Part 2Remuneration

Part 2—Remuneration Section 4(4) 20 Definition of remuneration (1) Subject to this clause, ***remuneration*** means any wages, remuneration, salary, commission, incentive-based payment, bonus, penalty rate, loading, overtime payment, monetary allowance or shift allowance (whether at piece work rates or otherwise and whether paid or payable in cash or kind) paid to or in relation to a worker and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes but is not limited to the following— (a) wages, remuneration, salary, commission, an incentive-based payment, bonus, penalty rate, loading, overtime rate, monetary allowance, piece rate, shift allowance (however described and whether paid or payable in cash or in kind) and whether paid by or on behalf of the employer or by a person working in concert with, or under an arrangement or understanding (whether formal or informal and whether expressed or implied) with the employer; (b) an amount or payment that, under this Act, is deemed to be remuneration; (c) a fringe benefit; (d) a superannuation benefit, other than a superannuation benefit paid or payable in respect of services performed or rendered by a worker before 1 January 1998; (e) an amount paid or payable by an entity to, or in relation to, a director or member of the governing body of that entity for services rendered by that director or member to the entity. (2) ***Remuneration*** includes an amount that is the fringe benefits taxable amount (within the meaning of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 of the Commonwealth) in respect of benefits provided by an employer to which section 57, 57A or 58 of that Act applies. (3) ***Remuneration*** does not include the following— (a) an amount paid or payable to a person within the meaning of clause 17 engaged by an employer to participate as a contestant in a sporting or athletic activity in respect of the services provided by the person while the person is— (i) participating as a contestant in that sporting or athletic activity; or (ii) engaging in training or preparation with a view to so participating; or (iii) travelling between a place of residence and the place at which the person is so participating or so engaged; (b) an amount paid or payable to an apprentice under a training contract made in accordance with a training scheme that is approved by the Victorian Skills Commission under Part 5.5 of the **Education and Training Reform Act 2006** if the apprentice or training scheme is, or is in a class of apprentices or training schemes declared by the Minister to be, an apprentice or training scheme to which this paragraph applies; (c) an allowance for travel or accommodation paid or payable at a rate in a particular class or class of cases that does not exceed the rate prescribed for that class or classes; (d) an amount that does not exceed the exemption limit in respect of the relevant financial year; (e) any payment of compensation in respect of an injury under this Act, the **Accident Compensation Act 1985** or the **Workers Compensation Act 1958**; (f) in relation to a worker of a class to which an applicable prescribed percentage applies, that applicable prescribed percentage; (g) the exempt component of a motor vehicle allowance paid or payable in respect of a financial year, calculated in accordance with clause 22; (h) an accommodation allowance paid or payable to a worker in respect of a night's absence from the worker's usual place of residence that does not exceed the exempt rate, determined in accordance with clause 23; (i) an amount referred to in clause 10(2). (4) Any wages, remuneration, salary, commission, bonuses or allowances referred to in subclause (1)(a) are deemed to be paid or payable by the employer. (5) A reference to remuneration paid or payable by an employer includes remuneration that is deemed to be paid or payable by the employer. (6) ***Paid***, in relation to wages, remuneration, salary, commission, bonuses or allowances, includes provided, conferred and assigned. 21 Remuneration—value of remuneration comprising fringe benefits The value of remuneration comprising a fringe benefit is to be determined in accordance with the formula— **TV** is the value that would be the taxable value of the benefit as a fringe benefit for the purposes of the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 of the Commonwealth; **FBT rate** is the rate of fringe benefits tax imposed by the Fringe Benefits Tax Assessment Act 1986 of the Commonwealth that applies when the liability to pay premium arises. 22 Remuneration—motor vehicle allowance (1) If the total motor vehicle allowance paid or payable to a worker in respect of a financial year— (a) does not exceed the exempt component, the motor vehicle allowance is not remuneration; and (b) exceeds the exempt component (if any), only that amount that exceeds the exempt component of the motor vehicle allowance is included as remuneration. (2) The ***exempt component*** of a motor vehicle allowance paid or payable in respect of a financial year is calculated in accordance with the formula— **E** is the exempt component; **K** is the number of business kilometres travelled during the financial year; **R** is the exempt rate. (3) Unless subclause (5) applies to an employer, the ***number of business kilometres travelled during the financial year*** ("K") is to be determined in accordance with one of the following methods selected and used by an employer— (a) the continuous recording method or the averaging method under Part 5 of Schedule 1 to the **Payroll Tax Act 2007**; (b) a method approved by the Commissioner of State Revenue under section 29(6) of the **Payroll Tax Act 2007**. (4) The Authority may approve the use, by an employer or class of employer, of another method of determining the number of business kilometres travelled during the financial year (including the use of an estimate). (5) If the Authority approves a method under subclause (4)— (a) the approved method must be published in the Government Gazette; and (b) the employer or class of employers referred to in the approval must determine the number of business kilometres travelled during the financial year in accordance with that approved method. (6) For the purposes of this clause, the ***exempt rate*** for the financial year concerned is— Sch. 1 cl. 22(6)(a) amended by No. 44/2014 s. 24(37). (a) the rate prescribed by the regulations under section 28.25 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997 of the Commonwealth for calculating a deduction for car expenses for a large car using the "cents per kilometre method" in the financial year immediately preceding the financial year in which the allowance is paid or payable; or (b) if no rate referred to in paragraph (a) is prescribed, the rate prescribed by the regulations under section 29(7)(b) of the **Payroll Tax Act 2007**. 23 Remuneration—accommodation allowance (1) If the accommodation allowance paid or payable to a worker in respect of a night's absence from the worker's usual place of residence exceeds the exempt rate, remuneration includes that allowance only to the extent that it exceeds the exempt rate. (2) For the purposes of this clause, the ***exempt rate*** for the financial year concerned is— (a) the total reasonable amount for daily travel allowance expenses using the lowest capital city for the lowest salary band for the financial year determined by the Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth; or (b) if no determination referred to in paragraph (a) is in force, the rate prescribed by the regulations under section 30(3)(b) of the **Payroll Tax Act 2007**. 24 Rateable remuneration (1) ***Rateable remuneration*** means remuneration that is paid or payable by an employer on or after 1 July 2014 in respect of services performed or rendered on or after 1 July 2014 by a worker whose employment is connected with the State of Victoria within the meaning of section 37. (2) If remuneration for a financial year includes a fringe benefit, the amount of the fringe benefit paid or payable in respect of that year that is rateable remuneration is the amount of the fringe benefit paid or payable in respect of the period ending on 31 March in that financial year and beginning on the preceding 1 April. (3) Remuneration that is superannuation benefits that are not paid in respect of services performed or rendered by a worker in a particular month is rateable remuneration as if it were paid or payable in respect of services performed or rendered during the month in which it is paid or became payable. (4) Nothing in subclause (3) applies to render remuneration that is superannuation benefits paid or payable in respect of services performed or rendered by a worker before 1 July 2014 to be rateable remuneration. Part 3—Other interpretation provisions Section 4(5) 25 Significant contributing factor In determining whether a worker's employment was a ***significant contributing factor*** to an injury, the following must be taken into account— (a) the duration of the worker's current employment; (b) the nature of the work performed; (c) the particular tasks of the employment; (d) the probable development of the injury occurring if that employment had not taken place; (e) the existence of any hereditary risks; (f) the life style of the worker; (g) the activities of the worker outside the workplace. 26 Member of a family (1) ***Member of a family***, in relation to a person, means— (a) a partner, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, step-father, step-mother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, step-son, step-daughter, brother, sister, half-brother and half-sister of the person; and (b) any person who stands in the place of a parent in relation to the person. (2) ***Member of a worker's family***, ***member of a share farmer's family*** and ***member of an employer's family*** have the same meaning as ***member of a family*** has in subclause (1). 27 Superannuation benefit (1) ***Superannuation benefit*** means money paid or payable by an employer in respect of a worker— (a) to or as a superannuation fund within the meaning of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 of the Commonwealth; or (b) as a superannuation guarantee charge within the meaning of the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 of the Commonwealth; or (c) to or as any other form of superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme including— (i) a Superannuation Holding Accounts Special Account within the meaning of the Small Superannuation Accounts Act 1995 of the Commonwealth; and (ii) a retirement savings account within the meaning of the Retirement Savings Accounts Act 1997 of the Commonwealth; and (iii) a wholly or partly unfunded fund or scheme. (2) A reference in subclause (1) to a worker includes a reference to any person to whom, by virtue of the definition of ***remuneration***, an amount paid or payable in the circumstances referred to in that definition constitutes remuneration. (3) For the purposes of subclause (1)(c), a superannuation, provident or retirement fund or scheme is unfunded to the extent that money paid or payable by an employer in respect of a worker covered by the fund or scheme is not paid or payable during the worker's period of employment with the employer. See also section 446.