The normal weekly earnings (NWE) of Reservist clients is calculated by the Incapacity Calculator from a combination of the client's:
- salary from Reserve employment;
- allowances from Reserve employment;
- salary from civilian employment; and
- allowances from civilian employment.
NWE forms the basis for setting rates of compensation under the SRC Act.
When establishing NWE, it is important to remember that the overall intention is to compensate the client at a rate which is a fair representation of what the client would have received but for the injury.
After the release of Incapacity Calculator v 5.0 (on 1 July 2002), Reserve salary will be collected as a weekly amount, not a fortnightly amount, in order to standardise all time amounts in the Calculator to a common unit - weeks. The Calculator now includes a time-sensitive rule to ensure that salary amounts in a assessment made before 1 July 2002 are still collected as a fortnightly amount in order to avoid affecting pre-existing investigations.