Commonwealth of Australia Explanatory Memoranda

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SEAFARERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015

                                              2013-2014-2015
             THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA

                                                   SENATE

SEAFARERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION AND OTHER LEGISLATION
                                        AMENDMENT BILL 2015

                    SUPPLEMENTARY EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
                      Amendments to be Moved on Behalf of the Government

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Employment, Senator the Honourable Eric Abetz)

Outline

 AMENDMENTS TO THE SEAFARERS REHABILITATION AND COMPENSATION
                    AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL 2015

OUTLINE

The Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
(the Bill) will amend the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 (the Seafarers
Act) and the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 (the OHS(MI) Act)
to clarify the coverage of these Acts in the light of the Federal Court decision in Samson
Maritime Pty Ltd v Aucote [2014] FCAFC 182.

These further amendments are made in response to concerns raised by stakeholders about the
coverage of the Seafarers Scheme. These amendments ensure that only the historic application
of both the Seafarers Act and the OHS(MI) Act are maintained to ensure that historic claims and
actions under the Acts are not disturbed. The prospective coverage of the scheme into the longer
term will be the subject of consultations with industry participants and will be comprehensively
addressed in a subsequent bill.

The amendments mean that the coverage provisions are amended with effect from the
commencement of the substantive provisions of the Seafarers Act (24 June 1993) and the
OHS(MI) Act (18 July 1994) and operate until the Bill receives Royal Assent. From the date of
Royal Assent, the coverage provisions will revert to what they had been prior to the Bill's
passage. The short term issues arising from the Aucote decision will be addressed by exemptions
and declarations issued by the Seacare Authority and the Minister for Employment.

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  i  Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

Financial Impact Statement

FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
Nil.

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  ii  Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

Regulation Impact Statement

REGULATION IMPACT STATEMENT
Nil.

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  iii  Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

The amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015 (the Bill) are compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised
or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the amendments

The amendments are a response to the decisions in Samson Maritime Pty Ltd v Aucote [2014]
FCAFC 182 and Re Aucote and Samson Maritime Pty Ltd [2014] AATA 296 (the Aucote
decisions) insofar as they relate to the historic application of the Seafarers Act and the OHS(MI)
Act. The implications of the Aucote decisions will be addressed by the amendments for the
period between commencement of the Seafarers Act (24 June 1993) and the OHS(MI) Act (18
July 1994) until Royal Assent and will provide certainty for the maritime industry.

Currently the Bill's substantive amendments to the coverage provisions of both the Seafarers Act
and the OHS(MI) Act would have effect from the commencement of those Acts and into the
future. These amendments limit the operation of the amended coverage provisions so that from
Royal Assent the coverage provisions which are being repealed by the substantive Bill will be re-
instated.

Human Rights Implications

These amendments reflect the Government's ongoing commitment to long term reform of the
Seacare scheme.

As a consequence, the amendments do not raise any human rights issues which were not
addressed in the original statement of compatibility with human rights for the Bill.

Conclusion

The amendments to the Bill do not engage human rights.

                       Minister for Employment, Senator the Hon. Eric Abetz

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  iv  Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

                                                                     Notes on Amendments

NOTES ON AMENDMENTS
In these notes on amendments, the following abbreviations are used:

Bill           Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation
Seafarers Act  Amendment Bill 2015
OHS(MI) Act
               Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992

               Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  1                        Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

                                                                  Notes on Amendments

Amendment No. 1 - Clause 2, page 2 (after table item 3)

1. This amendment inserts a provision to provide that schedule 1A will commence on
the day after Royal Assent.

Amendment No. 2 - Schedule 1, heading, page 3 (line 1)

2. This amendment changes the heading to Schedule 1 of the Bill.
Amendment No. 3 - Page 6 (after line 11), after Schedule 1

3. This item inserts a new Schedule to the Bill, to commence on the day after Royal
Assent.

4. The combined effect of these amendments is that the changes to the coverage
provisions of the Seafarers Act and OHS(MI) Act made by the Bill apply from the
commencement of the substantive provisions of the Seafarers Act (24 June 1993) and the
OHS(MI) Act (18 July 1994) until Royal Assent.

5. From Royal Assent, the previous coverage provisions will be re-enacted. The
intention is for the Bill to be an interim response to the Aucote decisions insofar as they relate
to the historic application of the Seafarers Act and the OHS(MI) Act. The Government will
seek to consult with industry participants to secure a longer term solution to the application of
the Seacare scheme and to progress other significant reforms.

SCHEDULE 1A - AMENDMENTS
Part 1 - Seafarers rehabilitation and compensation
Item 1 - Subsection 19(1)
Item 2 - At the end of section 19

Item 3 - Section 19A
Item 4 - Application of amendments

6. These items re-enact subsections 19(1) to (5) of the Seafarers Act, to apply in relation
to any injury, loss or damage suffered by an employee on or after the commencement of these
items.

7. These items also repeal section 19A, which is unnecessary once subsections 19(1)-(5)
are re-enacted.

Part 2 - Occupational health and safety

Item 5 - Subsection 6(1)

Item 6 - At the end of section 6

Item 7 - Application of amendments          2                                           Senate

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015

                                                                                                                  Notes on Amendments

8. These items will re-enact subsections 6(1) and 6(5) to (9) of the OHS(MI) Act, to
apply in relation to anything done on or after the commencement of these items.

Amendments to the Seafarers Rehabilitation  3  Senate
and Compensation and Other Legislation
Amendment Bill 2015
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