Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2005

Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2005

I, the Governor in and over the State of Tasmania and its Dependencies in the Commonwealth of Australia, acting with the advice of the Executive Council, make the following regulations under the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973 .

14 November 2005

W. J. E. COX

Governor

By His Excellency's Command,

BRYAN GREEN

Minister for Infrastructure, Energy and Resources

1.   Short title

These regulations may be cited as the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Amendment Regulations 2005 .

2.   Commencement

These regulations take effect on the day on which their making is notified in the Gazette.

3.   Principal Regulations

In these regulations, the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Regulations 2000 are referred to as the Principal Regulations.

4.    Schedule 1 amended (Scheduled benefits)

Schedule 1 to the Principal Regulations is amended as follows:

(a) by inserting in clause 1(1) of Part 2 "and necessarily" after "reasonably";

(b) by omitting from clause 1(4)(j) of Part 2 "the reasonable cost of";

(c) by omitting paragraph (l) from clause 1(4) of Part 2 and substituting the following paragraphs:

(l) travel by taxi for the purpose of obtaining treatment from a registered person if –

(i) the distance travelled is 20 kilometres or less one way; and

(ii) the travel occurs within 39 weeks after the date on which the personal injury was sustained; and

(iii) a medical practitioner certifies that, by reason of the injury, the person requires a taxi for the purpose of travel;

(m) travel by any means for the purpose of obtaining treatment from a registered person if –

(i) the person requires daily care; or

(ii) the distance travelled is greater than 20 kilometres one way.

(d) by omitting subclause (5) from clause 1 of Part 2 and substituting the following subclause:

(5) For the purposes of this clause, the expense of providing treatment for any person is taken to be –

(a) unreasonably incurred to the extent to which it exceeds the expense that would be incurred if that treatment had been provided in the most economical manner practicable in the circumstances; and

(b) unnecessarily incurred if the treatment is not warranted, beneficial to the person and curative of the person's injury.

(e) by omitting from clause 2 of Part 2 "$300 000" and substituting "$400 000";

(f) by omitting from clause 2(3) of Part 5 " subclause (1) " and substituting " subclause (2) ";

(g) by omitting from clause 2(5) of Part 5 "$50" and substituting "$250";

(h) by omitting subclauses (6) and (7) from clause 2 of Part 5 and substituting the following subclause:

(6) If, at the time of the motor accident, the injured person's average weekly earnings did not exceed $250 a week, whether or not the person was a dependant of another person, the lesser of the following amounts is payable weekly as the employed person's allowance:

(a) $200;

(b) the injured person's average weekly earnings.

(i) by omitting subclause (2) from clause 4 of Part 5 and substituting the following subclause:

(2) A housekeeping allowance is payable for either of the following periods during which the person is wholly disabled, by reason of the injury, from carrying out his or her normal household duties:

(a) in relation to a person who has been an inpatient at a hospital for a continuous period of more than 4 days commencing on the day of the accident, any period within 39 weeks after the day of the accident;

(b) in relation to any other person, any period within 26 weeks after the day of the accident.

(j) by inserting the following subclause after subclause (2) in clause 7 of Part 5 :

(3) In this Part –

earnings, in respect of a person who has suffered personal injury, does not include an amount that is required to be paid in respect of the person by the person's employer –

(a) as a contribution to a superannuation fund in accordance with the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 of the Commonwealth; or

(b) to a defined benefits scheme of a superannuation fund.

(k) by omitting clause 6 from Part 6 and substituting the following clause:

6.   Limitation on disability benefits

(1) Except in the case of a person requiring daily care, the payment of disability benefits under this Part and medical benefits under Part 2 is not to exceed $400 000 in the aggregate for personal injury to the person resulting directly from a single motor accident.

(2) Disability benefits under this Part are only payable in respect of the following:

(a) expenses incurred in the Commonwealth;

(b) attendant care or domestic services provided in the Commonwealth.

Displayed and numbered in accordance with the Rules Publication Act 1953.

Notified in the Gazette on 23 November 2005

These regulations are administered by the Motor Accidents Insurance Board.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the regulation)

These regulations amend the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Regulations 2000 by –

(a) making further provision in relation to the payment of medical and disability benefits, employed persons' allowances and housekeeping allowances; and

(b) increasing the maximum amount that is payable in respect of medical and disability benefits; and

(c) defining "earnings" in Part 5 of those regulations; and

(d) making a minor correction.