“167 Application and source of funds

• “(1) The purpose of the Work Account is to finance entitlements provided under this Act by the Corporation to employees, private domestic workers, and self-employed persons for work-related personal injuries (other than entitlements funded from the Residual Claims Account).

  “(2) The funds for the Work Account are to be derived from—

  • “(a) levies payable, under sections 168, 168A, 168B, and 211, by employers, private domestic workers, and self-employed persons; and

  • “(b) payments made to the Corporation in respect of obligations taken on by the Corporation under section 7 of the Accident Insurance (Transitional Provisions) Act 2000 in relation to the accident insurance contracts of employers and private domestic workers, and for self-employed persons.

  “(3) The funds in the Work Account must be applied to meet the costs of—

  • “(a) entitlements in respect of employees, private domestic workers, and self-employed persons for work-related personal injuries (other than entitlements funded from the Residual Claims Account); and

  • “(b) entitlements in respect of employees, private domestic workers, and self-employed persons for personal injury caused by work-related gradual process, disease, or infection if—

    • “(i) the employment task, or employment in the particular environment, giving rise to that personal injury was performed or occurred on or after 1 July 1999; and

    • “(ii) the claimant was an employee, a private domestic worker, or self-employed when performing that task or in that environment (regardless of whether the claimant was an employee, a private domestic worker, or self-employed at the date on which the personal injury is regarded as having been suffered); and

  • “(c) entitlements in respect of obligations, under accident insurance contracts of employers and private domestic workers, and for self-employed persons, taken on by the Corporation under section 7 of the Accident Insurance (Transitional Provisions) Act 2000; and

  • “(d) entitlements that are required to be provided in accordance with Part 11 in respect of persons whose entitlements would have been provided from the Self-Employed Work Account under the Accident Insurance Act 1998; and

  • “(e) entitlements, in respect of employers, private domestic workers, and self-employed persons that, immediately before 1 April 2007, would have been funded from the Self-Employed Work Account or the Employers' Account; and

  • “(f) administering the Account; and

  • “(g) audits and assessments referred to in section 175; and

  • “(h) any other expenditure authorised by this Act.”

“168B Self-employed persons to pay levies

• “(1) A self-employed person must pay, in accordance with this Act and regulations made under it, levies to fund the Work Account.

  “(2) A levy must relate to a prescribed period.

  “(3) A self-employed person must pay the levy by the date specified for payment, whether in an invoice or other appropriate document given to the self-employed person by the Corporation or an agent of the Corporation, being a date not less than 2 months after the date of the invoice or other appropriate document.”

“169 Rates of levies

• “(1) Levies are to be paid under sections 168, 168A, and 168B at a rate or rates prescribed in regulations made under this Act, and must be related in whole or in part to—

  • “(a) the amount of earnings paid, estimated to be paid, or deemed by regulations to have been paid by an employer to the employer's employees for that period; or

  • “(b) the amount of earnings received for that period as a private domestic worker or deemed by regulations to have been received as a private domestic worker for that period; or

  • “(c) the level of earnings (other than earnings as an employee) derived, estimated to be derived, or deemed by regulations to be derived, by a self-employed person.

  “(2) The extent of funds to be derived from levies under sections 168, 168A, and 168B is to be calculated so that the cost of all claims under the Work Account is fully funded.”

“169A Limit on offsets in case of earnings as self-employed person

• “(1) In determining a person's earnings as a self-employed person, no offset may be allowed for the amount of—

  • “(a) any net loss of the person for an earlier tax year that might otherwise be offset by the person under section IE 1 of the Income Tax Act 2004; or

  • “(b) any part of the net loss of a loss attributing qualifying company (as defined in section OB 1 of the Income Tax Act 2004) attributable to the person as a shareholder of that company under section HG 16 of the Income Tax Act 2004.

  “(2) If the result of the calculation of a person's earnings as a self-employed person is a negative amount and the person also derives earnings as an employee, the person's earnings as an employee must not be reduced by the negative amount.”

• “(1) The Corporation must classify an employer and a self-employed person in an industry or risk class that most accurately describes their activity, being an industry or risk class set out in regulations made under this Act for the purposes of setting levies payable under sections 168, 168B, and 211.”

• “(4) Regulations made under this Act must prescribe a Work Account levy for each industry or risk class defined under subsection (1).

• “(4A) The regulations referred to in subsection (4)—

  • “(a) may, until the end of the 2009–10 tax year, prescribe the levies at different rates for employers and self-employed persons classified in the same industry or risk class; and

  • “(b) must, until the end of the 2009–10 tax year, prescribe the levies at a rate that does not increase or decrease the levy rate payable by employers or self-employed persons in a particular industry or particular risk class by more than 25% of the rate payable in the previous tax year; and

  • “(c) must, after the end of the 2009–10 tax year, prescribe the levies at the same rate for employers and self-employed persons classified in the same industry or risk class.”

• “(6) The Corporation must separately account for the amounts—

  • “(a) collected from each industry or risk class under sections 168, 168B, and 211; and

  • “(b) expended for the purposes of section 167(3) in respect of each industry or risk class.”

“171 Classification of self-employed persons and employees engaged in 2 or more activities

• “(1) A self-employed person or (if section 170(3) applies) an employee who is engaged in 2 or more activities must be classified in the industry or risk class for whichever of those activities attracts the highest levy rate under the regulations.

  “(2) If a particular activity accounts for 5% or less of a self-employed person's or an employee's earnings for the year, then that activity need not be considered when determining the correct industry or risk class under subsection (1).

  “(3) Subsection (2) applies only if the self-employed person's or the employer's records are sufficient and accurate enough to satisfy the Corporation that the apportionment of total earnings is correct.”

“172A Work Account levy not payable on earnings of self-employed person over specified maximum

• Nothing in this Act requires a self-employed person to pay a Work Account levy on earnings that exceed the specified maximum.”

“175 Risk adjustment of Work Account levies

• “(1) A Work Account levy determined for the purposes of sections 168, 168B, or 211 may be adjusted down, in accordance with regulations made under this Act, for a particular employer or a particular self-employed person on the basis of—

  • “(a) an audit of the employer's or the self-employed person's safety management practices; or

  • “(b) an assessment of the self-employed person's safety management capabilities (including, for example, practices and qualifications).

  “(2) To avoid doubt, regulations may limit the application of subsection (1) to—

  • “(a) any 1 or more industries or risk classes:

  • “(b) particular types of employers or self-employed persons classified in the same industry or risk class.

  “(3) A Work Account levy determined for the purposes of section 168 may be adjusted up, in accordance with regulations made under this Act, for a particular employer on the basis of an audit of the employer's safety management practices.

  “(4) An audit of an employer's or a self-employed person's safety management practices must, and an assessment of a self-employed person's safety management capabilities may, be conducted in accordance with an audit tool or audit tools that—

  • “(a) are approved by the Minister; and

  • “(b) measure safety management practice or safety management capability, as the case may be, against independent New Zealand or foreign standards.

  “(5) If any upward adjustment of levies under subsection (3) is to occur for a particular employer, sections 178 to 180 apply.

  “(6) Adjustments to levies may be reassessed on the basis of any new audits or assessments.

  “(7) Regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1)(a) or (3) must, and regulations made for the purposes of subsection (1)(b) may, provide for the following matters:

  • “(a) the level or levels of levy adjustment for different levels of compliance assessed by the audit tool or tools:

  • “(b) the basis and conditions on which, and periods for which, Work Account levies may be adjusted:

  • “(c) the frequency of, and circumstances under which, there may be additional audits or assessments of an employer's or a self-employed person's safety management practices or capabilities:

  • “(d) the order in which applications for audits or assessments are to be dealt with:

  • “(e) the approval of auditors by the Corporation.

  “(8) Section 331 (which prescribes consultation requirements for regulations relating to levy setting) applies in relation to the making of regulations for the purposes of this section as if the regulations prescribed rates of levies.

  “(9) The Corporation must decide—

  • “(a) whether an adjustment to a Work Account levy is to be made; and

  • “(b) the level of any adjustment.”