Page 5939 - Week 18 - Wednesday, 11 December 1991
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Clauses 8 to 11, by leave, taken together, and agreed to.
Clause 12
MRS NOLAN (4.51): My amendment has been circulated. The amendment relates to the provision of information to insurers. It was brought to my attention by many people in the tourism and hospitality industry, and also people in business, that they would prefer to see this particular section read in accordance with what is proposed in my amendment. I move:
Page 10, line 27, proposed new section 18(1)(a), omit "and", substitute "or".
My understanding is that in the current ordinance or current Act, the 1951 one, there was a provision for either/or. It certainly did not have the same provision. I also understand that if you are a proprietary company you do not necessarily need to have a certificate from a registered auditor. There would be an additional cost to business in meeting that requirement. That, basically, is why the amendment is proposed. It is a request from people within both the tourism and hospitality industry and the business community. They are concerned in relation to the costs of small business. I guess that that is one of the things that all of us are very aware of.
Small business being our only employer, we should not be making those businesses meet an additional cost purely because of what is needed in relation to information for insurers; so I think it should be either/or. As I said, proprietary companies do not necessarily have to have a registered auditor. A statutory declaration which sets out the determined categories of workers employed and the total amount of wages, I believe, would be satisfactory.
MR BERRY (Minister for Health and Minister for Sport) (4.54): In forming a recommendation concerning the audit of wages and returns, the 1984 working party was advised that many employers had been avoiding the full extent of their liability for workers' compensation premiums by understating their wage returns. Basically, that means that they are employing more people than they are paying for in terms of workers' compensation. The audit certificate, therefore, is required to confirm the total amount of wages paid to workmen employed by an employer, while the statutory declaration is necessary for management to divide the wages Bill into different work classifications for premium calculations purposes. This need does not exist in some State schemes where premiums are based on an industry classification, not an occupational classification. The current process of requiring an audited wages return provides a cost-effective system for both employers and insurers.
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