The definition of 'worker' in s 3(1) of the Work Health Act (NT) requires an objective inquiry into whether the employer in fact made PAYE tax deductions, not a normative inquiry into whether the employer was legally required to make such deductions under the ITAA. For proviso (a) to the definition of 'P.A.Y.E. taxpayer' to apply (shortness of time), there must have been a prior agreement, tacit or express, that PAYE deductions would be made. In the Northern Territory, Second Reading speeches cannot be used to confirm the ordinary meaning of unambiguous statutory language in the absence of a statutory provision equivalent to s 15AB of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth).
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 2 later cases that cite this judgment.
1 of the 2 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.