1Purpose
The purpose of this Act is to establish a Back to Work Scheme for the purpose of providing relief to employers in respect of the costs associated with hiring certain unemployed or retrenched workers.
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Bill homepage (legislation.vic.gov.au)The purpose of this Act is to establish a Back to Work Scheme for the purpose of providing relief to employers in respect of the costs associated with hiring certain unemployed or retrenched workers.
This Act comes into operation on 1 July 2015.
In this Act—
authorised investigation—see section 29;
authorised officer means the Commissioner or a person referred to in section 28(2);
Back to Work payment means a payment under the Back to Work Scheme;
Back to Work record means a record required to be kept by a claimant by or under section 20 or 21;
Back to Work Scheme means the scheme established under section 4;
claim means a claim for a Back to Work payment;
claimant means a person who makes or has made a claim;
Commissioner means Commissioner of State Revenue under the Taxation Administration Act 1997;
eligibility criteria means the criteria determined under section 5;
eligible employee means an employee who is determined, or is in a class determined, in accordance with the eligibility criteria to be an eligible employee;
function includes a power, an authority and a duty;
perform a function includes exercise a power;
taxation law has the same meaning as in the Taxation Administration Act 1997.
Part 2—Back to Work Scheme
There is established by this Act a scheme for payments to employers for the purpose of providing relief in respect of the costs associated with hiring certain unemployed or retrenched workers.
The Minister is to determine the criteria governing the eligibility for payments under the Back to Work Scheme.
The Minister must cause notice of the eligibility criteria to be published in the Government Gazette.
A notice under subsection (2) is not a legislative instrument within the meaning of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1994.
The eligibility criteria may impose a cap on the amount of any Back to Work payment and a cap on the number of payments that may be made during any specified period.
Part 3—Claiming Back to Work payments
Division 1—Making a claim
A person may make a claim to the Commissioner for a Back to Work payment in relation to an eligible employee of the person.
A claim—
must be in the form approved by the Commissioner; and
must contain the information required by the Commissioner about the claimant's eligibility for the payment; and
must be made within the time (if any) provided for in the eligibility criteria; and
must comply with any other requirements of the eligibility criteria.
Division 2—Decision on claims
The Commissioner must decide whether a claimant meets the eligibility criteria for a Back to Work payment and, if so, must determine the amount of the payment.
The amount of the payment is to be determined in accordance with the eligibility criteria.
If the Commissioner decides that a claimant meets the eligibility criteria for a Back to Work payment, the Commissioner may authorise the payment.
A Back to Work payment is to be paid by electronic funds transfer or in any other way the Commissioner thinks appropriate.
A Back to Work payment is to be paid—
to the claimant; or
to another person nominated in writing by the claimant.
If the claimant requests, the Commissioner may apply the amount of a Back to Work payment, or part of the amount, towards any liability of the claimant under a taxation law or another law under the general administration of the Commissioner.
If the Commissioner decides a claim and is later satisfied (independently of an objection under this Act) that the decision is incorrect, the Commissioner may vary or reverse the decision.
A decision cannot be varied or reversed under this section more than 5 years after it was made unless, at the time the decision was made, all the facts and circumstances affecting the eligibility of the claimant for a Back to Work payment were not fully and truly disclosed to the Commissioner.
When the Commissioner decides a claim (or decides to vary or reverse an earlier decision on a claim) the Commissioner must give the claimant notice of the decision.
If the decision is to refuse a claim, or to vary or reverse an earlier decision on a claim, the Commissioner must state in the notice the reasons for the decision.
Division 3—Objections and reviews
A claimant who is dissatisfied with any of the following decisions of the Commissioner may lodge a written objection with the Commissioner—
a decision on the claim (including a decision to reverse or vary an earlier decision);
a decision to require the claimant to pay a penalty imposed under section 37.
The grounds for the objection must be stated fully and in detail, and must be in writing.
On an objection, the objector has the burden of proving the objector's case.
The objection must be lodged with the Commissioner within 60 days after the date of the notice of decision.
If the Commissioner is satisfied that the claimant has a reasonable excuse for failing to lodge the objection within the 60-day period, the Commissioner may extend the time for lodging the objection.
An objection is taken to have been lodged with the Commissioner when it is received by the Commissioner.
The Commissioner must consider an objection and either allow the objection in whole or in part or disallow the objection.
The Commissioner may determine an objection that is subject to a right of review at any time before the hearing of the review proceedings commences.
The Commissioner must give notice in writing to the objector of the determination of the objection.
The Commissioner must, in the notice, give the reasons for disallowing an objection or for allowing an objection in part only.
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