004_ACC_April_2016

BACK
Once an appeal notice is received, the District
Court Registrar must notify the Corporation,
requesting the names and contact details of
anyone who had a right to be present and heard
at the review hearing. The Corporation must
supply this information within seven days.
The time and place for a review is to be fixed by the
Registrar and notified to the appellant and to persons
who were entitled to be present and heard at the
review hearing. Anyone with a right to be heard
may ask the Corporation for any of the items the Act
requires it to provide to the Registrar—a copy of the
decision appealed against, the record of the review
hearing, documents and exhibits relating to the
review, and any notes or directions of the reviewer.
The District Court may hear any evidence it thinks
fit whether admissible in a court of law or not. If a
question of fact is involved, evidence taken before or
received by the reviewer may be produced, subject
to any order of the Court. Oral evidence may involve
producing a copy of the reviewer’s notes and/or a
record of the hearing, or having a witness read a
written statement, or producing any other material
the Court considers appropriate. Affidavit evidence
about a question of fact may be given by means of
affidavits provided to the Court Registrar. Exhibits
relating to questions of fact may be brought by
producing any exhibits forwarded to the Registrar
or in the custody of the parties to the appeal.
A Judge may appoint an assessor, consulting the
parties about the appointment. If the parties cannot
agree, the Judge has the right to decide the matter.
Assessors are paid by the Department for Courts.
Anyone entitled to appear and be heard may ask
the Court to limit the persons who can be present
at a hearing. The Court will grant the application if it
considers it necessary to do so to protect personal
privacy. It may not do so to protect the Corporation.
Further appeals
With the leave of the District Court, a party dissatisfied
with its decision may appeal to the High Court, or
if the District Court refuses leave, may ask the High
Court for special leave to appeal. Appeals must be
made within 21 days of the District Court’s decision.
Subsequent appeals to the Court of Appeal are
possible but are confined to questions of law.
LEVIES
The Act requires employers to pay a levy to fund the
cost of entitlements for work-related personal injuries.
Payment must be made by the date specified by
the Corporation in an invoice or ‘other appropriate
document’. The date must be not less than 30 days
after the date of the invoice. A levy rate is prescribed
in regulations made under the Act and the levy
itself paid into a Work Account. The levy rate must
be wholly or partially related to the amount of
earnings paid, estimated to be paid, or deemed by
regulation to have been paid by the employer to his
or her employees for the relevant period. Levies are
calculated so that the cost of Work Account claims is
fully funded. ‘Fully funded’ means that the premium
collected each year must be sufficient to cover the
total on-going costs of all claims occurring in the
premium year.
An employer is not required to pay any levy on an
employee’s earnings above a specified maximum.
Consequently, if an employee’s earnings are paid by
two or more employers, an employer (who must pay
the levy up to the specified maximum) may, if total
earnings exceed the specified maximum, apply to the
Corporation for a pro rata refund of the excess levy
paid. The refund will be calculated in proportion to
the earnings paid by each employer to the employee.
Appeals may be dismissed, or the Court may modify
or quash the review decision. If the decision is
quashed, the Court must indicate what the effect
of this will be.
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