19Public interest voluntary workers

19 Public interest voluntary workers (1) The Minister may make a declaration for this section in relation to work (public interest voluntary work) undertaken for a stated entity if the Minister considers that making the declaration is necessary or desirable in the public interest. As noted in section 18 (1), example 2, the volunteer marshals for the annual Big Splash event described in that example would not be ‘commercial volunteers’ to whom section 18 applies. Therefore, apart from section 19, they would not be taken to be workers for this Act (see s 17A (Volunteers)). The club promoting the event would therefore not normally be required to take out compulsory workers compensation insurance under this Act to cover the work of the marshals. However, the Big Splash is potentially very dangerous for the volunteer marshals, as they must be present in their own boats on Lake Burley Griffin while the participants perform difficult stunts in motorboats and jet skis at high speed nearby. In previous years, volunteer marshals have been seriously injured at the event, and the Minister considers that the club did not take out adequate insurance cover for the work of the marshals. Taking these matters into account, the Minister may consider that it is necessary or desirable in the public interest that the work of the volunteer marshals be declared to be public interest voluntary work for this section. (2) For this Act, an individual is taken to be a worker employed by the entity stated in the declaration, or a person (the principal) named in the declaration on behalf of the entity, if the individual— (a) performs public interest voluntary work for the entity or the principal; and (b) receives no payment for the work (apart from any payment for expenses). (3) A declaration under this section is a disallowable instrument.