//
© 2026 Zoe. All rights reserved.
Zoe is a legal information platform. Always consult the Federal Register of Legislation for authoritative text.
Commonwealth act
This Act has been repealed and is no longer in force. It is retained for historical reference.
This Act creates a comprehensive workers’ compensation scheme for Commonwealth employees (public servants, Defence, police, authority staff) for work‑related injuries, diseases and certain journey claims. It provides weekly payments, lump sums for permanent loss, medical and rehabilitation support, and death benefits for dependants, with offsets for other recoveries. Claims are handled by a Commissioner with administrative review and court appeal routes, subject to time limits and medical examinations. Some categories (e.g. MPs, judges) and wilful misconduct are excluded.
Want the full deep dive?
Zoe can write the in-depth analysis on top of the summary above: how it works, who it affects and what each part actually does.
Direct links to the current provisions in Compensation (Commonwealth Employees) Act 1971.
Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.
Compensation (Commonwealth Employees)
No. 48 of 1971
An Act to make provision for Compensation in respect of Employees of the Commonwealth and certain other Persons by reason of Injury or Disease, or Loss or Destruction of, or Damage to, certain Property, occurring in Circumstances connected with their Employment.
[Assented to 25 May 1971]
BE it enacted by the Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty, the Senate, and the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Australia, as follows:—
Part I.—Preliminary.
Short title.
Commencement.
2.—(1.) Sections 1 and 2 of this Act, Part II., Division 2 of Part V., Part VIII. and sub-section (3.) of section 123 of this Act shall come into operation on the day on which this Act receives the Royal Assent.
(2.) The remaining provisions of this Act shall come into operation on a date to be fixed by Proclamation and, upon the coming into operation of those provisions, Part VIII. shall be deemed to be repealed.
Parts.
Part I.—Preliminary (Sections 1-8).
Part II.—Commissioner for Employees’ Compensation (Sections 9-24).
Part III.—Compensation (Sections 25-52).
Part IV.—Making and Determination of Claims (Sections 53-61).
Part V.—References to Compensation Tribunals and Applications to Prescribed Courts.
Division 1.—Preliminary (Sections 62-63).
Division 2.—Constitution of Compensation Tribunals (Sections 64-75).
Division 3.—References to Compensation Tribunals (Sections 76-89).
Division 4.—Applications to Prescribed Courts (Sections 90-93).
Division 5.—Appeals from Compensation Tribunals and Prescribed Courts (Sections 94-96).
Part VI.—Liabilities arising otherwise than under this Act (Sections 97-103).
Part VII.—Transitional (Sections 104-108).
Part VIII.—Amendments of the Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Act 1930-1970 (Sections 109-114).
Part IX.—Miscellaneous (Sections 115-123).
Repeal
4.—(1.) The Acts specified in the First Schedule to this Act are repealed.
(2.) Notwithstanding section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901—1966, the Commonwealth is not liable, on or after the proclaimed date, to make any payments under the Commonwealth Workmen’s Compensation Act 1912 or the Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Act 1930-1971 but section 8 of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901-1966 otherwise applies in relation to the repeals effected by the last preceding sub-section to the extent to which its application would not be inconsistent with the operation of any provision of this Act.
Interpretation.
5.—(1.) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
“adoption” means adoption in pursuance of the law of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth or of a country other than Australia;
“child in relation to whom this Act applies” means—
(a) a person under the age of sixteen years; or
(b) a person who—
(i) has attained the age of sixteen years but is under the age of twenty-one years;
(ii) is receiving full time education at a school, college or university; and
(iii) is not ordinarily in employment or engaged in work on his own account;
“Compensation Tribunal” means a Commonwealth Employees’ Compensation Tribunal established under section 64 of this Act;
“dependant”, in relation to a deceased employee, means—
(a) the spouse, father, mother, step-father, step-mother, mother-in-law, grandfather, grandmother, son, daughter, step-son, step-daughter, grandson, granddaughter, brother, sister, half-brother or half-sister of the employee;
(b) a person in relation to whom the employee stood in loco parentis or who stood in loco parentis to the employee; or
(c) a woman who, throughout the period of three years immediately before the date of the death of the employee, although not legally married to him, lived with him as his wife on a permanent and bona fide domestic basis,
being a person who was wholly or partly dependent upon the employee at the date of the death of the employee;
“dependent” means dependent for economic support;
“disease” includes any physical or mental ailment, disorder, defect or morbid condition, whether of sudden onset or gradual development;
“employee” means a person to and in relation to whom this Act applies by virtue of section 7 of this Act;
“injury” means any physical or mental injury and includes the aggravation, acceleration or recurrence of any physical or mental injury but, subject to section 29 of this Act, does not include a disease or the aggravation, acceleration or recurrence of a disease;
“Judge” includes—
(a) an Acting Judge;
(b) a person appointed to judicial office and having the rank and style of Judge; and
(c) a person appointed to acting judicial office and having the rank and style of Acting Judge;
“loss”, in relation to an artificial limb or other artificial substitute, or a medical, surgical or other similar aid or appliance, used by an employee, includes destruction;
“medical treatment” means—
(a) medical or surgical treatment by, or under the supervision of, a legally qualified medical practitioner;
(b) therapeutic treatment obtained at the direction of a legally qualified medical practitioner;
(c) dental treatment by, or under the supervision of, a legally qualified dentist;
(d) therapeutic treatment by, or under the supervision of, a physiotherapist or masseur registered under the law of a State or Territory of the Commonwealth providing for the registration of physiotherapists or masseurs, as the case may be;
(e) an examination, test or analysis carried out on, or in relation to, an employee at the request or direction of a legally qualified medical practitioner or legally qualified dentist and the provision of a report in respect of such an examination, test or analysis;
(f) the supply, replacement or repair of an artificial limb or other artificial substitute or of a medical, surgical or other similar aid or appliance;
(g) treatment and maintenance as a patient at a hospital;
(h) nursing attendance, and the provision of medicines, medical and surgical supplies and curative apparatus, whether in a hospital or otherwise; or
(j) treatment provided or arranged by the Director-General of Social Services in pursuance of Part VIII. of the Social Services Act 1947-1971 and maintenance while receiving such treatment;
“permanent” means likely to continue indefinitely;
“prescribed authority of the Commonwealth” means—
(a) a body corporate that is incorporated for a public purpose by a law of the Commonwealth other than such a body corporate that is declared by the regulations to be a body corporate in relation to which this Act does not apply; and
(b) a body corporate that is incorporated for a public purpose by a law of a Territory of the Commonwealth and is declared by the regulations to be a body corporate in relation to which this Act applies;
“prescribed Court” means—
(a) the Workers’ Compensation Commission of New South Wales;
(b) the Industrial Court of South Australia;
(c) a court of a State (other than New South Wales or South Australia) or of a Territory of the Commonwealth, being a court that has limited civil jurisdiction in personal actions and can be constituted only by a Judge;
(d) a court that has limited civil jurisdiction in personal actions and can be constituted only by a Judge or a stipendiary magistrate, being a court of a State (other than New South Wales or South Australia) or of a Territory of the Commonwealth in which there is no court of a kind referred to in the last preceding paragraph; or
(e) any other court that has limited civil jurisdiction in personal actions, being a court of a State (other than New South Wales or South Australia) or of a Territory of the Commonwealth in which there is no court of a kind referred to in either of the last two preceding paragraphs;
“separate living accommodation”, in relation to an employee, means living accommodation provided for the exclusive use of the employee, or of the employee and his family, being accommodation that includes cooking, bathing and sanitary facilities;
“spouse”, in relation to an aboriginal native, or a deceased aboriginal native, of Australia or of a Territory of the Commonwealth not forming part of the Commonwealth, includes a person who is or was recognized as the husband or wife of that aboriginal native by the custom prevailing in the tribe or group of aboriginal natives of Australia or of such a Territory to which that aboriginal native belongs or belonged;
“the Clerk”, in relation to a Compensation Tribunal, means the Clerk of that Compensation Tribunal, and includes a Deputy Clerk of that Compensation Tribunal;
“the Commissioner” means—
(a) subject to the next succeeding paragraph, the person holding office as the Commissioner for Employees’ Compensation, including a person appointed to act as the Commissioner for Employees’ Compensation; and
(b) in relation to the receipt, holding or payment of, or other dealing with, moneys or the acquisition, holding or disposal of other property—the corporation established by section 9 of this Act;
“the proclaimed date” means the date fixed by Proclamation under sub-section (2.) of section 2 of this Act;
“therapeutic treatment” includes an examination, test or analysis for the purpose of diagnosing, or treatment for the purpose of alleviating, an injury.
(2.) For the purposes of paragraph (a) of the definition of “dependant” in the last preceding sub-section, relationships referred to in that paragraph shall be taken to include illegitimate relationships and relationships by adoption and relationships that are traced through illegitimate relationships or relationships by adoption.
(3.) For the purposes of this Act, a person shall be deemed to have been wholly or partly dependent upon an employee at the date of the death of the employee if the person would have been so dependent but for an incapacity of the employee that resulted from an injury.
(4.) For the purposes of this Act other than sub-section (5.) of section 43, a son or daughter of a deceased employee who was born alive after the death of the employee shall be treated as if he or she had been born immediately before the death of the employee and was wholly dependent upon the employee at the date of his death.
(5.) In ascertaining for the purposes of this Act whether a child is or was dependent upon an employee, any amount of child endowment paid or payable in respect of the child under Part VI. of the Social Services Act 1947-1971 shall not be taken into account.
(6.) A reference in this Act to an injury to an employee shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as a reference to an injury to the employee in respect of which the Commonwealth is liable to pay compensation under this Act.
(7.) A reference to an employee in a provision of this Act that is applicable to an employee at a time after the Commonwealth has incurred a liability in relation to the employee under this Act shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as including a reference to a person who has ceased to be an employee.
(8.) A reference in this Act to the institution of a proceeding under Part V. in respect of a determination shall be read as a reference to the making of a request under paragraph (a) of sub-section (1.) of section 63 of this Act in respect of a matter or question to which the determination relates or to the making of an application under paragraph (b) of sub-section (1.) of that section in respect of the determination.
(9.) Where a Compensation Tribunal or a Court varies a determination, or sets aside a determination and makes a determination in substitution for the determination so set aside, the determination as so varied or the substituted determination shall, for the purposes of this Act other than section 61 and Part V., unless the contrary intention appears, be deemed to be a determination of the Commissioner.
(10.) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears, a reference to a loss to an employee includes a reference to an impairment of speech of the employee referred to in sub-section (10.) of section 39 of this Act.
(11.) For the purposes of this Act—
(a) the death, or a disfigurement, incapacity or disablement, of an employee, or a loss suffered by an employee, shall be taken to have resulted from an injury to the employee, from a disease contracted by the employee or from an aggravation, acceleration or recurrence of a disease suffered by the employee if the injury, the disease or the aggravation, acceleration or recurrence, as the case may be, contributed to the death, disfigurement, incapacity, disablement or loss; and
(b) the loss of, or damage to, an artificial limb or other artificial substitute, or a medical, surgical or other similar aid or appliance, used by an employee shall be taken to have resulted from an accident if the accident contributed to the loss or damage.
Application of Act.
Persons in relation to whom Act applies.
7.—(1.) Subject to this section, this Act applies to and in relation to a person who is employed by the Commonwealth or by a prescribed authority of the Commonwealth whether he is so employed under a law of the Commonwealth or of a Territory of the Commonwealth or under a contract of service or apprenticeship.
(2.) Without limiting by implication the generality of the last preceding sub-section—
(a) a Commonwealth Police Officer or a member of the Police Force of a Territory of the Commonwealth forming part of the Commonwealth;
(b) a member of the Defence Force; or
(c) a person (other than a person to whom the next succeeding sub-section applies) who is the holder of or is acting in—
(i) an office that is established by a law of the Commonwealth other than an office that is declared by the regulations to be an office in relation to which this Act does not apply; or
(ii) an office that is established by a law of a Territory of the Commonwealth and is declared by the regulations to be an office in relation to which this Act applies,
shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be employed by the Commonwealth, and his employment shall, for those purposes, be deemed to be constituted by his performance of his duties as such a Commonwealth Police Officer, member of the Police Force of a Territory of the Commonwealth or member of the Defence Force or the duties of that office, as the case may be.
(3.) A person who—
(a) constitutes, or is acting as the person constituting, a prescribed authority of the Commonwealth; or
(b) is, or is acting as, a member of such an authority or is a deputy of such a member,
shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be employed by that authority, and his employment shall, for those purposes, be deemed to be constituted by his performance of the duties of the authority, his duties as such a member or person acting as such a member or his duties as such a deputy, as the case may be.
(4.) A person who is ordinarily engaged for employment at a prearranged place at which employers engage persons for employment and whose last employer under an engagement at that place was the Commonwealth or a prescribed authority of the Commonwealth shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be employed by the Commonwealth or that authority, as the case may be, until he is next engaged under such
an engagement, and his employment shall, for those purposes, be deemed to be constituted by his attendance at that place for the purpose of seeking such an engagement, but this sub-section does not operate to render the Commonwealth liable to pay compensation in respect of an injury to an employee sustained during an
This is an opening excerpt, not the complete document.