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Workers Compensation Act 1951
29Compensation for disease
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29 Compensation for disease
(1) Any employment in which a worker who has contracted a disease was
engaged at any time before symptoms of the disease first became
apparent is, unless the contrary is established, taken for this Act to
have been a substantial contributing factor to the worker’s contracting
the disease if the incidence of the disease among people who have
engaged in that kind of employment is significantly greater than the
incidence of the disease among people who have engaged in
employment generally in the place where the worker was ordinarily
employed.
(2) Any employment in which a worker who has suffered an aggravation,
acceleration or recurrence of a disease was engaged at any time before
symptoms of the aggravation, acceleration or recurrence first became
apparent is, unless the contrary is established, taken for this Act to
have been a substantial contributing factor to the aggravation,
acceleration or recurrence if the incidence of the aggravation,
acceleration or recurrence of the disease among people suffering from
the disease who have engaged in that kind of employment is
significantly greater than the incidence of the aggravation,
acceleration or recurrence of the disease among people suffering from
the disease who have engaged in employment generally in the place
where the worker was ordinarily employed.
(3) The death of a worker is taken for this Act to have been substantially
contributed to by a disease if, apart from that disease, the death of the
worker would have happened at a significantly later time.
(4) An incapacity for work or facial disfigurement of a worker is taken
for this Act to have been substantially contributed to by a disease if,
apart from the disease—
(a) the incapacity or disfigurement would not have happened; or
(b) the incapacity would have begun, or the disfigurement would
have happened, at a significantly later time; or
(c) the extent of the incapacity or disfigurement would have been
significantly less.
(5) This section does not limit the operation of section 27.