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Notes on Clauses
Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Amendment Bill 2013
Clause 1 Short title.
Clause 2 Provides for all provisions in the Act to commence on the day the Act
receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 This clause defines the Motor Accidents (Liabilities and Compensation) Act 1973
as the Principal Act for the purposes of this Bill.
Clause 4 This clause inserts definitions in section 2 of the Act for the purposes of the
amendments to the Principal Act.
Clause 5 This clause provides definitions of a resident of Tasmania and a resident of
another state or territory.
Clause 6 This clause provides that, in cases of a motor accident interstate where a
Tasmanian resident is injured, the Motor Accident Insurance Board is only
required to pay the scheduled benefits under the Act to the extent that they
are not payable under the law of the jurisdiction where the accident occurs.
The clause also provides that the Motor Accidents Insurance Board must pay
medical, disability and counselling benefits in cases where a resident from
another state or territory is very seriously injured arising from a motor
accident in Tasmania that involves an interstate vehicle. The Act currently
requires that benefits are payable by the Board only if such an accident
involves a Tasmanian-registered vehicle.
The Act currently contains provisions relating to motor accidents and
personal injuries, for the purpose of the liability of the Motor Accidents
Insurance Board to pay benefits, for motor accidents that involve a
Tasmanian-registered vehicle. This clause also includes the same provisions
relating to a motor accident that involves an interstate motor vehicle.
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Clause 7 This clause provides that the benefits under the Act are not payable to an
injured person who is a resident of another state or territory if that person
is the driver or owner of an interstate vehicle that is a trail or farm bike or a
beach buggy and, at the time of the motor accident in Tasmania, that vehicle
is not insured for use in the jurisdiction where the vehicle is normally used.
Section 24 of the Act has the equivalent exclusion from benefits for residents
of Tasmania in cases where the Motor Accidents Insurance Board premium
has not been paid for such a vehicle that is normally used in Tasmania.
This clause also provides that the benefits under the Act are not payable to a
person who is resident of another state or territory if the motor accident in
Tasmania involves an interstate vehicle that is not insured for use in the
jurisdiction where it is normally used and that injured person is the owner of
the vehicle, or the driver who knew or ought to have known that the vehicle
is not insured. Under section 24 of the Act, the equivalent exclusion from
benefits applies to residents of Tasmania in cases where the Motor Accidents
Insurance Board premium has not been paid for a vehicle normally used in
Tasmania.
The Act, at section 24, currently provides that certain benefits are not
payable to a person injured in a motor accident if that person is the driver
and not licensed to drive the vehicle involved the accident, but allows for an
exception if the driver licence has been suspended under the Monetary
Penalties Enforcement Act 2005. This clause extends this exception to cover
equivalent legislation to the Monetary Penalties Enforcement Act 2005 in other
states and territories of Australia.
Clause 8 Section 27B of the Act defines a consultant who may prepare a rehabilitation
program for an injured person. This section has a provision relating to
residency requirements. As an earlier section of the Bill contains definitions
of resident, this clause amends this provision by referring to these
definitions.
Clause 9 Section 28C allows the Motor Accidents Insurance Board to recover from
the owner of a motor vehicle the value of benefits paid by the Board to that
person or other injured persons under some circumstances, including if the
Motor Accidents Insurance Board premium has not been paid for the vehicle
involved in the motor accident. This clause amends this section by allowing
the Board to recover the value of benefits paid by the Board to an injured
person arising from an accident in Tasmania involving an interstate vehicle if
that vehicle is not insured in the jurisdiction where it is normally used.
Clause 10 This clause repeals the amendment Act one year after commencement of the
Act.
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