Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988

Part VIII

Notice of Variation and Extension of Licence – John Holland Group Pty Ltd (No 4 of 2024)

Background

John Holland Group Pty Ltd, ABN 37 050 242 147 (Licensee), was declared to be eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) (SRC Act) by legislative instrument dated 31 October 2006.
The Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission (Commission), acting under sections 103 and 104 of the SRC Act, granted a licence to the Licensee on 13 December 2006 with a commencement date of 1 January 2007.
The Commission, acting under subsection 105(1) of the SRC Act, extends the term of the licence, subject to the scope and conditions as set out in this notice, for the period commencing at the beginning of 1 July 2024 and ending at the end of 30 June 2028 (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
The Commission, acting under subsections 105(1) and 108D(2) of the SRC Act, varies the licence as follows:
1. Clause 2(m) definition of ‘Risk Free Rate’ is amended to refer to an updated APRA Prudential Standard;
2. Condition 24 is amended to update the information recording, retrieval and reporting requirements and remove the ‘Note’ below condition 24.B; and
3. Definitions used throughout the licence are amended to reflect administrative updates agreed by the Commission.
The variations take effect at the beginning of 1 July 2024 (Australian Eastern Standard Time).
The scope and conditions of the licence are as set out below.

Licence

Part 1 – Interpretation

Interpretation

Unless the contrary intention appears, expressions used in this instrument have the same meaning as in the SRC Act.[1]

Definitions

2. In this licence:

(a) APRA means the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority;

(b) Balance Date means the last day of the Financial Year immediately before the first Financial Year to which the Guarantee being obtained under condition 37 will relate;

(c) Deed of Cross Guarantee means a deed of cross guarantee entered into by (among others) the Licensee which complies with all requirements of any instrument issued under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);

(d) Document means document as that word is defined by section 2B of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth);

(e) Excess Amount has the meaning as defined in condition 49;

(f) Financial Year means the financial year that applies to the licensee under the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth);

(g) Guarantee means a bank guarantee, letter of credit, unconditional payment undertaking or such other instrument issued by an entity acceptable to the Commission in accordance with this licence;

(h) Liability Report has the meaning as defined in condition 26;

(i) Licensee includes, where the context permits, the Claims Manager;

(j) Outstanding Claim Liability has the meaning as defined in the Institute of Actuaries of Australia Professional Standard 302 “Valuations of General Insurance Claims”, or any standard substituted thereof;

(k) Recommended Excess Amount has the meaning as defined in condition 28(c);

(l) Reinsurance Policy has the meaning as defined in condition 48; and

(m) Risk Free Rate means the rates to be used in discounting the expected future claims payments of insurance liabilities denominated in Australian currency as determined in accordance with APRA Prudential Standard GPS 340: Insurance Liability Valuation, or any standard or associated standard substituted thereof.

Part 2 – Grant of Licence

Eligible applicant

3. The Licensee was declared to be eligible to be granted a licence under Part VIII of the SRC Act by legislative instrument dated 31 October 2016, registered as F2006L03636 on the Federal Register of Legislation on 6 November 2006.

Licence decisions

4. The Commission, acting under sections 103 and 104 of the SRC Act, granted a licence to the Licensee on 13 December 2006 for the period commencing on 1 January 2007 and ending on 30 June 2008 as notified by Notice No. 6 of 2006 in Commonwealth Gazette No. 50 on 20 December 2006.

5. Following its commencement, the licence has been varied or extended by the Commission on:

(i) 18 June 2008, as notified by Notice No. 12 of 2008, Commonwealth Gazette No. GN 25 on 25 June 2008;

(ii) 16 June 2010, as notified by Notice No. 13 of 2010, Commonwealth Gazette No. GN 24 on 23 June 2010;

(iii) 26 June 2012, as notified by Notice No. 8 of 2012, Commonwealth Gazette No. S 97 on 29 June 2012;

(iv) 16 July 2012, as notified by Notice No. 14 of 2012, Commonwealth Gazette No. GN 29, 25 July 2012;

(v) 3 February 2015, as notified by Notice No. 1 of 2015, Gazette reference number C2015G00190, published on 5 February 2015;

(vi) 10 March 2016, as notified by Notice No. 3 of 2016, Gazette reference number C2016G00470, published on 8 April 2016;

(vii) 28 June 2016, as notified by Notice No. 27of 2016, Gazette reference number C 2016G00918, published on 4 July 2016;

(viii) 28 June 2017, as notified by Notice No. 22 of 2017, in Gazette reference number C2017G00735, published on 30 June 2017 and in Gazette reference number C2017G00762, published on 07 July 2017;

(ix) 9 December 2019, as notified by Notice No. 22 of 2019, in Gazette reference number C2019G01173, published on 19 December 2019; and

(x) 29 June 2021, as notified by Notice No. 23 of 2021, in Gazette reference number C2021G00519, published on 5 July 2021.

Period of licence

6. Subject to the SRC Act, this licence is for the period commencing immediately after midnight (Australian Eastern Daylight Time) on 1 January 2007 and, in accordance with the most recent extension, ending at midnight (Australian Eastern Standard Time) on 30 June 2028 (Licence Period).

Part 3 – Scope of Licence

Scope of licence – acceptance of liability

7. The Licensee is authorised to accept liability to pay compensation and other amounts under the SRC Act in respect of all injuries, loss or damage suffered by, or in respect of the death of, any of the employees of the Licensee where such injuries, loss, damage or death:

(a) occur within the Licence Period; or

(b) occurred during a period for which a previous SRC Act licence was in force.

Scope of licence – management of claims

8. The Licensee is authorised to manage claims under the SRC Act made by the employees of the Licensee who are covered by the scope of this licence so far as it relates to the Licensee’s acceptance of liability in accordance with clause 7 of this licence.

Part 4 – Conditions of licence

Conditions of licence

9. The licence is granted subject to the following conditions.

General conditions

Communication

10. The Licensee, when bringing employees under its self-insurance licence pursuant to any consolidation or amalgamation process, must provide information to those employees regarding the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Cth) (WHS Act) and the SRC Act prior to those employees becoming employees of the Licensee.

11. The Licensee must provide information regarding the operation of the WHS Act and the SRC Act to all new employees as part of the licensee’s employee induction process.

Directions of Commission

12. The Licensee must comply with any written directions, whether general or in respect of a particular matter or class of matters, given by the Commission generally, or to the Licensee directly, with respect to the performance by the Licensee of its functions or the exercise of its powers under the SRC Act.

Requirements

13. The Licensee must comply with the requirements of:

(a) the SRC Act, its Regulations and any applicable guidelines issued by the Commission under section 73A of the SRC Act;

(b) any applicable laws of the Commonwealth, States or Territories with respect to the safety, health and rehabilitation of employees, with a particular focus on the statutory requirements for genuine consultation with employees and their representatives; and

14. The Licensee must have regard to guidelines issued by the Information Commissioner under the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and must comply with any such guidelines dealing with covert surveillance of employees.

Fees

15. The Licensee must pay the licence fee notified in writing to the Licensee under section 104A of the SRC Act within one month of receiving the notification.

16. On written request from the Commission, the licensee must pay other fees relating to the Licensee’s operations under the SRC Act, in the amount and within the timeframe, specified by the Commission.

Manner of managing claims

17. In managing claims, the Licensee:

(a) must be guided by equity, good conscience and the substantial merits of the case without regard to technicalities;

(b) is not required to conduct a hearing; and

Management systems

18. The Licensee must co-operate with, and give reasonable assistance to, the Commission or its representatives in respect of any targeted reviews and evaluations of the Licensee to be conducted by the Commission or its representatives.

19. The Licensee must report to the Commission as required in accordance with the Performance Standards and Measures to demonstrate that it has maintained its Claims Management, Rehabilitation and WHS management systems, as advised to Comcare.

Reviews and proceedings

20. The Licensee must inform Comcare as soon as practicable of any court or tribunal proceedings in relation to a matter arising in respect of a claim managed by the Licensee under the SRC Act.

21. The Licensee must give to Comcare, within the timeframe specified in the request, any information or documents that Comcare requests in respect of any court or tribunal proceedings in relation to a matter arising in respect of a claim managed by the Licensee under the SRC Act.

22. The Licensee must not cause, or permit to be made on its behalf to a court or tribunal any submission that Comcare or the Commission requests the Licensee not to make.

Failure to comply with conditions or change in circumstances

23. The Licensee must notify Comcare in writing as soon as practicable of any event or likely event that is relevant to the application of the SRC Act to the Licensee, this may include but is not limited to:

(a) the Licensee has not complied with, or is likely to fail to comply with, a condition of this licence; or

(b) any change that may impact on the Licensee’s capacity to meet its liabilities under the SRC Act, including change to the Licensee’s underlying financial position; or

(d) any significant change in its employee numbers or significant change in the risk profile of the work undertaken by its employees.

Information recording, retrieval and reporting requirements

24. The Licensee must keep all material brought into existence in connection with the Licensee’s operations under this Licence and the SRC Act, including but not limited to, all files, correspondence, data, manuals, policies, records, reports, opinions, audits, receipts and other information identified by the Commission from time to time as relevant to the operation of the Licence.

24.A This information may be requested in writing by the Commission with at least 14 days’ notice.

24.B The Licensee is to ensure the information is maintained in a form accessible by the Commission or Comcare for a period of at least seven years.

Performance conditions

25. The Licensee must comply with the Performance Standards and Measures approved by the Commission from time to time.

Prudential conditions

Liability report

26. The Licensee must commission a written report (Liability Report) in respect of each Financial Year and calculated as at the end of that Financial Year.

27. The Liability Report must:

(a) be prepared by a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia (IAA), or any body substituted thereof, with at least five years’ post-qualification experience as an actuary in general insurance;

(b) be prepared by an actuary who is not an employee or a partner of the organisation which provides financial audit services to the Licensee or who in any way has a material financial dependence on the auditor;

(c) be prepared drawing on any available expert advice and substantially using IAA Professional Standard 302 “Valuations of General Insurance Claims”, or any standard substituted thereof, as the basis of estimation, with any departure from this standard to be highlighted in the report;

(d) be prepared using the Risk Free Rate in discounting the expected future claims payments of insurance liabilities

(e) be addressed by the actuary to the Commission; and

(f) be provided by the Licensee to the Commission within 131 days of the end of the Financial Year to which it relates.

Note: If the actuary determines the Risk Free Rate using instruments other than Commonwealth Government Securities that relate to the term of the future claim liability cash flows of the Licensee, the actuary must justify the reason for doing so in the Liability Report.

28. The Liability Report must:

(a) estimate the Outstanding Claim Liability of the Licensee to pay compensation and other amounts under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence as follows:

(i) contain a recommendation for the level of provisions in the Licensee’s accounts which must be made to at least the net unbiased estimate of the mean (statistical expectation) of the Outstanding Claim Liability; and

(ii) contain a valuation of current Outstanding Claim Liability and the projected Outstanding Claim Liability in 12/18/24* months’ time;

*Note: 12 months for Licensees in the 6th or more year of licence; 18 months for Licensees in the 4th-5th year of licence; 24 months for Licensees in the 1st-3rd year of licence;

(b) contain a breakdown of the current and non-current liability components of the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability as estimated in accordance with condition 28(a);

(c) contain a recommendation of the maximum reinsurance policy retention amount (Recommended Excess Amount) referred to in the Reinsurance conditions;

(d) make an assessment of the financial capacity of the Licensee to meet amounts, from the balance sheet, up to the Recommended Excess Amount;

(e) describe the arrangements for compliance with the Reinsurance conditions and provide an assessment by the actuary of whether the arrangements are appropriate to meet the Licensee’s obligation under condition 48; and

(f) contain the calculations used to determine the required amount of the Guarantee pursuant to conditions 43 and 44.

29. The Commission may at its discretion submit a Liability Report to a peer review process.

30. After receiving a peer review assessment of a Liability Report, the Commission may by written notice to the Licensee require a Second Liability Report by an actuary approved by the Commission.

31. If any of the changes in circumstances outlined in condition 23(b), (c) or (d)occur, the Commission may, by written notice to the Licensee, require the Licensee to obtain an Updated Liability Report that is to be prepared in accordance with conditions 26 to 28.

32. The Commission may direct the date for provision of a Second Liability Report and/or an Updated Liability Report.

33. Unless the Commission directs otherwise, the Licensee must pay for a Second Liability Report and/or an Updated Liability Report.

34. If the Commission receives a Second Liability Report or an Updated Liability Report it (or, where the Commission receives both a Second Liability Report and an Updated Liability Report, the most recent of these reports) replaces the original Liability Report and:

(a) references in this licence to the Liability Report are to be construed as references to the Second Liability Report or the Updated Liability Report (whichever is applicable); and

(b) references in this licence to the actuary who prepares the Liability Report are to be construed as references to the actuary who prepares the Second Liability Report or the Updated Liability Report (whichever is applicable).

Yearly Accounts

35. The Licensee must:

(a) lodge with the Commission a copy of:

(i) any report that it is required to prepare or obtain for a Financial Year under Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) within 131 days of the end of that Financial Year;

(ii) any periodic financial information regarding the affairs of the Licensee for a Financial Year that it is required to give to any financial market as defined in the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (for example, in respect of the Australian Stock Exchange this would be information that must be given under Listing Rule 4.3B) within 131 days of the end of that Financial Year. For the avoidance of doubt this condition does not require the Licensee to provide information that is released to the financial market pursuant to the Licensee's continuous disclosure obligations;

(iii) if the Licensee is not required to report in accordance with Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) because its parent company is required to report in accordance with Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), then the Licensee must provide any report that the parent company is required to prepare or obtain for a Financial Year under Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) within 131 days of the end of that Financial Year;

(iv) if the Licensee (or its parent company) is not required to report in accordance with Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and the parent company is a company not subject to the laws of Australia then the Licensee’s parent company must prepare a financial report and directors’ report as if it was required to comply with Division 1 of Part 2M.3 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), including having that report audited in accordance with that Part, and must give the report to the Commission within 131 days of the end of the Financial Year; and

(b) include, and identify, in any report or information referred to in condition 35(a), provision for meeting the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability (current and non-current) under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence as at the end of the Financial Year to which the report or information relates.

36. The Licensee must ensure that:

(a) the provision mentioned in condition 35(b) is consistent with the written evaluation in the Liability Report, of the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability (current and non-current) for the Financial Year; and

(b) any apparent discrepancies in the provision mentioned in condition 35(b) and the written evaluation in the Liability Report of the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability (current and non-current) for the Financial Year are explained in the notes section of the financial report or information in which the provision mentioned in condition 35(b) is included and identified.

Guarantee

37. The Licensee must at all times have in place a Guarantee for the due discharge of its liability to pay compensation and other amounts under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence unless:

(a) the Commission determines that the Licensee is currently a low-risk licensee;

(b) the current required Guarantee amount for the Licensee (as calculated under conditions 43 and 44) is less than $300,000*; and

(c) John Holland Group Pty Ltd, ABN 37 050 242 147, has an issuer credit rating of or equivalent to a Standard and Poor’s AA- or better.

* Note: The $300,000 value is subject to indexation (based on CPI) annually.

38. Subject to the exceptions in conditions 39 and 40, if the Licensee is required to obtain a Guarantee under condition 37 it must obtain a new Guarantee under that condition each Financial Year.

39. If the Commission determines that the Licensee is a low-risk licensee for a Financial Year, the Licensee is not required to obtain a new Guarantee under condition 37 that Financial Year unless:

(a) the required Guarantee amount for the Licensee for that Financial Year (as calculated under conditions 43 and 44) increases by $500,000* or more from the required Guarantee amount for the Licensee for the Financial Year in which it obtained its existing Guarantee under condition 37 (as calculated under conditions 43 and44); or

(b) 5 years have elapsed since the Licensee last obtained a new Guarantee under condition 37.

* Note: The $500,000 value is subject to indexation (based on CPI) annually.

40. The Licensee is not required to obtain a new Guarantee under condition 37 for a Financial Year if the required Guarantee amount for the Licensee for that Financial Year (as calculated under conditions 43 and 44) is less than or equal to the Guarantee amount of the Licensee’s existing Guarantee under condition 37.

41. The Guarantee obtained under condition 37 must be:

(a) in the form and subject to the terms agreed in writing by the Commission; and

(b) for an amount calculated by the actuary in accordance with the Guarantee conditions (conditions 39to 49 inclusive) and specified in the Liability Report for that Financial Year; and

(i) banking business in Australia under the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) and has an issuer credit rating of or equivalent to a Standard and Poor’s AA- or better; or

(ii) insurance business in Australia under the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) and has an issuer credit rating of or equivalent to a Standard and Poor’s AA- or better and a financial strength rating of or equivalent to a Standard and Poor’s AA- or better.

42. The Licensee must provide the original of the Guarantee to the Commission within 170 days of the start of the first Financial Year to which the Guarantee relates.

43. The Guarantee must be for an amount calculated by the actuary as the greater of:

(a) the 95th percentile of the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence at the Balance Date and the addition of the Excess Amount; or

(b) the 95th percentile of the Licensee’s projected Outstanding Claim Liability under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence in 12/18/24 months* time from the Balance Date and the addition of the Excess Amount.

*Note: 12 months for Licensees in the 6th or more year of licence; 18 months for Licensees in the 4th-5th year of licence; 24 months for Licensees in the 1st-3rd year of licence. Note: The liability calculations under condition 43 are to include an allowance for the cost of administering claims under this licence and be calculated net of reinsurance recoveries.

44. In calculating the amount of the Guarantee, the Licensee must direct the actuary to:

(a) calculate existing and projected estimates of the Licensee’s Outstanding Claim Liability under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence to the 95th percentile and to include this result in the Liability Report; and

(b) base the calculation on a full statistical analysis of data, trends and variability and according to any relevant IAA standards and guidelines on liability valuation for general insurance.

45. If the Licensee obtained a Guarantee under condition 37, the Licensee may at any time provide to the Commission a new Guarantee obtained under condition37 that, if prepared in accordance with conditions 41, 43 and 44, will replace the existing Guarantee obtained under condition 37.

46. If the Commission identifies a financial risk with respect to the suitability of the financial institution from which the Licensee has obtained its current Guarantee under condition 37 and requests, after consulting with the Licensee, that the Licensee obtain a new Guarantee under condition 37, the Licensee must:

(a) comply with this request within 3 months or, if applicable, an alternative timeframe specified in the request; and

(b) ensure that the new Guarantee is prepared in accordance with conditions 41,43and 44.

47. If the guarantor under a Guarantee obtained by the Licensee under condition 37 discharges its financial obligation under that Guarantee by making payment to Comcare of its total liability or amounts which when aggregated equal its total liability, Comcare must return that Guarantee to the guarantor.

Reinsurance

48. The Licensee must maintain an appropriate level of reinsurance to limit its liability to pay compensation and other amounts under the SRC Act in accordance with the scope of this licence from an insurance company that is authorised by APRA to carry on insurance business under the Insurance Act 1973 (Cth) (Reinsurance Policy).

49. The excess of loss amount applicable under the Reinsurance Policy for any single event ( Excess Amount) must not, unless the Commission directs otherwise, be higher than the Recommended Excess Amount.

50. The Licensee must:

(a) if an amended reinsurance policy or a reinsurance policy from a new provider is obtained under condition 48, provide a copy of that reinsurance policy to the actuary and the Commission within 130 days of the start of the first Financial Year to which that reinsurance policy relates;

(b) provide a copy of the current certificate of currency for the Reinsurance Policy to the Commission within 130 days of the start of the first Financial Year to which the certificate of currency relates;

(d) only obtain a reinsurance policy under condition 48 with an excess of loss amount that exceeds the Recommended Excess Amount if the Commission provides prior approval.

Deed of Cross Guarantee

51. The Licensee:

(a) must at all times be a party to a Deed of Cross Guarantee in accordance with conditions 51 to 53 of this licence; and

(b) must not engage in any act or omission that may compromise the enforceability of a Deed of Cross Guarantee.

52. In this licence a reference to the Deed of Cross Guarantee is a reference to:

(a) the Deed of Cross Guarantee, made on 16 November 2006, as amended or varied from time to time in accordance with its terms, to which the following were parties at the date of execution:

(i) John Holland Group Pty Ltd, ABN 37 050 242 147;

(ii) John Holland Pty Ltd, ABN 11 004 282 268;

(iii) Gridcomm Pty Ltd, ABN 89 103 278 815;

(iv) John Holland Development and Investment Pty Ltd, ABN 72 004 293 056;

(v) Tensacciai Pty Ltd, ABN 70 080 749 417;

(vi) Telecommunications Infrastructure Pty Ltd, ABN 93 095 983 207;

(vii) John Holland Rail Pty Ltd, ABN 61 009 252 653;

(viii) John Holland Engineering Pty Ltd, ABN 91 103 278 824;

(ix) John Holland Investment Pty Ltd, ABN 78 099 412 610;

(x) John Holland AD Holdings Pty Ltd, ABN 96 095 328 788;

(xi) John Holland AD Investments Pty Ltd, ABN 30 092 661 044;

(xii) John Holland AD Operations Pty Ltd, ABN 24 092 661 017;

(xiii) Lucon Pty Ltd, ABN 93 101 760 445;

(xiv) John Holland Mining Pty Ltd, ABN 42 098 539 354;

(xv) John Holland Services No.1 Pty Ltd, ABN 83 099 383 169;

(xvi) John Holland Services Pty Ltd, ABN 74 099 412 656;

(xvii) Yandina Ethanol Pty Ltd, ABN 16 101 271 621; and

(xviii) John Holland (NZ) Limited, NZCN 1841226; or

(b) where the Commission, in its absolute discretion, notifies the Licensee in writing that another, alternative, Deed of Guarantee will satisfy the requirements of conditions 51 to 53 of this licence, that Deed.

53. In relation to the Deed of Cross Guarantee referred to in condition 53 above the Licensee must:

(a) be a party to that Deed for at least seven (7) years following the Licence Period, as varied from time to time;

(b) if that Deed is amended or varied, including if:

(i) another entity becomes a party to that Deed; or

(ii) a party to that Deed ceases to be a party,

provide a copy of the document amending or varying that Deed to the Commission within 30 days of the amendment or variation; and

(i) the Australian Securities and Investments Commission informally or formally raises any issues in relation to that Deed; or

(ii) the Licensee becomes aware of any reason why a creditor of the Licensee may not be able to enforce that Deed.

Dated the 18th day of June 2024.

David Oliver

Chairperson

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission

[1] For the purposes of this licence, the definition of claim prescribed by section 99 of the SRC Act applies.