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An Act relating to Compensation for Workmen's Injuries. [Assented to, December 5th, 1900.]

BE

E it Enacted by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Parliament of South Australia, as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as "The Workmen's Compensation Short title. Act, 1900."

2. In this Act

66

Dependants" means the wife, husband, parent, grandparent,
child, grandchild, and stepchild of a workman wholly or
in part dependent upon his earnings at the time of his
death:

"Employer" includes any body of persons corporate or unin-
corporate, and the legal personal representative of a
deceased employer:

66

66

Engineering work" means any work of construction or
alteration or repair of a railroad, harbor, dock, canal,
sewer, or tunnel, telegraph, telephone, or electric power,
and includes any other work for the construction, altera-
tion, or repair of which machinery driven by steam, water,
or other mechanical power is used:

Factory" means any manufactory, workshop, workroom, or
premises wherein or whereon manual labor is exercised for
the purpose of gain in or incidental to the making, alter-
ing, or repairing any article by way of trade or for purpose

of

Definitions.

Application of Act.

Liability of employer.

Scale and conditions

of compensation.

The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1900.

of gain or for sale, and includes any ship or boat in port, dock, wharf, quay, or warehouse, so far as relates to machinery and plant used in the process of loading or unloading therefrom or thereto, and every laundry worked by steam, water, or other mechanical power:

Injury" means personal injury or loss of life by accident arising out of and in course of employment or injury to health or loss of life arising out of or consequent upon any employment declared by Proclamation to be dangerous to health or dangerous to life or limb: Provided that no such Proclamation shall issue except on addresses of both Houses of Parliament:

"Proclamation" means Proclamation by the Governor in the Government Gazette:

"Workman" includes every person who is engaged in an employment to which this Act applies, whether by way of manual labor or otherwise, and whether his agreement is one of service or apprenticeship or otherwise, and is expressed or implied, is oral or in writing, and includes seaman and the personal representative and the dependants of a deceased workman.

3. This Act applies only to injuries to workmen employed by employers

1. On or in or about a railway, waterwork, tramway, electriclighting work, factory, mine, quarry, or engineering or building work:

II. On or in or about any employment declared by Proclamation to be dangerous or injurious to health or dangerous to life or limb: Provided that no such Proclamation shall issue except pursuant to addresses from both Houses of Parliament.

4. When personal injury arising out of and in the course of his employment is caused to a workman his employer shall be liable to pay compensation, except in the following cases

(a) When the injury is attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of the workman injured, and to no other

cause; or

(b) When the workman is not disabled for at least one week from earning full wages at the work in which he was employed.

5. The compensation for which an employer shall be liable pursuant to the preceding section shall be subject to the scale and conditions in the First Schedule.

6. (1) Where

The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1900.

of employer.

6. (1) Where personal injury is caused to a workman by the Personal negligence personal negligence or wilful act of his employer, or of some person for whose act or default such employer is responsible, such workman may, at his option, either claim compensation under this Act, or take proceedings to recover compensation independently of this Act.

(2) No employer shall be liable to pay compensation both under this Act and independently of this Act.

compensation

7. If in an action to recover compensation for personal injury, Action to recover independently of this Act, brought by a workman against an independently of this employer

(a) In the case of an injury not causing death within six months from the occurrence of the injury:

(b) In case of an injury causing death within six months after the time of death:

the Court determines that the employer is not liable in such action, the Court shall determine whether the employer is liable to pay compensation under this Act; and if the Court determines that the employer is so liable it shall proceed to assess the compensation under this Act, and to give judgment therefor.

The Court may deduct from such compensation such amount as it shall think proper for costs caused by the action being brought for compensation independently of this Act, instead of proceedings being taken for compensation under this Act.

Act.

8. (1) Notice of the injury in respect of which it is intended Notice of injury. to claim compensation shall be given to the employer as soon as practicable after the occurrence of such injury, or within three months thereafter, and the action must be commenced within six months after the occurrence of the injury, or in case of death within six months after the time of death.

(2) The want of notice, or any defect or inaccuracy in any notice, shall not be a bar to the right to compensation—

(a) If the employer is not seriously prejudiced in his defence; or (b) If such want, defect, or inaccuracy was occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause:

(3) The notice shall give the name and address of the person injured, and shall state in ordinary language the cause of the injury and the date on which it was sustained.

(4) The notice may be served by delivering the same to or at the residence or place of business of the person on whom it is to be served, or may be sent by post by a registered letter addressed to such person at his last known place of residence or place of business.

(5) If there is more than one employer, service on one shall be deemed sufficient.

Contracting out.

Sub-contracting.

The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1900.

(6) A notice served by post shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing the same would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post.

(7) Where the employer is a body of persons, corporate or unin corporate, the notice may be served by delivering the same at or by sending it by post in a registered letter, addressed to the employer at the office, or, if there be more than one office, any one of the offices of such body.

9. (1) If the Public Actuary, after taking steps to ascertain the views of the employer and workmen, certifies that any scheme of compensation or insurance for the workmen in any employment is on the whole, under all the circumstances of the case, not less favorable to the general body of workmen and their dependants than the provisions of this Act, the employer may, until the certifi cate is revoked, contract with any of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall be substituted for the provisions of this Act, and thereupon the employer shall be liable only in accor dance with the scheme, but, save as aforesaid, this Act shall apply notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made after the first day of October, one thousand nine hundred.

(2) The Public Actuary may give a certificate to expire at the end of a limited period not more than five years.

(3) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a condition of their hiring.

(4) If complaint is made to the Public Actuary by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer that the provisions of any scheme are no longer on the whole so favorable to the general body of workmen of such employer and their dependants as the provisions of this Act, or that the provisions of such scheme are being violated, or that the scheme is not being fairly administered by the employer, or that satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the certificate, the Public Actuary shall examine into the complaint, and, if satisfied that good cause exists for such complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is removed, revoke the certificate. When a certificate is revoked or expires, any moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme shall be distributed as may be arranged between the employer and workmen, or as may be determined by the Public Actuary in the event of a difference of opinion.

(5) Whenever a scheme has been certified as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all such inquiries and to furnish all such accounts in regard to the scheme as may be made or required by the Public Actuary.

(6) The Public Actuary shall annually report the particulars of his proceedings under this Act.

10. Where, in an employment to which this Act applies, the undertakers contract with any person for the execution by or under

such

The Workmen's Compensation Act, 1900.

such contractor of any work, and the undertakers would, if such work were executed by workmen immediately employed by them, be liable to pay compensation under this Act to those workmen in respect of any accident arising out of and in the course of their employment, the undertakers shall be liable to pay to any workman employed in the execution of the work any compensation which is payable to the workman (whether under this Act, or in respect of personal negligence or wilful act independently of this Act) by such contractor, or would be payable if such contractor were an employer to whom this Act applies: Provided that the undertakers shall be entitled to be indemnified by any other person who would have been liable independently of this section.

This section shall not apply to any contract with any person for the execution by or under such contractor of any work which is merely auxiliary or incidental to, and is no part of or process in the trade or business carried on by such undertakers respectively.

In this section the word "undertakers" means-(1) In the case of a railway, waterwork, tramway, or electric lighting work, the person on whose behalf the railway, waterwork, tramway, or electric lighting work is being constructed, altered, or repaired, or to whom the same belongs; (2) in the case of a factory, the occupier thereof; (3) in the case of a mine or quarry, the owner thereof; (4) in case of an engineering work, the person undertaking construction, alteration, or repair thereof; (5) in the case of building work, the person undertaking the construction, alteration, repair, or demolition thereof.

11. This Act shall apply only to employment by the undertakers Application of Act. herein before defined on or in or about a railway, factory, mine, quarry, or engineering work, and to employment by the undertakers as hereinbefore defined on or in or about any building which is either being constructed or repaired, or being demolished, or on which machinery driven by steam, water, or other mechanical power is being used for the purpose of the construction, repair, or demolition thereof.

12. Where any employer becomes liable under this Act to pay compensation, and is entitled to any sum from insurers in respect of the amount due to a workman under such liability, then, in the event of the employer becoming bankrupt, or making a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or if the employer is a company, of the company having commenced to be wound up, such workman shall have a first charge upon the sum aforesaid for the amount so due, and any Special Magistrate may direct the insurers to pay such sum into the Savings Bank in the name of the Public Trustee, and the same shall be applied in accordance with the provisions of the First Schedule hereto.

Compensation to

workmen in case of bankruptcy of employer.

13. Where the injury for which compensation is payable Recovery of damages under this Act was caused under circumstances creating a legal

liability

from stranger.

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