Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) If:
(a) an insurer is liable, under a contract of insurance, to indemnify a compensation payer against any liability arising from a person's claim for compensation in respect of the person's lost earnings or lost capacity to earn; and
(b) the person receives or claims a compensation affected pension for a day or days in the periodic payments period or the lump sum preclusion period; and
the Commission may give written notice to the insurer that the Commission proposes to recover the amount specified in the notice from the insurer.
(2) If an insurer is given notice under subsection (1), the insurer is liable to pay to the Commonwealth the amount specified in the notice.
(3) The amount specified in the notice is the recoverable amount and is worked out under subsections (4), (5) and (5AA), unless subsection (5A) applies in which case it is worked out under subsection (5A) instead.
(4) If:
(a) the person claiming compensation is not a member of a couple; or
(b) the person claiming compensation is a member of a couple and the person's partner neither receives nor claims:
(i) a compensation affected pension; or
(ii) a compensation affected payment (under the Social Security Act);
for any day or days in the periodic payments period or the lump sum preclusion period;
the recoverable amount is equal to the smallest of the following amounts:
(c) the difference between:
(i) the sum of the payments of compensation affected pension made to the person for a day or days in the periodic payments period or the lump sum preclusion period; and
(ii) the sum of the payments of compensation affected pension that would have been made to the person for any such day or days had those payments been made at the rate to which the payments were reduced as a result of the operation of subsection 59T(1);
(d) the compensation part of the lump sum payment or the sum of the amounts of the periodic compensation payments;
(e) the maximum amount for which the insurer is liable to indemnify the compensation payer in relation to the matter at any time after receiving:
(i) a preliminary notice under section 59ZE in relation to the matter; or
(ii) if the insurer has not received a preliminary notice--the recovery notice under this section in relation to the matter.
(5) If:
(a) the person claiming compensation is a member of a couple; and
(b) the person's partner receives or is eligible for a compensation affected pension, or a compensation affected payment (under the Social Security Act), for a day or days in:
(i) unless subparagraph (ii) applies--the periodic payments period in respect of the compensation; or
(ii) if the compensation is lump sum compensation for which payment is received by the person or the person's partner before 20 March 1997--the lump sum preclusion period;
the recoverable amount is equal to the smallest of the following amounts:
(c) the difference between:
(i) the sum of the payments of compensation affected pension, and of compensation affected payments under the Social Security Act, made to the person and the person's partner for a day or days in the periodic payments period or the lump sum preclusion period; and
(ii) the sum of the payments of compensation affected pension, and of compensation affected payments under the Social Security Act, that would have been made to the person and the person's partner for any such day or days had those payments been made at the rate to which the payments were reduced as a result of the operation of subsection 59T(1) and section 59TA;
(d) the compensation part of the lump sum payment or the sum of the amount of the periodic compensation payments;
(e) the maximum amount for which the insurer is liable to indemnify the compensation payer in relation to the matter at any time after receiving:
(i) a preliminary notice under section 59ZE in relation to the matter; or
(ii) if the insurer has not received a preliminary notice--the recovery notice under this section in relation to the matter.
(5AA) If:
(a) the person claiming compensation is a member of a couple; and
(b) the person's partner receives or is eligible for a compensation affected pension, or a compensation affected payment (under the Social Security Act), for a day or days in the lump sum preclusion period in respect of lump sum compensation received by the person on or after 20 March 1997;
the recoverable amount is equal to the smallest of the following amounts:
(c) the sum of all the payments of compensation affected pension made to the person for the lump sum preclusion period;
(d) the compensation part of the lump sum payment;
(e) the maximum amount for which the insurer is liable to indemnify the compensation payer in relation to the matter at any time after receiving:
(i) a preliminary notice under section 59ZE in relation to the matter; or
(ii) if the insurer has not received a preliminary notice--the recovery notice under this section in relation to the matter.
(5A) If:
(a) at the time of the event that gave rise to the entitlement of a person to compensation, the person was receiving a compensation affected pension; and
(b) the person or the person's partner is eligible for a compensation affected pension for a day or days in the periodic payments period;
the recoverable amount is the amount determined by the Commission to be the total amount by which the person's, or the person's partner's, compensation affected pension for a day or days in the periodic payments period would have been reduced, because of point SCH6 - E4 (payment of arrears of periodic compensation payments), if a determination had been made under section 56D, 56E, 56EA or 56EB.
(6) A notice under this section must contain a statement of the effect of section 59ZJ so far as it relates to a recovery notice.