6.1 Determining death benefits under the 1930 Act

Determination and payment of death benefits in accordance with the First Schedule of 1930 Act has been discussed briefly at 1.9 of this chapter of the Handbook. The provisions differ rather more from the SRCA than does the 1971 Act, nevertheless:

• Nothing is payable unless there are dependants wholly or partly dependent on the deceased.
• The identification of dependants (partial and wholly dependents) should follow the SRCA pattern, see 4.1.
• There is no fixed proportion of the lump sum which is payable to a child vs a spouse.
• The First Schedule does not give rules for division of the lump sum between those wholly dependent, and as for those partly dependent the 'Commissioner' is required only to have regard as to what is 'reasonable' and 'proportionate' to the economic loss suffered from cessation of the deceased's support. Due to the lack of firm guidelines specific to that Act, Delegates should apply the SRCA guidelines re: lump sum division at 4.8 to 4.14.
• As with the 1971 Act there is a child's pension to age 16 only, which naturally (and on proof of entitlement and duration of entitlement) would be paid as a consolidated lump sum. Unlike the 1971 Act (and like the SRCA) there is no minimum child payment.
• Delegates should use the last rate of compensation payment issued by the Commission before repeal of the Act (i.e. disregarding the year in which the death occurred, all 1930 Act cases determined today are to be paid at the same rates, viz:

• Lump sum for division               $12,000
• Child weekly payment              $2.80 per week