Eric Abetz (Tasmania, Liberal Party, Minister for Employment) Share this | Hansard source

I thank honourable senators for their contributions to this debate. This bill protects the viability of the Commonwealth's Seacare scheme by restoring certainty about the historical coverage of the scheme for all participants, including seafarers and their representatives, employers, insurers and regulators. Successive governments, both at Commonwealth, state and territory level, irrespective of political colour, maritime regulators, employers and seafarers have operated on the basis that the Seacare scheme generally applies to ships and units engaged in interstate and international trade or commerce, while state and territory workers compensation and work, health and safety laws apply to employees on ships engaged in intrastate voyages.

This jurisdictional boundary was established by the Seamen's Compensation Act 1911 and has been broadly understood to apply since, including from the commencement of the Seacare scheme in 1992. The Federal Court's decision in Samson Maritime Pty Ltd and Aucote puts this understanding in doubt from the commencement of the Seacare scheme in 1992. It represents a profound shift in workers compensation and work, health and safety regulation of the Australian maritime industry. Before the Aucote decision, the Seacare scheme was understood to apply to around 330 ships. Following the decision, the Seacare scheme could cover as many as 11,000 ships. Whereas the Commonwealth regulated workers compensation and work, health and safety for a small proportion of the maritime industry before the Aucote decision, the decision shifts responsibility for regulating the vast majority of the industry to the Commonwealth. The Aucote decision also puts in doubt the validity of workers compensation claims made by seafarers and work, health and safety enforcement actions taken against employers under state legislation. The bill seeks to restore certainty regarding past actions taken under the Seafarers' Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act. It does not change what was believed to be the workers compensation entitlements and work, health and safety protection of seafarers.

The bill does not interfere with the ability for seafarers to make a workers compensation claim or to receive workers compensation entitlements. The bill expressly provides that it does not disturb claims made before it was introduced or potential claims from people who gave notice of injury to make a compensation claim under the seafarers act before the bill was introduced but had not made a claim by that time. With the passage of this bill, maritime industry regulators, employers and seafarers will have greater certainty that past actions undertaken in good faith, based on the prevailing understanding of Commonwealth, state and territory regulation of workers compensation and work, health and safety regulation, are valid.

The bill, as amended, is supported by Seacare scheme participants, including maritime industry employer associations and unions. I would like to thank all those participants for their willingness to work with the government to reach agreement on this bill, enabling it to be passed expediently. Finally, while I am confident that this bill will fully achieve its aims without any unintended consequences, I will be writing to the Seacare Authority, which is responsible for the oversight of the Seacare scheme, to ask that it monitor the impact of this bill and inform me of any unintended consequences so that the government can take action to address them. I commend the bill to the Senate.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.