Forests (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Regulations 2022
S.R. No. 76/2022
Version as at
14 September 2022
TABLE OF PROVISIONS
Regulation Page
Part 1—Preliminary 1
1 Objective 1
2 Authorising provision 1
3 Commencement 1
4 Definitions 2
Part 2—Application for special consideration 3
5 Manner and form of application for special consideration 3
Part 3—Advisory committee 4
6 Establishment of the advisory committee 4
7 Members of the advisory committee 4
8 Terms and conditions of appointment of a member 4
9 Appointment of chairperson and deputy chairperson 5
10 Acting appointments 5
11 Resignation of members 7
12 Removal of members of advisory committee 7
13 Request for expert opinion from the advisory committee 7
14 Duty to declare conflict of interest 8
15 Expert opinions 9
16 Administrative support 10
17 Confidentiality 10
18 Procedures of the advisory committee 11
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Endnotes 12
1 General information 12
2 Table of Amendments 14
3 Explanatory details 15
Version No.001
Forests (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Regulations 2022
S.R. No. 76/2022
Version as at
14 September 2022
Part 1—Preliminary
1 Objective
The objective of these Regulations is to support the forest firefighters presumptive rights compensation scheme in the Forests Act 1958 by prescribing—
(a) the manner and form of an application for special consideration made under section 72N of the Act; and
(b) the membership of, and other matters relating to, the establishment of the advisory committee under section 72R of the Act; and
(c) the form and process of providing an expert opinion to the Authority or a self-insurer under sections 72G, 72J and 72O of the Act.
2 Authorising provision
These Regulations are made under section 100C of the .
Forests Act 1958
3 Commencement
These Regulations come into operation on 14 September 2022.
4 Definitions
In these Regulations—
application for special consideration means an application under section 72N of the Act;
expert opinion means an opinion provided by the advisory committee under section 72G, 72J or 72O of the Act;
the Act means the Forests Act 1958.
Part 2—Application for special consideration
5 Manner and form of application for special consideration
For the purposes of section 72N of the Act, an application for special consideration is in the prescribed manner and form if—
(a) it is made in writing; and
(b) it includes any relevant supporting information.
Part 3—Advisory committee
6 Establishment of the advisory committee
For the purposes of section 72R of the Act, the Minister must establish the advisory committee in accordance with this Part.
7 Members of the advisory committee
(1) The Minister, by instrument, must appoint at least 3, and no more than 15, eligible persons to be members of the advisory committee.
(2) A person is eligible to be appointed as a member if—
(a) the Minister is satisfied that the person is able to make an informed and independent assessment of the matters to be considered by the advisory committee; and
(b) the person has significant and substantial expertise and experience in at least one of the following—
(i) as a forest firefighter, in firefighting, fire management or another field directly relevant to fire;
(ii) the scientific research on the relationship between firefighters' occupational exposure and cancers;
(iii) Australian law, public administration or other relevant field.
8 Terms and conditions of appointment of a member
(1) The term of an appointment of a member of the advisory committee is as specified in the instrument of appointment but must not be longer than 3 years.
(2) A member's instrument of appointment must specify—
(a) the terms and conditions of the member's appointment; and
(b) the remuneration (if any) and reimbursements for expenses to which the member is entitled.
(3) A member is eligible for reappointment.
9 Appointment of chairperson and deputy chairperson
(1) The Minister, by instrument, must appoint a member to be the chairperson of the advisory committee.
(2) The Minister, by instrument, must appoint a member to be the deputy chairperson of the advisory committee.
10 Acting appointments
(1) The deputy chairperson must act as chairperson—
(a) if the office of chairperson is vacant; or
(b) during any period when the chairperson is absent; or
(c) if the chairperson declares that they have a conflict of interest in relation to a request for an expert opinion referred to in regulation 13(1); or
(d) if the chairperson is, for any other reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
(2) The chairperson may nominate a member of the advisory committee to act as deputy chairperson—
(a) if the office of deputy chairperson is vacant; or
(b) during any period when the deputy chairperson is absent; or
(c) during any period when the deputy chairperson is acting as chairperson; or
(d) if the deputy chairperson is, for any other reason, unable to perform the duties of the office.
(3) If the chairperson and the deputy chairperson are, for any reason, unable to perform the functions and duties of the chairperson—
(a) the chairperson (including any acting chairperson) must nominate a member to act as chairperson during the period in which the chairperson and deputy chairperson are unable to perform the functions and duties of chairperson; or
(b) if the chairperson (including any acting chairperson) is unable to make a nomination under paragraph (a), the Minister must nominate a member of the advisory committee to act as chairperson during the period in which the chairperson and deputy chairperson are unable to perform the functions and duties of chairperson.
(4) A member of the advisory committee acting as chairperson—
(a) has and may exercise all the powers, and must perform all the functions and duties, of the chairperson; and
(b) is entitled to be paid the remuneration and reimbursement for expenses to which the chairperson would have been entitled.
(5) A member of the advisory committee acting as deputy chairperson—
(a) has and may exercise all the powers, and must perform all the functions and duties, of the deputy chairperson; and
(b) is entitled to be paid the remuneration and reimbursement of expenses to which the deputy chairperson would have been entitled.
11 Resignation of members
(1) A member may resign by giving written notice to the Minister.
(2) A resignation under subregulation (1) takes effect—
(a) on the day the notice is received by the Minister; or
(b) if a later date is specified in the notice, on that later date.
12 Removal of members of advisory committee
The Minister may remove a member of the advisory committee at any time.
13 Request for expert opinion from the advisory committee
(1) After a request for an expert opinion has been made under section 72G, 72J or 72O of the Act, the chairperson must, as soon as reasonably practicable—
(a) nominate 3 members that will provide an expert opinion in accordance with regulation 15; and
(b) provide the nominated members with the documents received from the Authority or a self-insurer that are relevant to the request.
(2) For the purposes of subregulation (1)(a), the chairperson may nominate themselves as a member for the purpose of providing an expert opinion.
(3) Taking into account the nature of the request for an expert opinion and to the extent reasonably practicable, the chairperson's nomination of advisory committee members is to represent the fields specified in regulation 7(2) which have the most relevance to the request for an expert opinion.
14 Duty to declare conflict of interest
(1) Before nominating any members under regulation 13(1)(a), the chairperson must declare any conflict of interest they may have in relation to a request for an expert opinion referred to in regulation 13(1) to the Minister.
Note
See regulation 10(1)(c)—deputy chairperson to act as chairperson if chairperson declares a conflict of interest.
(2) If the chairperson and deputy chairperson have declared a conflict of interest, or the deputy chairperson is unavailable for another reason, the chairperson must nominate another member of the advisory committee to act as chairperson for the purposes of regulation 13(1)(a).
(3) Before considering a request for an expert opinion, each member nominated under regulation 13(1)(a) must declare any conflict of interest they may have in relation to the request to the chairperson.
(4) The chairperson must nominate an alternate member under regulation 13(1)(a) if the chairperson receives a declaration from a nominated member under subregulation (3) that prevents them from providing an expert opinion on the request.
15 Expert opinions
(1) Subject to regulation 17, members nominated under regulation 13(1)(a) for the purpose of providing an expert opinion—
(a) must, as far as reasonably practicable, provide the forest firefighter with an opportunity to provide information that is relevant to the request for an expert opinion; and
(b) may seek advice or information from other persons, including the forest firefighter, the Authority or a self-insurer and the relevant fire services agency; and
(c) may inform themselves on any matter relevant to the request as they see fit.
(2) The advisory committee is not bound by any advice or information received under subregulation (1).
(3) An expert opinion must be signed by at least 2 of the 3 members nominated under regulation 13(1)(a).
(4) The advisory committee must provide an expert opinion and the reasons for the opinion to the Authority or a self-insurer—
(a) in the case of a request under section 72G or 72J of the Act, within 10 days after receiving a request from the Authority or the self‑insurer; or
(b) in the case of an application for special consideration, within 60 days after the application is forwarded to the committee from the Authority or the self-insurer.
(5) The expert opinion provided under subregulation (4) must be in the form approved by the Authority or a self-insurer.
(6) Following the determination of their claim under the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013, the forest firefighter may request a copy of the expert opinion and the reasons for the expert opinion provided under subregulation (4).
(7) If the forest firefighter makes a request under subregulation (6), the Authority or a self-insurer must provide them with a copy of the expert opinion and the reasons for the expert opinion within 7 days from the date the request is received by the Authority or a self-insurer.
16 Administrative support
The Authority or a self-insurer must provide the advisory committee with any necessary administrative support on the request of the chairperson.
17 Confidentiality
(1) Materials and information provided to the advisory committee in the course of carrying out its functions must be treated as confidential.
(2) If the advisory committee considers that it is appropriate to distribute materials or information to another person under regulation 15(1), the advisory committee is responsible for managing confidentiality of the materials and information.
(3) This regulation does not derogate from the obligations of the advisory committee under the Privacy and Data Protection Act 2014.
18 Procedures of the advisory committee
(1) Subject to these Regulations, the Minister may—
(a) direct the chairperson to make rules with respect to the procedures of the advisory committee; and
(b) direct the chairperson with respect to the form and content of the rules of the advisory committee.
(2) The chairperson must comply with any direction given under subregulation (1).
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Endnotes
1 General information
See www.legislation.vic.gov.au for Victorian Bills, Acts and current Versions of legislation and up-to-date legislative information.
The Forests (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Regulations 2022, S.R. No. 76/2022 were made on 6 September 2022 by the Governor in Council under section 100C of the Forests Act 1958, No. 6254/1958 and came into operation on 14 September 2022: regulation 3.
The Forests (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Regulations 2022 will sunset 10 years after the day of making on 6 September 2032 (see section 5 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994).
INTERPRETATION OF LEGISLATION ACT 1984 (ILA)
Style changes
Section 54A of the ILA authorises the making of the style changes set out in Schedule 1 to that Act.
References to ILA s. 39B
Sidenotes which cite ILA s. 39B refer to section 39B of the ILA which provides that where an undivided regulation, rule or clause of a Schedule is amended by the insertion of one or more subregulations, subrules or subclauses the original regulation, rule or clause becomes subregulation, subrule or subclause (1) and is amended by the insertion of the expression "(1)" at the beginning of the original regulation, rule or clause.
Interpretation
As from 1 January 2001, amendments to section 36 of the ILA have the following effects:
• Headings
All headings included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any heading inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
This includes headings to Parts, Divisions or Subdivisions in a Schedule; Orders; Parts into which an Order is divided; clauses; regulations; rules; items; tables; columns; examples; diagrams; notes or forms.
See section 36(1A)(2A)(2B).
• Examples, diagrams or notes
All examples, diagrams or notes included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after 1 January 2001 form part of that Statutory Rule. Any examples, diagrams or notes inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, form part of that Statutory Rule. See section 36(3A).
• Punctuation
All punctuation included in a Statutory Rule which is made on or after
1 January 2001 forms part of that Statutory Rule. Any punctuation inserted in a Statutory Rule which was made before 1 January 2001, by a Statutory Rule made on or after 1 January 2001, forms part of that Statutory Rule.
See section 36(3B).
• Provision numbers
All provision numbers included in a Statutory Rule form part of that Statutory Rule, whether inserted in the Statutory Rule before, on or after
1 January 2001. Provision numbers include regulation numbers, rule numbers, subregulation numbers, subrule numbers, paragraphs and subparagraphs. See section 36(3C).
• Location of "legislative items"
A "legislative item" is a penalty, an example or a note. As from 13 October 2004, a legislative item relating to a provision of a Statutory Rule is taken to be at the foot of that provision even if it is preceded or followed by another legislative item that relates to that provision. For example, if a penalty at the foot of a provision is followed by a note, both of these legislative items will be regarded as being at the foot of that provision. See section 36B.
• Other material
Any explanatory memorandum, table of provisions, endnotes, index and other material printed after the Endnotes does not form part of a Statutory Rule. See section 36(3)(3D)(3E).
2 Table of Amendments
There are no amendments made to the Forests (Forest Firefighters Presumptive Rights Compensation) Regulations 2022 by statutory rules, subordinate instruments and Acts.