for that purpose has and may exercise all the functions of an approved medical specialist under that Act.(2) The Minister may appoint as referees for the purposes of this Act persons who the Minister considers are qualified to assess a person’s loss of mental capacity.(3) A person may be appointed under subsection (2) whether or not the person is a legally qualified medical practitioner.(4) The Chief Executive Officer may appoint 2 or more referees as a medical panel for the purposes of this Act.(5) Referees shall be entitled to such remuneration from the Fund as the Minister considers fit in respect of anything done pursuant to this Act by them.