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FACT SHEET
Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Amendment Bill
2012
The Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2012
(the Bill) proposes amendments to the Workers Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act 1988 (the Act).
The amendments are aimed at clarifying who is a worker for the
purposes of the Act. The definition and scope of `worker' is a crucial
aspect of the Act as only workers, as defined by the Act, are entitled
to workers compensation upon suffering a workplace injury or
disease.
Specifically, the amendments clarify the employment status of
contractors who are in employment like relationships and
contractors under labour hire arrangements. The amendments
relating to labour hire arrangements have come about as a result of
concern about a recent case where a contractor was severely injured
while working at a host employer. The contractor had been engaged
via a contract entered into with a labour hire company which
indicated that the contractor was an independent contractor and not
an employee of either the labour hire company or the host employer.
Despite the contractual arrangements, the contractor lodged a
workers compensation claim in respect of his injuries. The matter
ultimately ended up in the Full Court of the Supreme Court where
the Court found that the contractor was not a worker for the
purposes of the Act. The court made this decision despite the fact
that the contractor had been working at the host employer for two
years, had little autonomy and was required to work in accordance
with instructions given by the host employer's staff supervisors.
In response to concerns about this case, the WorkCover Tasmania
Board (the Board) examined the issue and concluded that there
should be greater certainty about who is covered by workers
compensation and that, on its own, the traditional common law test
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of employment no longer provided that certainty. The amendments
relating to employment like relationships and labour hire
arrangements will give effect to recommendations made by the
Board.
The amendments also clarify the employment status of persons who
provide services of a private or domestic nature. These amendments
have been included to address concerns that the proposed
amendments may have the unintended consequence of extending
coverage to a wider range of domestic work than under the current
legislation. It is also considered that the existing provision relating to
domestic servants at section 4(1)(c) is outdated and does not suit the
diverse range of domestic arrangements that exist in contemporary
society.
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