Workers compensation in South Australia
In South Australia, except for some specific industries unrelated to farming (e.g. the construction industry), the workers compensation law uses the common law ‘control test’ to determine whether a person is a ‘worker’.
What about the contractor’s employees in South Australia?
If a contractor employs workers, but is not registered as an employer under the act, the contract principal (the farmer) will be taken to be the employer of those workers and be liable under workers compensation laws. It is therefore extremely important to insist upon seeing evidence of workers compensation insurance before any work begins.