SEAMEN’S COMPENSATION.

No. 10 of 1953.

An Act to amend the Seamen’s Compensation Act 1911-1949, and for other purposes.

[Assented to 28th March, 1953.]

[Date of commencement, 25th April, 1953.]

BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—

Short title and citation.

1.—(1.)  This Act may be cited as the Seamen’s Compensation Act 1953.

(2.)  The Seamen’s Compensation Act 1911-1949 is in this Act referred to as the Principal Act.

(3.)  The Principal Act, as amended by this Act, may be cited as the Seamen’s Compensation Act 1911-1953.

Interpretation.

2.  Section three of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by inserting in sub-section (1.), before the definition of

“County Court”, the following definition:—

“‘ambulance services’ includes conveyance by any form of transport to a medical practitioner or to a hospital;”;

(b) by inserting in sub-section (1.), after the definition of “Judge of a County Court”, the following definition:—

“‘medical treatment’ means—

(a) medical or surgical treatment by a duly qualified medical practitioner;

(b) treatment by a registered dentist, a registered physiotherapist or a registered masseur;

(c) the provision of skiagrams, crutches, artificial members and artificial replacements;

(d) treatment and maintenance as a patient at a hospital; or

(e) nursing attendance, medicines, medical and surgical supplies and curative apparatus supplied or provided in a hospital or otherwise;”; and

(c) by adding at the end thereof the following sub-section:—

“(5.) For the purposes of sections five aa, six, seven, eight, ten, eleven, thirteen and sixteen of this Act, ‘compensation’ includes a payment under section five a of this Act.”.

Compensation for personal injuries to seamen.

3.  Section five of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (5.).

4.  Section five aa of the Principal Act is repealed and the following section inserted in its stead:—

Injury while travelling to or from work.

“5aa.—(1.)   Where personal injury by accident is caused to a seaman—

(a) while he is travelling to or from his employment;

(b) while he is travelling to or from a Mercantile Marine Office for a reason connected with his employment; or

(c) while he is travelling to or from a place where it is necessary for him to attend for the purpose of obtaining a medical certificate in respect of a previous injury in respect of which compensation is payable under this Act, or for the purpose of receiving, in respect of such an injury, medical treatment or compensation,

his employer shall, subject to this Act, be liable to pay compensation in accordance with this Act as if the accident were an accident arising out of or in the course of his employment.

“(2.)  For the purposes of this section, a seaman shall be deemed to be travelling on a particular journey—

(a) while he is travelling by the shortest convenient route for the journey, without having interrupted the journey or deviated from that route; or

(b) during an interruption of the journey or a deviation from the shortest convenient route for the journey, or while he is travelling by the shortest convenient route after such an interruption or deviation, if—

(i) the interruption or deviation is or was made for a reason connected with the seaman’s employment, his attendance at the Mercantile Marine Office, his obtaining the certificate or his receiving the medical treatment or compensation, as the case may be;

(ii) the interruption or deviation is or was not substantial; or

(iii) the nature, extent, degree and content of the risk of personal injury by accident are or were not materially changed or increased by reason of the interruption or deviation,

and not otherwise.”.

Medical benefits.

5.  Section five a of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “One hundred pounds” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “One hundred and fifty pounds”;

(b) by omitting from that sub-section the words “medical, surgical and hospital treatment” (wherever occurring) and inserting in their stead the words “medical treatment”; and

(c) by omitting sub-section (2.).

Maximum compensation.

6.  Section five d of the Principal Act is amended by omitting from sub-section (1.) the words “One thousand two hundred and fifty pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “One thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds”.

Time for taking proceedings.

7.  Section six of the Principal Act is amended by omitting subsection (5.) and inserting in its stead the following sub-section:—

“(5.)    The notice of accident and the claim for compensation may be served on the master of the ship on which the seaman was employed or engaged at the time of the accident as if the master were the employer.”.

Remedies both against the employer and a stranger.

8.  Section ten of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from sub-section (2.) the words “,but shall not be entitled to retain both damages and compensation”; and

(b) by adding at the end of sub-section (5.) the words “under this Act”.

First Schedule.

9.  The First Schedule to the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by omitting from clause (i) of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1.) the words “One thousand pounds” and “Fifty pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “One thousand five hundred pounds” and “Seventy-five pounds”, respectively;

(b) by omitting clause (iii) of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (1.) and inserting in its stead the following clause:—

“(iii) the reasonable expenses of the seaman’s funeral, not exceeding Fifty pounds;”;

(c) by omitting sub-paragraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (1.) and inserting in their stead the following sub-paragraphs:—

“(b) where the seaman is totally incapacitated for work by the injurv—a weekly payment during his incapacity of the sum of Six pounds and, in addition, the sum of—

(i) One pound fifteen shillings in respect of—

(1) the wife of the seaman, if she was married to the seaman at the date of the injury and is wholly or mainly dependent upon his earnings; or

(2) if he has no wife, or if compensation is not payable in respect of his wife—one female, over the age of sixteen years, who is wholly or mainly dependent upon the earnings of the seaman and was, at the date of the injury, a member of the seaman’s family or caring for a child who was at that date, and is, under the age of sixteen years and wholly or mainly dependent upon the earnings of the seaman; and

(ii) Fifteen shillings in respect of each child, born before or after the date of the injury, who, not being a child of a marriage contracted, or an ex-nuptial relationship formed, after the date of injury, is under the age of sixteen years and wholly or mainly dependent upon the earnings of the seaman; and

“(c) where the seaman is partially incapacitated for work by the injury—a weekly payment during his incapacity—

(i) of the amount (if any) by which the weekly amount that he is earning, or is able to earn in some suitable employment or business, after the injury is less than his weekly pay at the date of the injury, or of the amount of Six pounds, whichever is the less; or

(ii) of the amount (if any) by which the weekly amount that he is earning, or is able to earn in some suitable employment or business, after the injury is less than the weekly amount that would have been payable to him under sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph, if he had been totally incapacitated,

whichever is the greater.”;

(d) by omitting from clause (ii) of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2.) the word “or” (last occurring);

(e) by omitting from sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2.) the word “employee” and inserting in its stead the word “seaman”;

(f) by omitting from clause (iii) of sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2.) the words “Three pounds” and “Four pounds” and inserting in their stead the words “Four pounds ten shillings” and “Six pounds”, respectively;

(g) by adding at the end of paragraph (2.) the following word and sub-paragraph:—

“;and (c) where the seaman is totally incapacitated for work by the injury, eligibility for weekly payment under sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph in respect of a child born after the date of the injury shall not accrue until the date of birth of the child.”;

(h) by omitting from clause (i) of sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (3.) the words “Thirty shillings” and inserting in their stead the words “Forty-five shillings”: and

(i) by omitting from paragraph (6.) the words “medical, surgical and hospital treatment, ambulance services and burial expenses” and inserting in their stead the words “medical treatment, ambulance services and funeral expenses”.

Third Schedule.

10.    The Third Schedule to the Principal Act is repealed and the following Schedule inserted in its stead:—

THIRD SCHEDULE                                      Section 5b.

Compensation for Specified Injuries.

Adjustment of weekly payments under Principal Act.

11.—(1.)   Where, immediately before the commencement of this Act, a person was receiving or entitled to receive weekly payments in

accordance with the First Schedule to the Principal Act, he shall, from that commencement, be entitled to receive weekly payments in accordance with the Principal Act as amended by this Act.

(2.)    Where, before the commencement of this Act, a seaman sustained an injury or contracted a disease in respect of which weekly payments in accordance with the First Schedule to the Principal Act would have been payable at that commencement but for the fact that he was not then incapacitated for work, but after that commencement he becomes incapacitated for work as a result of the injury or disease, weekly payments in respect of that incapacity shall be in accordance with the Principal Act as amended by this Act.

(3.)    Where, after the commencement of this Act, death results from an injury or a disease which was sustained or contracted before that commencement and in respect of which compensation was payable under the Principal Act, compensation shall be paid in respect of that death in accordance with the Principal Act as amended by this Act.