18. The person injured shall be bound, if the employer requires him so to do, in writing, to submit to an examination by a practicing physician chosen and paid by the employer, and if he refuses to submit to such examination or opposes the same in any way, his right to compensation as well as any remedy to enforce the same shall be suspended until the examination takes place. The person injured, shall, in such case, always be entitled to demand that the examination shall take place in the presence of a physician chosen by him.

19. Every agreement contrary to the provisions of this act shall be absolutely null.

SECTION III.-Security.

20. The claim of the person injured or of his representatives, for medical and funeral expenses, as well as for compensation allowed for temporary incapacity to work, shall be secured by privilege on the movable and immovable property of the employer, ranking concurrently with the claim mentioned in paragraph 9 of article 1994 of the Civil Code.

Payment of compensation for permanent incapacity to work, or in respect of an accident followed by death, shall so long as the compensation has not been paid, or so long as the sum necessary to procure the required rent has not been paid to an insurance company or otherwise paid in virtue of this act, be secured by a privilege upon movable property of the same nature and rank, and by a privilege upon immovable property ranking after other privileges, and after hypothecs.

SECTION IV.-Procedure.

21. The superior court and the circuit court shall have jurisdiction of every action or contestation in virtue of this act, in accordance with the jurisdiction given to them respectively, by the Code of Civil Procedure.

22. Review and appeal of or from judgments susceptible thereof, shall be taken within fifteen days from the rendering of such judgments, and if not so taken the right thereto shall lapse. Such appeals shall have precedence.

23. The court or judge may, upon petition, at any stage of the case, whether before judgment or while an appeal is pending, grant a provisional daily allowance to the person injured or to his representatives.

24. There shall be no trial by jury in any action taken in virtue of this act, but the proceedings shall be summary, and shall be subject to the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure respecting such matters.

25. The action to recover any compensation to which this act applies shall, as against all persons, be subject to a prescription of one year.

26. A demand to revise the amount of the compensation, based on the alleged aggravation or diminution of the disability of the person injured, may be taken during the four years next after the date of the agreement of the parties as to such compensation, or next after that of the final judgment. Such demand shall be in the form of an action at law.

27. Before having recourse to the provisions of this act, the workman must be authorized thereto by a judge of the superior court upon petition served upon the employer. The judge shall grant such petition without the hearing of evidence or the taking of affidavits, but may before granting the same use such means as he may think useful to bring about an understanding between the parties. If they agree, he may render judgment in accordance with such agreement, upon the petition, and such judgment shall have the same effect as a final judgment of a competent court. 28. This act shall come into force on the first day of January, 1910, and shall not apply to pending cases nor to accidents which have happened before it came into force.

QUEENSLAND.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT, 1905. (a)

1. This act may be cited as "The Workers' Compensation Act of 1905," and shall commence and take effect on and from the thirty-first day of March, one thousand nine hundred and six.

2. In this act, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the meanings set against them, respectively, that is to say:

"Dependants"-Such members of the worker's family, that is to say, -the wife, husband, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, stepson, stepdaughter, brother, sister, halfbrother, half-sister, illegitimate son, and illegitimate daughter, as were wholly or in part dependent upon the earnings of the worker at the time of his death, and as are resident in the Commonwealth of Australia or New Zealand;

"Employer" includes persons, firms, companies, and corporations employing workers, and the legal personal representatives of a deceased employer;

"Medical Referee"-A duly qualified medical practitioner appointed by the Governor in Council for the purposes of this act;

"Regulations"-Regulations made under the authority of this act;

"Worker" includes any person of any age or either sex who, under contract with an employer, whether made before or after the commencement of this act, and whether oral or in writing, express or implied, is engaged in any employment to which this act applies, and whether his agreement is one of service or apprenticeship or otherwise, and whether the employment is on land, or on any ship or other vessel of whatsoever kind and howsoever propelled in any navigable or other waters within Queensland or the jurisdiction thereof. Any reference in this act to a worker who has been injured shall, where the worker is dead, include a reference to his legal personal representative or to his dependants, or other person to whom or for whose benefit compensation is payable.

3. This act shall apply only to employment by the employer on, in, or about(1) Any industrial, commercial, manufacturing, or building work carried on by or on behalf of the employer as part of his trade or business; or

(2) Any agricultural, horticultural, or pastoral work carried on by or on behalf of the employer as part of his trade or business; or

(3) Any mining, quarrying, engineering, or hazardous work carried on by or on behalf of the employer as part of his trade or business or as an investment with a view to profit; or

(4) Any work carried on by or on behalf of the Government of Queensland or any local authority as the employer, if the work would, in the case of a private employer, be an employment to which this act applies:

Provided that all sums payable under this act by or on behalf of the Government of Queensland shall be payable out of moneys to be appropriated by Parliament.

4. (1) If, in any employment to which this act applies, personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment is caused to a worker, his employer shall, subject as hereinafter mentioned, be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the schedule to this act.

(2) The employer shall not be liable under this act in respect of any injury which(i) Does not disable the worker for a period of at least two weeks from earning full wages at the work at which he was employed; or

(ii) Is directly attributable to the serious and wilful misconduct of the worker injured; or

(iii) Occurs to a worker whilst proceeding to or from his place of work.

5. (1) If any question arises in any proceedings under this act as to the liability to pay compensation under this act (including any question as to whether the employment is one to which this act applies), or as to the amount or duration of compensation under this act, the question, if not settled by agreement, shall, subject to the provisions of the schedule to this act, be heard and determined by a police magistrate, whose decision shall, subject to the next succeeding subsection, be final, and who

• Acts of Parliament of Queensland, 5 Edward VII, 1905, pp. 8943-8955.

may grant such costs as in his opinion are just and reasonable, which costs shall in no case exceed the limit prescribed by the regulations.

(2) Either party to the proceedings may

(a) Where the claim does not exceed fifty pounds [$243.33], with the leave of the magistrate; or

(b) Where the claim exceeds fifty pounds [$243.33], without such leave appeal from the decision of the police magistrate on any point of law.

(3) Such appeal shall be made to the supreme court by way of special case in manner provided by "The Justices Act of 1866" with respect to appeals from the decisions of justices, and the provisions of that act relating to such appeals shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to appeals under this section.

6. (1) Nothing in this act shall affect any liability of an employer under the Employers' Liability or Factory Acts, or any act affecting seamen, or at common law. (2) The worker may, at his option, either claim compensation under this act or take such proceedings as are open to him independently of this act:

Provided that, if a worker is unsuccessful in obtaining compensation under this act, he shall not be debarred from taking such proceedings as are open to him under the Employers' Liability or Factory Acts, or any act affecting seamen, but not other

wise:

Provided further that the employer shall not be liable to pay both damages independently of this act and also compensation under this act, and shall not be liable to pay damages independently of this act except in cases where his liability exists independently of this act.

7. If, within the time hereinafter in this act limited for taking proceedings under this act, an action is brought to recover damages independently of this act for injury caused by any accident, and it is determined in such action that the injury is one for which the employer is not liable in such action, but that he would have been liable to pay compensation under the provisions of this act, the action shall be dismissed; but the court in which the action is tried shall, if the plaintiff or defendant shall so choose, proceed to assess such compensation, and shall, unless good cause to the contrary is shown, deduct from such compensation all the costs which in its opinion have been caused by the plaintiff bringing the action instead of taking proceedings under this act, and shall enter judgment accordingly.

8. When the injury for which compensation is payable under this act was caused under circumstances creating a legal liability in some person other than the employer to pay damages in respect thereof

(1) The worker may take proceedings both against that person to recover damages and against any person liable to pay compensation under this act for such compensation, but shall not be entitled to recover both damages and compensation; and

(2) If the worker has recovered compensation under this act, the person by whom the compensation was paid, and any person who has been called on to pay an indemnity under section ten of this act, shall be entitled to be indemnified by the person so liable to pay damages as aforesaid.

9. (1) Proceedings for the recovery of compensation under this act shall not, without the leave of a police magistrate, be maintainable unless

(a) Notice in writing of the injury is given as soon as practicable, not being later than fourteen days after the happening thereof; and

(b) A claim for compensation in respect of the injury is made in writing within two months after the happening thereof, or in the case of death within six months from the time of death; and

(c) Proceedings to enforce the claim are commenced not less than twenty-eight days nor more than three months after the claim for compensation has been made. Applications for such leave shall be made and heard in accordance with the regulations, and the leave may be refused or granted either unconditionally or subject to such terms as to costs or otherwise as the police magistrate thinks fit.

Any defect or inaccuracy in the notice shall not be a bar to the maintenance of proceedings if it is found in the proceedings that the employer is not prejudiced in his defence by the defect or inaccuracy, or that the defect or inaccuracy was occasioned by mistake or other reasonable cause.

(2) Notice in respect of an injury under this act shall give the name and address of the person injured, and shall state in ordinary language the cause of the injury where known and the date on which it was sustained, and the notice and claim shall be served on the employer.

(3) The notice or claim may be served by delivering the same to or at the residence or place of business of the person on whom it is to be served, or may be sent by post by a letter addressed to such person at his last known place of residence or place of business.

(4) If there is more than one employer, service on one shall be deemed sufficient.

(5) A notice or claim served by post shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the letter containing the same would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post. In proving the service of such notice or claim, it shall be sufficient to prove that the notice or claim was properly addressed and posted.

(6) Where the employer is a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, the notice or claim may also be served by delivering the same at or by sending it by post in a letter, addressed to the employer at the office, or, if there is more than one office, any one of the offices of such body.

(7) Where the employer is the Government of Queensland, the notice shall be served on the crown solicitor at Brisbane or Townsville, as the case may be, or on the manager for the time being of the work upon which the worker is employed.

10. In any case where any person (hereinafter called the "principal") contracts with any other person (hereinafter called the "contractor") for the execution of any work by or under the contractor, and the contractor employs any worker thereon, the following provisions shall apply:—

(1) Both the principal and the contractor shall be deemed to be employers of the worker, and shall be jointly and severally liable to pay to the worker any compensation which the contractor if he were the sole employer would be liable to pay under this act;

(2) The principal shall be entitled to be indemnified by the contractor against the principal's liability under this section;

(3) The principal shall not be liable under this section except in cases where the work to be executed under the contract, and in which the worker is employed, is directly a part of or a process in the trade or business of the principal;

Provided that his liability shall be presumed until the contrary is shown;

(4) In the case of subcontracts, the expression "principal" shall extend to and include not only the original principal, but also each contractor who constitutes himself a principal with respect to a subcontractor by contracting with him for the execution by him of the whole or any part of the work; and the expression "contractor" shall extend to and include not only the original contractor, but also each subcon

tractor:

Provided that each principal's right of indemnity shall be a right over against every contractor standing between him and the contractor by whom the worker was employed at the time when the accident occurred, and including such last-mentioned contractor. (5) The mode in which any right of indemnification arising under this act may be enforced may be prescribed by regulations.

11. Where any employer becomes liable under this act to pay compensation in respect of any injury, and is entitled to any sum from insurers in respect of the amount due under such liability to a worker, then in the event of the employer becoming insolvent or making a composition or arrangement with his creditors, or, if the employer is a company, of the company having commenced to be wound up, such worker shall have a first charge upon the sum aforesaid for the amount so due. The mode in which such charge may be enforced may be prescribed by regulations.

12. (1) If the governor in council, after taking steps to ascertain the views of the employer and workmen, certifies that any scheme of compensation, benefit, or insurance for the workmen of an employer in any employment, whether or not such scheme includes other employes and their workmen, is on the whole not less favorable to the general body of workmen and their dependants than the provisions of this act, the employer may, until the certificate is revoked, contract with any of those workmen that the provisions of the scheme shall be substituted for the provisions of this act, and thereupon the employer shall be liable only in accordance with the scheme. But, save as aforesaid, this act shall apply, notwithstanding any contract to the contrary made after the commencement of this act.

(2) The governor in council may give a certificate to expire at the end of a limited period not less than five years.

(3) No scheme shall be so certified which contains an obligation upon the workmen to join the scheme as a condition of their hiring.

(4) If complaint is made to the governor in council by or on behalf of the workmen of any employer that—

(i) The provisions of any scheme are no longer on the whole so favorable to the general body of workmen of such employer and their dependants as the provisions of this act; or

(ii) The provisions of such scheme are being violated; or

(iii) The scheme is not being fairly administered; or

(iv) Satisfactory reasons exist for revoking the certificate; the governor in council, if satisfied that good cause exists for such complaint, shall, unless the cause of complaint is removed, revoke the certificate.

(5) When a certificate is revoked or expires, any moneys or securities held for the purpose of the scheme shall be distributed as may be arranged between the employer and workmen, or as may be determined by the governor in council in the event of a difference of opinion.

(6) Whenever a scheme has been certified as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of the employer to answer all such inquiries and to furnish all such accounts in regard to the scheme as may be made or required by the governor in council.

13. Any contract existing at the commencement of this act whereby a worker relinquishes any right to compensation from the employer for personal injury by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment shall on the commencement of this act be determined.

14. From and after the commencement of this act, it shall not be lawful for any employer or any person on his behalf, or for any insurance company or any person on its behalf, to directly or indirectly take or receive any money from any worker, whether by way of deduction from wages or otherwise howsoever, in respect of any liability of an employer to pay compensation under this act or damages independently of this act.

All money so taken or received as aforesaid from any worker, whether with the consent of such worker or not, may by him be recovered back as a debt from the employer, company, or person who took or received it.

15. The governor in council may from time to time make all such regulations as he deems necessary in order to give full effect to the provisions and intention of this act. Regulations made in pursuance of this act shall be published in the Gazette, and shall thereupon have the same effect as if they were enacted in this act, and their validity shall not be questioned in or by any court.

Any regulations made in pursuance of this act shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament.

If either House of Parliament, within the next forty days after any regulations have been so laid before such House, resolves that such regulations or any of them ought to be annulled, the same shall, after the date of such resolution, be of no effect.

SCHEDULE.

Scale and conditions of compensation.

1. The amount of compensation under this act shall be (A) Where death results from the injury—

(i) If the worker leaves any dependants wholly dependent upon his earnings at the time of his death, a sum equal to his earnings in the employment of the same employer during the three years next preceding the injury, or the sum of two hundred pounds [$973.30], whichever of those sums is the larger, but not exceeding in any case four hundred pounds [$1,946.60], provided that the amount of any weekly payments made under this act shall be deducted from such sum; and if the period of the worker's employment under the said employer has been less than the said three years, then the amount of his earnings during the said three years shall be deemed to be one hundred and fifty-six times his average weekly earnings during the period of his actual employment under the said employer:

(ii) If the worker does not leave any such dependants, but leaves any dependants in part dependent upon his earnings at the time of his death, such sum, not exceeding in any case the amount payable under the foregoing provisions, as may be agreed upon, or, in default of agreement, may be determined, by a police magistrate under this act, to be reasonable and proportionate to the injury to the said dependants; and

(iii) If he leaves no dependants, the reasonable expenses of his medical attendance and burial not exceeding thirty pounds [$146]: Provided the same are not payable by a lodge or other provident society.

(B) (i) Where total or partial incapacity for work results from the injury, a weekly payment during the incapacity after the second week not exceeding fifty per centum of his average weekly earnings during the previous twelve months, if he has been so long employed, but if not, then for any less period during which he has been in the employment of the same employer, but such weekly payment shall not exceed one pound [$4.87], and the total liability of the employer in respect thereof shall not exceed four hundred pounds [$1,946.60]:

Provided that

(a) In the case of a worker whom his employer has reasonable cause to believe to be over sixty years of age, and who has entered into an agreement in writing with his employer as to the maximum amount of compensation to be payable to him under this act in respect of accidents happening after the date of the agreement, the compensation shall not exceed that maximim, but the maximum shall not be less

(i) Where death results from the injury, and the worker leaves any dependants, than fifty pounds [$243.33];