Division 5(cf former s 18 (1A))
(1) An application for a licence under this Division may be made to the Authority by any employer.(1A) An application may be made by a company that is not an employer if the licence is to cover subsidiaries of the company that are employers.(2) An application shall be in such form and accompanied by such documents:(a) as may be prescribed by the regulations, and(b) subject to any such regulations, as may be determined by the Authority.(3) The Authority may, before determining an application for a licence, require the applicant to advertise or give other notice of the application.(4) An application is to be accompanied by such fee (if any) as is prescribed by the regulations or (subject to the regulations) as is determined by the Authority. Any such fee is to be paid into the WorkCover Authority Fund.
211 Determination of application for licence
(cf former s 18 (1A))
(1) The Authority shall consider each application for a licence under this Division and may, in its discretion:(a) grant a licence to the applicant, or(b) refuse the application.(2) The Authority may, in determining an application for a licence, take into consideration:(a) the suitability of the applicant,(b) the financial ability of the applicant to undertake the liabilities under this Act,(c) the efficiency of the workers compensation system generally, and(d) such other matters as the Authority thinks fit.(3) The Authority may take the matters under subsection (2) into consideration in respect of both the applicant for the licence and any subsidiary to be covered by the licence.(4) The Authority may issue guidelines relating to the matters that the Authority takes into consideration under subsection (2) in determining an application for a licence.
211A Endorsement of subsidiaries on self-insurer’s licence
(1) The Authority may endorse on a licence granted under this Division the name of one or more wholly owned subsidiaries of the licence holder. While the name of a company is endorsed on an employer’s licence, the company is taken to be covered by the licence.(2) The Authority may at any time amend such an endorsement by adding, altering or deleting the name of a company. An amendment is made by the Authority giving notice of it to the licence holder and takes effect on the day notice is given or on a later day specified in the notice.(3) A company which holds a licence under this Division and any subsidiary covered by the licence are jointly and severally liable for any contribution required to be made to any fund under this Act by the subsidiary.(4) The licence of a company under this Division:(a) may be subject to conditions under this Act relating to the obligations of a subsidiary covered by the licence, and(b) may be cancelled or suspended under this Act because of the acts or omissions of the subsidiary.(5) The meaning of wholly owned subsidiary is the same as in the Corporations Act 2001 of the Commonwealth.
211B Government employers covered by Government managed fund scheme to be self-insurers
(1) Any Government employer covered for the time being by the Government’s managed fund scheme is taken to be a self-insurer for the purposes of this Act.(2) The Government’s managed fund scheme is any arrangement under which the self-insurer liabilities (within the meaning of section 216) of particular Government employers covered by the arrangement are paid by the Government of the State or by the Self Insurance Corporation on its behalf.(3) The Self Insurance Corporation may enter into an arrangement with the Authority under which the Corporation acts on behalf of Government employers for the purpose of paying contributions under this Act and for other purposes of this Act.(4) The other provisions of this Division do not apply to self-insurers referred to in this section. However, the Authority may, with the approval of the Treasurer, impose conditions on the authority conferred by this section on such self-insurers (being conditions of a kind that the authority could impose on the licence of a self-insurer under this Division).(5) This section does not apply to any Government employers who are separately licensed under this Division as self-insurers.
212 Provisions relating to licences
(cf former s 18 (1A)–(1C))
The following provisions of Division 3 (Licensing of insurers) apply to and in respect of licences granted under this Division in the same way as they apply to licences granted under Division 3:(a) section 180 (Duration of licences),(b) section 181 (Conditions of licences),(c) section 182 (Matters that may be regulated by conditions of licences),(d) section 183 (Cancellation or suspension of licences),(e) section 186 (Records and evidence relating to licences).
213 Deposit required for self-insurers and former self-insurers
(1) A self-insurer who is granted a licence under this Division must on the grant of the licence deposit with the Authority an amount of money determined by the Authority in respect of the self-insurer.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(2) A person who is or was a self-insurer must deposit with the Authority, at such time or times as the Authority may direct by notice to the person, such additional amount or amounts as the Authority determines to be necessary to ensure that the amount the person has on deposit under this Division is the person’s required deposit amount for the time being.Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(3) A person who has ceased to be a self-insurer can be required to deposit money with the Authority under this section even if the amount of any previous deposit of the person has been refunded to the person under section 216.(4) The Authority may at any time refund to a person who has money on deposit with the Authority under this section any amount by which the person’s deposit exceeds the person’s required deposit amount for the time being.(5) A person who is or was a self-insurer must comply with any written direction of the Authority to provide the Authority with specified information (including actuarial information) for the purpose of enabling the Authority to determine the person’s required deposit amount from time to time.Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.
(6) No deposit is payable under this Division by:(a) a Government employer, or(b) any other employer approved by the Authority.(7) In this section:required deposit amount of a person means the amount that the Authority determines to be the amount required to adequately provide for all the accrued, continuing, future and contingent self-insurer liabilities of the person and of the person’s subsidiaries.
self-insurer liabilities of a person means:
(a) any liabilities of the person under this Act in respect of workers employed by the person while a self-insurer, or(b) any liabilities of the person independently of this Act (but not including a liability for compensation in the nature of workers compensation arising under any Act or other law of another State, a Territory or the Commonwealth or a liability arising under the law of another country) for injuries received by workers employed by the person while a self-insurer (including any injury that is a dust disease as defined in the Workers’ Compensation (Dust Diseases) Act 1942 and the aggravation, acceleration, exacerbation or deterioration of a dust disease as so defined).
(cf former s 21)
(1) Every amount of money deposited with the Authority by a person under this Division shall be invested and re-invested from time to time as occasion requires in any manner for the time being authorised for the investment of trust funds.(2) The interest on any such investment shall be paid to the person depositing the sum of money.(3) The investment and redemption shall be at par.(4) If a person to whom interest would otherwise be payable under this section is in breach of any obligation arising under this Division to deposit an additional amount of money with the Authority, the Authority may, instead of paying the interest to the person, apply the interest in full or partial satisfaction of the person’s obligation to make the additional deposit. Any amount of interest so applied by the Authority is taken to have been deposited with the Authority by the person concerned.
215 Alternative method of giving security
(cf former s 22)
(1) The obligation imposed by this Division on a person to deposit with the Authority any specified amount of money may be satisfied in whole or in part by the deposit by the person of securities of equal value issued or guaranteed by the State or the Commonwealth.(2) The value of any such securities shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be their face value.(3) If the market value of any such securities is at any time below par, the Authority may require the person to deposit further securities to such an amount that the total market value of all the securities deposited by the person equals the amount of the deposit required to be made by the person.(4) A person must comply with a requirement under subsection (3).Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(5) Every security so deposited with the Authority shall (unless it is negotiable) bear or be accompanied by an assignment in blank executed by the person making the deposit.(6) A reference in this Division to the amount of money required to be deposited with the Authority shall be deemed to include a reference to any securities substituted in whole or in part for that amount under the authority of this section.(7) The Authority may convert any such securities into money by sale, hypothecation or otherwise for the purpose of paying or satisfying under section 216 any claims, judgments or awards against a person.
215A Guarantee as alternative to deposit
(1) It is sufficient compliance with a requirement of this Division to deposit an amount of money with the Authority if a guarantee from a bank, building society or credit union guaranteeing payment of the amount is provided on terms acceptable to the Authority.In the case of a self-insurer that is a State owned corporation, the guarantee may also be provided by the Treasury Corporation on terms acceptable to the Authority.
(2) If a refund of part of a deposit is authorised under section 213, the authorisation operates as authority for the Authority to give the appropriate partial release from a guarantee provided instead of a deposit.(3) Any amount paid to the Authority pursuant to such a guarantee is to be regarded for the purposes of this Division as having been deposited with the Authority by the person concerned and is to be dealt with accordingly.(4) In this section:guarantee includes undertaking.
215B Bond as alternative to deposit
It is sufficient compliance with a requirement of this Division to deposit an amount of money with the Authority if a bond is provided, on terms acceptable to the Authority, as security for the amount required to be deposited.
216 Application and refund of deposit
(cf former ss 24, 25A)
(1) The Authority is to hold every amount of money deposited under this Division on trust for the payment and satisfaction of all claims, judgments or awards (not otherwise paid or satisfied):(a) against the person making the deposit in respect of the person’s self-insurer liabilities, and(b) against any person that is a subsidiary of the person making the deposit (being a subsidiary that is or was covered for the time being by the self-insurer licence of the person making the deposit) in respect of the subsidiary’s self-insurer liabilities.(2) An amount of money deposited with the Authority under this Division is not liable to be attached or levied on or made subject to any debts of or claims against the person making the deposit, except as provided by subsection (1).(3) A person who has deposited an amount of money with the Authority under this Division is, if the person has ceased to be a self-insurer, entitled to a refund of the amount so deposited and standing to the person’s credit with the Authority:(a) on the expiration of 3 months after service on the Authority of a written request for the refund, and(b) on satisfying the Authority that all accrued, continuing, future and contingent self-insurer liabilities of the person or the person’s subsidiaries have been discharged or adequately provided for.(4) In this section, self-insurer liabilities of a person has the same meaning as in section 213.