Workers Compensation Act 1951

The DI fund must meet the cost of compensation payable to an injured worker for an injury that is an imminently fatal asbestos‑related disease.

If the DI fund pays compensation to an injured worker for an injury that is an imminently fatal asbestos‑related disease the DI fund is entitled to recover a recoverable amount from any of the following (a liable party) whether located in or outside the ACT:

a current or former employer of the injured worker if the disease was contracted, aggravated, accelerated, or the disease recurred, when the worker was engaged by the employer;

an entity liable in tort for the injury;

an insurer for an employer mentioned in paragraph (a) or an entity mentioned in paragraph (b).

For subsection (2), the recoverable amount is the proportion of the total amount the DI Fund has paid to the injured worker as compensation for the injury for which the liable party is responsible, determined by—

written agreement between the DI fund manager and the liable party; or

arbitration.

A recoverable amount payable by a liable party is a debt owing by the liable party to the DI fund.

An amount owing under a law may be recovered as a debt in a court of competent jurisdiction or the ACAT (see Legislation Act, s 177).