The phrase 'independent trade or business' in cl 9(2) of sch 1 to the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic) refers to a contractor's trade or business which is not subject to control or subordination by the principal and which does not depend on the principal for its existence in the relevant period. The inquiry is not whether the contractual arrangement has an anti-avoidance purpose, nor whether the arrangement is explicable by legitimate commercial concerns. The onus lies on the person seeking to rely on the exemption. A contractor that works exclusively for one principal, is subject to very considerable control over the manner of its business, and does not present itself to the outside world as having any independent existence, will not satisfy the exception even if the contract does not formally mandate exclusivity and the contractor owns its own equipment and is registered for GST.
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