Bills

Return to Work Corporation (Constitution of Board of Management) Amendment Bill

Introduction and First Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:22): Obtained leave and introduced a bill for an act to amend the Return to Work Corporation of South Australia Act 1994. Read a first time.

Second Reading

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:23): I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

Today, I introduce the Return to Work Corporation (Constitution of Board of Management) Amendment Bill 2023. As members of this council would be aware, the workers compensation scheme in this state is administered by ReturnToWorkSA, a statutory corporation established under the Return to Work Corporation of South Australia Act 1994.

Under that act, ReturnToWorkSA is governed by a board of seven members appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the Minister for Industrial Relations and the Public Sector. The responsibilities of those board members are perhaps some of the most significant of any statutory corporation in this state, given the far-reaching implications of the board's decisions for both businesses and injured workers.

As we have seen in recent debates, the board fixes the average premium levy that applies to employers covered by the Return to Work scheme and board decisions regarding claims management and litigation can have a significant effect on workers' entitlements. It is important to appreciate the board is fundamentally a skills-based one. The Return to Work scheme involves complex medical, legal, insurance and regulatory issues, which means a wide range of technical skills are desirable on the board, rather than simply splitting the board membership between different stakeholder groups.

However, while the board is not a representative board, it was a longstanding custom and practice to ensure that the voices of both the business community and workers were represented amongst that membership. This is because the decision-making of the board can only be improved by ensuring the voices of these key stakeholder groups that are most affected by the operations of the Return to Work scheme are included.

That is a practice that fundamentally changed under the last government. It did not appoint a representative from the union movement, as had been customary, following the expiry of members' terms. What this meant was that, at a time of critical decision-making for the board in the Summerfield litigation, the voices of workers' representatives were absent from the board's deliberations. This government has corrected that mistake and returned worker representation to the board during the most recent appointments in November last year while also maintaining the important representation of the business community.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure the same mistake cannot be made again. This bill seeks to amend the constitution of the board of management to ensure that there is a minimum level of stakeholder representation amongst the board membership. This bill provides that, of the seven board members, at least one must be a person who the minister is satisfied is suitable to represent the interests of employees, and at least one must be a person who is suitable to represent the interests of employers.

The bill requires the minister to consult with the peak stakeholder organisations of Business SA and SA Unions on persons who are suitable to represent the respective interests before making those appointments. These requirements do not take away from the importance of appointing high-quality candidates. Under section 6, all persons appointed to the board must still have the qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience to ensure that the board carries out its functions effectively.

As I have indicated, the government is satisfied that the current membership of the board includes persons who suitably represent both of these interests. As such, this bill has been drafted so that, once passed by parliament, it can be proclaimed to take effect on the expiry of the existing board terms. This will ensure that there are no transitional issues in applying those requirements to future board appointments.

In summary, this is a small but important change to ensure that the voices of stakeholders most affected by the Return to Work scheme are included on the board of management responsible for the administration of the scheme. I commend the bill to the council and seek leave to have the explanation of clauses inserted in Hansard without my reading it.

Leave granted.

Explanation of Clauses

Part 1—Preliminary

1—Short title

This clause is formal.

2—Commencement

This clause provides for the commencement of the provision and disapplies section 27(6) of the Legislation Interpretation Act 2021.

Part 2—Amendment of Return to Work Corporation of South Australia Act 1994

3—Amendment of section 5—Constitution of board of management

This clause amends section 5 of the principal Act to provide that—

at least 1 member of the board must be a person who the Minister, after consulting with the United Trades and Labor Council (trading as SA Unions) considers is suitable to represent the interests of employees; and

at least 1 must be a person who the Minister, after consulting with the South Australian Employers' Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc (trading as Business SA) considers is suitable to represent the interests of employers.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. L.A. Henderson.