On May 23 2018, the NSW Government passed a new bill outlining amendments to the workers compensation insurance conditions covering Changes to the Coal Industry Act and Coal Industry employees.
Changes to the Coal Industry Act – ‘Employers whose employees work in or about a coal mine’ are now required to obtain workers compensation insurance from an approved workers compensation company for their employees. The idea is to improve equity of workers by ensuring compulsory coverage for all workers who engage in mining activities in the coal industry, whether directly employed, contracted or from a labour hire firm. It now takes into consideration those who may have not been covered by general workers compensation but Coal Mines Insurance (CMI) previously.
However, employers should know that those engaged in the mining activities in the coal industry are also required to have a policy with CMI. This includes those who have workers working some of the time in mining activities, working part time or part of the year, or even provide services ancillary to coal mining such as maintenance, repairs or construction. It’s important to distinguish that employees making coal mine deliveries, or services directly related to coal mining do not require a policy with CMI.
A transition period is in place running from 1 July 2018 to 30 September 2018, during which the employers required to hold a policy with CMI must also obtain a current Certificate of Currency from a workers compensation insurer to cover those workers.
For any assistance with anything regarding Workers Compensation, please contact us at ABILITY GROUP.
For further information, please refer to:
Title: Changes to the Coal Industry Act 2001
Source: Coal Services Australia
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