Portable Long Service Leave Bill

Final Stages

The House of Assembly agreed to the bill with the amendments indicated by the following schedule, to which amendments the House of Assembly desires the concurrence of the Legislative Council:

No.1Page 24, after line 16, insert:

41—lndustry board to establish industry fund

(I) An industry board must establish a fund (an industry fund) for the purposes of this Act.

(2) The name of the industry fund must comply with any requirement prescribed by the regulations.

(3) The industry fund will be administered by the industry board.

(4) The industry fund will consist of-

(a) levies received by the industry board from employers in its designated sector; and

(b) income and accretions produced by the investment of money from the fund; and

(c) money advanced to the industry board for the purposes of the fund; and

(d) penalties and fines recovered by the industry board under this Act; and

(e) any money required to be paid into an industry fund by the regulations; and

(f) any other money payable to the industry fund under this Act.

(5) There will be payable from the industry fund-

(a) any long service leave benefits that the industry board is liable to pay under this Act; and

(b) costs incurred by the industry board in performing its functions under this Act; and

(c) any payment to another industry board required or contemplated by this Act; and

(d) any payment required or authorised by the regulations; and

(e) any other money required or authorised to be paid from the industry fund under this Act.

42—Exemption from taxes and charges

An industry fund, and all transactions relating to an industry fund, are exempt from all taxes and other charges imposed under a law of the State.

43—lnvestment of industry fund

(I) An industry board may invest money that is not immediately required for the purposes of its industry fund.

(2) An industry board must, when investing money in an industry fund, take into account policies and guidelines (if any) determined by the Treasurer after consultation with the Minister.

44—Loans for training purposes

(1) An industry board may, with the approval of the Minister and the Treasurer, lend money from its industry fund to an industrial association or organisation for the purpose of establishing or operating a group training scheme for its designated sector.

(2) A loan under subsection (1) will be subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister and the Treasurer think appropriate.

45—Borrowing by industry board

(1) An industry board may, for the purposes of an industry fund, borrow money from the Treasurer or, with the approval of the Treasurer, from any other person.

(2) A liability incurred with the approval of the Treasurer under subsection (1) is guaranteed by the Treasurer.

(3) A liability incurred by the Treasurer under a guarantee arising by virtue of subsection (2) will be satisfied out of the Consolidated Account of the State (which is appropriated to the necessary extent).

No. 2 -Page 26, after line 26, insert:

48—lmposition of levy

(1) An employer in a designated sector is liable to pay a levy to the relevant industry board under this section.

(2) Subject to this section, the levy payable by an employer is the declared percentage of the total remuneration paid to each of the employer's designated workers in the designated sector during the period to which the levy relates.

(3) The percentage fixed by an industry board under this section-

(a) may only be varied by the board-

(i) in accordance with an indication to the Minister under section 46(4)(b); and

(ii) after 14 days has elapsed since the provision of the indication; and

(b) must be less than or equal to 3%.

(4) No levy is payable by an employer in respect of-

(a) a designated worker who is employed by the employer for less than 3 days in a month; or

(b) subject to an exception prescribed by the regulations-an apprentice.

(5) The regulations may-

(a) prescribe payments made to or for the benefit of a designated worker that will be taken as constituting remuneration for the purposes of this section; and

(b) prescribe payments made to or for the benefit of a designated worker that will not be taken as constituting remuneration for the purposes of this section.

(6) For the purposes of this section, if an employer pays a designated worker at a rate that exceeds the rate that applies to the designated worker under this Act for the purpose of determining the worker's ordinary weekly pay, the amount of the excess may be disregarded for the purpose of calculating the remuneration paid by the employer.

(7) In this section-

declared percentage means a percentage fixed by the relevant industry board and declared by notice in the Gazette.

49—Returns by employers

(1) Every employer in a designated sector must, within 21 days after the end of each return period, furnish the relevant industry board with a return in the approved form containing such information as may be prescribed or required by the approved form.

(2) The return must be accompanied by the levy payable by the employer in respect of the return period.

(3) An industry board may require an employer to provide-

(a) a certificate signed by the employer, or a person acting on the employer's behalf, verifying the information contained in a return; or

(b) some other verification of the information of a kind stipulated by the board.

(4) An industry board may-

(a) determine that a requirement of this section will not apply to a particular employer or employers of a particular class; and

(b) impose, by notice to the particular employer or by notice in the Gazette, such other requirements on the employer or employers as may be appropriate in the circumstances.

(5) An employer must not contravene a requirement imposed under this section. Maximum civil penalty: $10,000.

(6) An employer who is registered with an industry board but who does not employ any designated workers in a particular return period will nevertheless be taken to be an employer in the particular designated sector for the purposes of this section.

5O—Recovery on default

(1) If an employer-

(a) fails or neglects to furnish a return when required by or under this Act; or

(b) furnishes a return that the relevant industry board has reasonable grounds to believe to be defective in any respect,

the board may make an assessment of the levy payable for the return period on the basis of estimates made by the board.

(2) If an employer fails to pay a levy required by or under this Act, the relevant industry board may make an assessment of the levy payable by the employer.

(3) An industry board must, as soon as is reasonably practicable after making an assessment under this section, give written notice of the assessment to the employer to whom the assessment relates.

(4) An employer to whom a notice of an assessment is given under this section must pay the amount of the assessment within 21 days, or such longer period as the notice may allow.

Maximum civil penalty: $10,000.

51—Penalty for late payment

(1) If an employer fails to furnish a return or to pay a levy as and when required by or under this Act-

(a) the amount of any levy in arrears will be increased by penalty interest at the prescribed rate; and

(b) the relevant industry board may impose on the employer a fine of an amount (not exceeding the prescribed amount) fixed by the board.

(2) An industry board may for any proper reason remit penalty interest or a fine imposed under subsection (1) wholly or in part.

52—Recovery of levies

A levy payable under this Act (and any penalty interest or fine imposed by an industry board) is a debt due to the relevant industry board and may be recovered by the board in a court of competent jurisdiction.

53—Refund of overpayments

(1) If a levy is overpaid, the industry board that received the payment must refund the amount of the overpayment within the period prescribed by the regulations.

(2) If a levy has been paid incorrectly and the relevant industry board subsequently discovers, as a result of an error associated with the payment of the levy, it has made a payment in respect of a long service leave entitlement, or purported long service leave entitlement, for which it was not liable, the board may deduct from an amount that would otherwise be refunded under subsection (1) an amount equal to the payment made by the board as a result of the error.

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (21:52): I move:

That this message be taken into consideration on the next day of sitting.

Motion carried.