AGY-4043 | New South Wales Coal Compensation Board

Full description

In the late 1970s the New South Wales Government attempted to secure revenue from the sale of coal from private land. Increasing coal development in the Hunter Valley throughout the 1970s provided a substantial windfall for private coal owners but due to constitutional constraints the State Government was unable to increase its royalty or tax share from the sales. As a result the Government introduced the Coal Acquisition Act 1981 (Act No.109, 1981) which vested all coal in New South Wales in the Crown.

To compensate owners of private coal, the Government established the New South Wales Coal Compensation Board on 22 June 1985 under the Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985. (1) These Arrangements were made in accordance with section 6(1) of the Coal Acquisition Act 1981 and the Board was responsible for the Coal Compensation Fund and the Coal Compensation Scheme under provisions of the Arrangements. The Board was an independent authority responsible for determining the amount of compensation to former owners of private coal, and between 1985 and 1987 the Board received 16,000 compensation claims. (2) If a claimant was unsatisfied with the Board’s determination, the matter could be considered by the New South Wales Coal Compensation Review Tribunal. (3)

Members of the New South Wales Coal Compensation Board were nominated by the Minister and appointed by the Governor in accordance with clause 4 of the Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985. (4) The Board was to consist of a Chairperson and three part-time members of which one was a person employed in the Treasury, one person employed in the Department of the Valuer-General and one person who did not hold an office of profit under the Crown. (5) The first Board appointed on 22 June 1985 consisted of Harold Bowman as Chairperson, Ronald Daley from the Treasury, Frances Hilton from the Valuer-General’s Department, and Kenneth Trott who was not employed by the Crown. (6) By 2003, the Board consisted of the Chairperson, a Department of Mineral Resources’ employee, the Valuer-General or a member of the Valuer-General’s staff, and two members who did not hold an office of profit under the Crown. (7)

In 1987 a review of the Coal Compensation Scheme by the Public Service Board extended the Scheme a further five years from its original two years. The Coal Compensation Board made the first final determinations of compensation but these were placed on hold pending a review of policy when the coalition Government took office in March 1988. A new Chairman and Board members were appointed. (8)

In 1990, additional responsibilities were placed on the Board when the Coal Acquisition (Amendment) Act 1990, the Coal Ownership (Restitution) Act 1990, and the Regulation and amendments to the Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985 were passed through Parliament. Legislative changes increased the base rate for calculation of compensation from $0.5 per tonne to $0.90 per tonne. Final payments of compensation commenced in 1990. (9)

The Coal Compensation Scheme was reopened between 1992 and and June 1994 and over 12,000 claims were lodged. The Coal Compensation Scheme’s sunset was set by the Board for 30 June 1998 but after the election of the Labour Government in March 1995 the sunset was advanced to 30 June 1997. The Board’s staff increased to seventy to cope with the increased workload and completion of most of the Compensation Scheme was achieved by 30 June 1997. (10)

In 1994, the Coal Compensation Board was divided into three functional divisions: Administrative, Assessment, and Modelling. There was also a Chief Executive Officer, an executive support services section and a computing section. The Modelling Division produced coal area models which are used by the Assessment Division to assess compensation for individual claimants and the Administrative Division provided clerical support functions and financial services. (11)

The Coal Acquisition Act was amended in 1997 to allow for the reacquisition of restored titles and for refusal of restitution applications on Crown revenue grounds. By the end of the 1999-2000 financial year, 85 percent of the Reacquisition Scheme and over 95 percent of the Compensation Scheme were complete.

In 2003, The New South Wales Coal Compensation Board consisted of three operational teams and a Corporate Services Division. The Operations Division carried out the Board’s core functions and the Division consisted of the Modelling Team and the Assessment Team. The Corporate Services Division carried out support functions including records management, mail, facilities and fleet management and producing Board meeting agendas. The information section was also responsible for processing coal titles for successful restitution applications. The Board’s administrative structure also included an Executive Support Program, Accounts Program, and Legal Team. (12)

By 2003, most of the work under the Compensation Scheme was complete and final determinations under the Reacquisition Scheme were deferred pending the outcome of hearings in the Appeal Court. (13)

The New South Wales Coal Compensation Board was abolished on 31 December 2007 by the Coal Acquisition Legislation Repeal Act 2007 (Act No.62, 2007). Its functions were to be exercised by the Director-General of the Department of Primary Industries. (14)

Endnotes
1. Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985, cl.4(1)  in NSW Government Gazette No.95, 21 June 1985, pp.2880-2899.
2. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 2003, p.8.
3. Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985, cl.27 in NSW Government Gazette No.95, 21 June 1985, pp.2880-2893.
4. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 2003, p.12.
5. Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985, cl.4 in NSW Government Gazette No.95, 21 June 1985, pp.2883-2893.
6. NSW Government Gazette No.98, 28 June 1985, p.3206.
7. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 2003, p.12
8. ibid., p.8.
9. Amendment to the Coal Acquisition (Compensation) Arrangements 1985, NSW Government Gazette No.82, 29 June 1990, p.5987.
10. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 2003, p.10.
11. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 1994, p12.
12. Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report, 2003, p.15.
13. Ibid., 2003, p.11.
14. Coal Acquisition Legislation Repeal Act 2007 (Act No.62, 2007) Sch. 2; NSW Government Gazette No.182, 14 December 2007, p.9536; NSW Coal Compensation Board, Annual Report 2008 for the six month period 1 July 2007 to 31 December 2007 in NSW Department of Primary Industries, Annual Report, 2006-07, pp.60, 62.