You are here:
AustLII >>
Databases >>
Federal Court of Australia >>
2009 >>
[2009] FCA 1149
[Database Search]
[Name Search]
[Recent Decisions]
[Noteup]
[Download]
[Help]
Nelson v Comcare [2009] FCA 1149 (8 October 2009)
Last Updated: 12 October 2009
FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
Nelson v Comcare [2009] FCA 1149
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – appeal on a
question of law pursuant to s 44(1) of the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) – applicant contended that the Administrative
Appeals Tribunal failed to consider and address submissions which were seriously
advanced by the applicant and worthy of serious consideration – applicant
argued a case for compensation made under the Safety, Rehabilitation and
Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) in the alternative – alternative based
upon aggravation of an existing psychiatric condition not considered or
addressed
by the Tribunal – Tribunal committed reviewable error of law
– Tribunal’s decision set aside – matter remitted
to the
Tribunal for reconsideration according to law
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975
(Cth), s 44
Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988
(Cth), ss 4(1), 14, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 21A
Nelson v Comcare [2008] AATA 214
related
Australian Postal Corporation v Sellick [2008] FCA 236; (2008) 245 ALR
561 applied
Casarotto v Australian Postal Commission [1989] FCA 116; (1989) 86
ALR 399 cited
Comcare v Sahu-Khan [2007] FCA 15; (2007) 156 FCR 536
cited
Dennis Willcox Pty Ltd v Federal Commissioner of Taxation
(1988) 79 ALR 267 applied
Hartnett v Migration Agents Registration
Authority [2004] FCA 50 applied
Martin v Australian Postal
Corporation [1999] FCA 655 cited
Repatriation Commission
v Hill [2002] FCAFC 192; (2002) 69 ALD 581 cited
MICHAEL NELSON v COMCARE
ACD 14 of 2008
FOSTER J
8 OCTOBER 2009
SYDNEY
|
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
|
|
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT REGISTRY
|
|
|
GENERAL DIVISION
|
|
ON APPEAL FROM THE
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED BY SENIOR MEMBER N ISENBERG AND
MEMBER DR I ALEXANDER
|
|
|
|
|
DATE OF ORDER:
|
|
|
WHERE MADE:
|
|
THE COURT ORDERS THAT:
- The
appeal be allowed.
- The
decision of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in matters N2006/1488 and
2007/1962 given on 19 March 2008 be set aside.
- The
matter be remitted to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to be determined
according to law.
- The
respondent pay the applicant’s costs of and incidental to the appeal and
the proceedings before the Tribunal.
Note: Settlement and entry of orders is dealt with in Order 36 of
the Federal Court Rules.
The text of entered orders can be located using
eSearch on the Court’s website.
IN THE FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA
|
|
|
NEW SOUTH WALES DISTRICT
REGISTRY
|
|
|
GENERAL DIVISION
|
ACD 14 of 2008
|
|
ON APPEAL FROM THE ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL CONSTITUTED BY SENIOR
MEMBER N ISENBERG AND MEMBER DR I ALEXANDER
|
|
BETWEEN:
|
MICHAEL NELSON
Applicant
|
|
AND:
|
COMCARE
Respondent
|
|
JUDGE:
|
FOSTER J
|
|
DATE:
|
8 OCTOBER 2009
|
|
PLACE:
|
SYDNEY
|
REASONS FOR JUDGMENT
- The
applicant was employed by Centrelink at its Gosford Call Centre for a period of
some years commencing in 2000. Not long after
his employment commenced, he
began to be stressed at work. The difficulties which he was experiencing at
work came to a head in
March 2003 when he was involved in a verbal altercation
with a co-worker.
- The
applicant has claimed compensation from the respondent under the Safety,
Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) (the Act). He made
two claims, both of which were rejected by the respondent.
- The
first claim made by the applicant was a claim for Workers’ Compensation
made pursuant to s 14 of the Act. That claim was dated 25 January
2006. That claim was rejected on 3 July 2006. In the letter rejecting the
claim, the claim was described as:
... aggravation of major depressive disorder, recurrent
episode.
- The
initial rejection by the respondent of the applicant’s claim under
s 14 of the Act was reviewed by an Independent Review Officer. In a
decision made on 27 September 2006, that officer confirmed the
initial
determination.
- The
applicant then sought a review of that decision in the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal (the Tribunal) (Application N2006/1488).
- In
mid 2006, lawyers representing the applicant forwarded a Compensation Claim for
Permanent Injury to the respondent. At the same
time, those lawyers
requested:
- (a) A further
determination with regard to a claim for compensation, for medical treatment
expenses, arising out of the earlier claimed
injury pursuant to s 16 of the
Act; and
- (b) A further
determination with regard to a claim for compensation for incapacity payments
arising out of the same injury pursuant
to s 19 of the Act.
- These
additional claims were rejected by the respondent on 20 December 2006.
That decision was also reviewed and confirmed by
a further decision given on
2 May 2007. The applicant then applied to the Tribunal for a review of the
decision made by the
respondent on 2 May 2007 to the effect that he was not
entitled to compensation pursuant to ss 16, 19, 20, 21 and 21A of the Act
in respect of his claimed “aggravation of major depressive disorder,
recurrent episode”.
- On
19 March 2008, the Tribunal affirmed the two decisions made by the
respondent dated 27 September 2006 and 2 May
2007 (Nelson
v Comcare [2008] AATA 214).
- The
applicant appeals to this Court from that decision of the Tribunal pursuant to
s 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth). An
appeal under that section must be on a question of law.
- The
applicant’s Notice of Appeal raises four questions of law and advances
several grounds in support of his contentions in
respect of those questions of
law.
- Despite
the length of the Notice of Appeal, the applicant’s appeal raises only one
issue, namely, whether the Tribunal failed
to address and make a determination
concerning the applicant’s contention that his underlying psychiatric
condition was “aggravated” within the meaning of the
definition of “disease” in s 4(1) of the Act by his
employment with Centrelink. The applicant accepted that the above formulation
of the matters which the applicant
seeks to raise on appeal from the Tribunal
captures the essence of the applicant’s case on
appeal.
THE RELEVANT LEGISLATIVE PROVISIONS
- Section
14 of the Act provides that Comcare is liable to pay compensation in respect of
an injury suffered by an employee if the injury results
in death, incapacity for
work or impairment.
- At
all relevant times, the terms injury, disease, aggravation,
impairment and ailment were defined in s 4 of the Act as
follows:
injury means:
(a) a disease suffered by an employee; or
(b) an injury (other than a disease) suffered by an employee, being a physical
or mental injury arising out of, or in the course
of, the employee’s
employment; or
(c) an aggravation of a physical or mental injury (other than a disease)
suffered by an employee (whether or not that injury arose
out of, or in the
course of, the employee’s employment), being an aggravation that arose out
of, or in the course of, that
employment:
but does not include any such disease, injury or aggravation suffered by an
employee as a result of reasonable disciplinary action
taken against the
employee or failure by the employee to obtain a promotion, transfer or benefit
in connection with his or her employment.
disease means:
(a) any ailment suffered by an employee; or
(b) the aggravation of any such ailment;
being an ailment or an aggravation that was contributed to in a material degree
by the employee’s employment by the Commonwealth
or a licensed
corporation.
aggravation includes acceleration or recurrence.
impairment means the loss, the loss of the use, or the damage or
malfunction, of any part of the body or of any bodily system or function or
part
of such system or function.
ailment means any physical or mental ailment, disorder, defect or
morbid condition (whether of sudden onset or gradual
development).
- It
follows from the above definitions that:
- (a) When the
expression injury is used in s 14(1) of the Act, it is intended to
be used with the meaning accorded to it by the definition in s 4;
- (b) That
definition includes “... a disease suffered by an
employee”;
- (c) Disease
means any ailment suffered by an employee or the aggravation of any such ailment
being an ailment or an aggravation that was contributed
to in a material degree
by the employee’s employment by the Commonwealth or a licensed
corporation; and
- (d) Aggravation
is defined to include acceleration or
recurrence.
THE TRIBUNAL DECISION
- The
Tribunal affirmed the decisions made by Comcare on 27 September 2006 and
2 May 2007. The Tribunal said (at [1] of its
Reasons):
Mr Nelson (“The Applicant”) was employed by Centrelink at its
Gosford Call Centre. He has complained of a psychological
condition, contending
it was sustained because of his employment.
- After
briefly referring to the applicant’s two applications in the Tribunal, the
Tribunal formulated the issues which it had
to decide as follows:
● Did the Applicant suffer from a psychological injury which resulted in
impairment or an incapacity for work?
● If so, did the Applicant’s employment with Centrelink contribute
to the illness in a material degree?
● If yes, is the Applicant entitled to compensation for medical treatment
under section 16 of the Act and to compensation for
incapacity under sections
19, 20, 21 or 21A of the Act?
- The
Tribunal then referred to ss 4, 14, 16, 19, 20, 21 and 21A of the Act. It
quoted extensively from ss 4, 14 and 16. In particular, the Tribunal set
out the definitions of disease and injury in the terms in which
those definitions were expressed in s 4 of the Act at all relevant times.
- The
Tribunal then proceeded to examine the evidence before it and to make relevant
findings. These findings may be summarised as
follows:
- (a) In 1991,
the applicant had left a previous job as a Sheriff’s Officer because he
had suffered Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) as a result of an
altercation with a judgment debtor in which violence was threatened. He had
sought and received medical attention
as a result of this incident for a period
of approximately 18 months;
- (b) He
subsequently had several other jobs before joining Centrelink in May 2000;
- (c) Between
1993 and 2000, he had had no symptoms of any mental illness and had not sought
medical treatment for such illness in that
period;
- (d) The
applicant first became stressed at Centrelink once he was “fully on the
phone”. This was from about September
2000;
- (e) He had
problems with changing policies, dealing with various team leaders, work
pressures to perform and aggression from customers;
- (f) In late
2001, he changed the basis of his employment from full-time to part-time because
he could not cope with his workload.
He worked four days a week instead of five
days a week;
- (g) After this
period and before early 2003, the applicant sought medical attention. He was
prescribed anti-depressants which he
took for some months. He was given no
coping strategies nor advised to discuss his concerns with his supervisors. He
may have seen
a doctor in relation to other matters at that time as well;
- (h) On
24 March 2003, there was a verbal altercation between the applicant and a
co-worker who sat nearby. For some months there
had been tension between them.
The applicant was very upset by this altercation. There was no sense of fear.
The applicant said
that he was embarrassed in front of other colleagues;
- (i) As a result
of this altercation, the applicant took two days off work on sick leave. He
went to a doctor because he was continually
crying and could not sleep;
- (j) The
applicant complained to his team leader about the incident. As a result, the
co-worker was moved. The applicant saw this
as vindication of his complaint,
although he felt that management was on the side of his co-worker;
- (k) The
co-worker remained in the applicant’s thoughts constantly for months. He
was unable to relax at home and was “short” with his
children. In April 2003, the applicant was referred to the Employees Assistance
Program (EAP), which provides psychological counselling for workers.
Over three to four sessions, he was given strategies to rid himself of the
thoughts he was having about his co-worker;
- (l) The
applicant also said that it was the nature of Centrelink itself and the problems
that it was causing people in the community
which led to his emotional
problems;
- (m) An internal
inquiry into the applicant’s complaint took place in August and September
2003. The inquiry did not recommend
that any action be taken;
- (n) On
13 October 2003, the applicant saw his GP and said that he was feeling
stressed at work. He said that this was probably
because he was disappointed
with the outcome of the inquiry. He was diagnosed as suffering from depression
and was prescribed Mirtazapine.
- (o) The
applicant’s medical records showed numerous attendances at his GP’s
surgery between March and October 2003 with
no mention of any work-related
stress issues. He was unable to explain this;
- (p) In 2004,
the applicant found himself again physically located at work quite close to the
co-worker with whom he had had the altercation
in March 2003. He tried to have
the co-worker moved but failed. He became upset. His sleep was interrupted.
He felt sick and
began crying again;
- (q) On
8 September 2004, the applicant made a formal complaint about the March
2003 incident. Centrelink responded by saying
that the matter was closed;
- (r) The
applicant then saw another EAP counsellor for about six to ten sessions. He was
given other counselling.
- The
Tribunal then reviewed the medical evidence.
- Dr Butler,
the applicant’s treating psychiatrist, was of the opinion that the
applicant had a psychological injury which
was contributed to by his employment.
He said that the incident with the co-worker was only one of the reasons why the
applicant
had become symptomatic.
- Dr Sagar,
a psychiatrist who saw the applicant and testified at the behest of the
respondent, described the applicant’s
condition as decompensation. He
said the applicant was in a melancholy depressive state. He said that the
applicant had an obsessional
or defensive narcissistic personality.
Dr Sagar said that the incident with the co-worker was the straw that broke
the camel’s
back. It was possible that the applicant had decompensated
before joining Centrelink. The PTSD diagnosis in 1991 was significant.
Persons
with that disorder typically, on securing a job, quickly have interpersonal
problems at work.
- Dr Akkerman,
a psychiatrist, also gave evidence on behalf of the respondent. He said that
the applicant had a personality problem
which was unaffected by his
employment.
- At
[39]–[44] of its Reasons, the Tribunal referred to the parties’
submissions. At [40], the Tribunal noted that it was
submitted on behalf of the
applicant that the sole contributing factor to the applicant’s condition
was his employment with
Centrelink. There was no mention in this section of the
Tribunal’s Reasons of any submission directed to the concept of
“aggravation of an ailment”.
- At
[45]–[60], the Tribunal considered each of the issues which it had
identified at [3] of its Reasons.
- The
Tribunal held that the applicant suffered from a psychological injury (Reasons
at [45]–[47]). It also held that the psychological
injury from which the
applicant suffered resulted in impairment and incapacity for work within the
meaning of s 4 of the Act in March 2003, October 2003 and May 2005.
- The
Tribunal then considered the second issue which it had identified at [3] of its
Reasons under the heading: “Did the Applicant’s employment with
Centrelink contribute to the condition in a material degree?”
- At
[50] of its Reasons, the Tribunal described this as “the crux of this
case”. The Tribunal then discussed the concept of “material
contribution” and the evidence relevant to that question. The
Tribunal seemed to hold that the applicant already suffered from an underlying
personality disorder when he commenced working for Centrelink (see [57] of the
Tribunal’s Reasons).
- At
[58] of its Reasons, the Tribunal said:
It does not follow, in our view, that the Applicant’s work, through
aggressive telephone calls and the co-worker incident,
materially contributed to
his condition. The co-worker incident, in our view, produced only an episodic
increase in his pre-morbid
stress condition.
- The
Tribunal then returned to the concept of “material
contribution”. At this point in its reasons, it referred to and
discussed the judgment of Finn J in Comcare v Sahu-Khan [2007] FCA 15; (2007)
156 FCR 536.
- The
Tribunal then concluded its Reasons with the following (at
[60]):
After considering all the evidence, in particular the possible factors that may
have contributed to the onset or aggravation of the
Applicant’s
psychiatric condition, we find that the circumstances of the Applicant’s
employment with Centrelink did not
substantially contribute to his disease. Mr
Nelson is not entitled to compensation pursuant to section 14 of the Act. It
follows that he is not entitled to compensation in respect of medical expenses
under section 16, nor is he entitled
to compensation for incapacity under
sections 19, 20, 21 or 21A of the Act.
- The
only places that the concept of “aggravation of an ailment”
were mentioned at all in the Tribunal’s Reasons was at [5] (when s 4
of the Act was extracted) and at [60].
CONSIDERATION AND DECISION
- The
applicant submitted that:
- (a) In the
Tribunal, he had argued that he suffered the onset of a disease within the
meaning of s 4 of the Act because of his employment with Centrelink and
that, in the alternative, he had argued in the Tribunal that his underlying
psychiatric condition had been aggravated within the meaning of that term as
defined in s 4 of the Act with the result that the respondent was liable to
compensate him in respect of those circumstances pursuant to s 14 of the
Act; and
- (b) The
Tribunal had simply failed to address his arguments based upon the alleged
aggravation of his underlying psychiatric condition.
- It
was submitted on behalf of the applicant that an ailment will be aggravated
within the meaning of those expressions in the definitions
contained in s 4
of the Act if it becomes more severe or is hastened in some way. The terms
aggravation and acceleration in the present context have been
given their normal English meanings in judgments of this Court (see Casarotto
v Australian Postal Commission [1989] FCA 116; (1989) 86 ALR 399 at 404–405 and
Martin v Australian Postal Corporation [1999] FCA 655 at
[22]–[28]).
- In
the present case, in order to make good the contention concerning aggravation of
an existing ailment which the applicant submits
was advanced to the Tribunal,
the applicant would need to demonstrate that, at the time he commenced his
employment with Centrelink,
he was suffering an ailment within the relevant
definition and that that ailment was aggravated (ie made more severe) by his
employment
by Centrelink or that the aggravation was contributed to in a
material degree by his employment by Centrelink. The notion of material
contribution was explained by Finn J in Sahu-Khan [2007] FCA 15; 156 FCR 536. In
that case, his Honour concluded that, in order to assess whether the aggravation
of an ailment was contributed to in a material
degree by the employee’s
employment, the Court was obliged to evaluate all relevant contributing factors
in order to determine
whether the employment made a contribution which was more
than a mere contributing factor. His Honour described the exercise as
a matter
of fact and degree (Sahu-Khan [2007] FCA 15; 156 FCR 536 at [16]
(p 542–543)).
- The
fundamental premise of the applicant’s argument is that the Tribunal
simply failed to address his case based upon alleged
aggravation of an existing
ailment (viz his underlying psychiatric condition).
- The
Tribunal described the applicant’s complaint at [1] of its Reasons as a
complaint to the effect that his psychological condition
was sustained because
of his employment. That language tends to suggest that the Tribunal regarded
the applicant’s case as
being confined to a case based upon the contention
that he sustained an ailment as an employee of Centrelink, being an ailment that
was contributed to in a material degree by Centrelink. The terms of the general
formulation of the issue in [1] of the Tribunal’s
Reasons tend to suggest
that the Tribunal did not regard aggravation of an existing ailment as being an
alternative basis for the
applicant’s claims before it.
- The
language used by the Tribunal in the second dot point in [3] of its Reasons also
suggests that the Tribunal did not have under
consideration the question of
aggravation.
- As
mentioned at [26]–[27] above, the Tribunal described the crux of the case
as being captured in the heading to the last part
of its Reasons for Decision,
namely: “Did the Applicant’s employment with Centrelink
contribute to the condition in a material degree?” At [58], the
Tribunal appears to make a finding that the applicant’s condition was not
materially contributed to by
his employment.
- Whilst
it is true that the word aggravation appears in [60] of the
Tribunal’s Reasons, the substance of that paragraph is a finding directed
to the question of whether
or not the applicant’s employment substantially
contributed to his psychiatric condition. That is to say, the proposition
being
addressed in that paragraph of the Tribunal’s Reasons is: Was the onset
of the applicant’s condition caused by
or materially contributed to by the
applicant’s employment by Centrelink? In [60] of its Reasons, there is no
application of
the mind of the Tribunal to the alternative case put by the
applicant to the effect that his underlying psychiatric condition was
made more
severe or hastened by his employment by Centrelink.
- For
these reasons, I am of the view that the Tribunal did fail to address the
question of aggravation in its Reasons and in its decision.
- But
that is not the end of the matter.
- The
Tribunal would not be obliged to address the question of aggravation unless the
applicant had advanced a case to the Tribunal
based upon aggravation of his
underlying psychiatric condition.
- The
submissions made on behalf of the applicant to the Tribunal were made orally.
They were amplified by a Written Submission.
- In
the Written Submission, the author of that document did not develop with any
precision the reasons why it was contended on behalf
of the applicant that the
applicant had suffered a disease at work of the requisite kind. There is a
heading in the document as
follows:
Section 14 – Aggravation of a Disease
Under that heading, there is reference to s 14 and to the definitions of
injury and disease in s 4. But, as I have said, there is no
development of the argument so as to make clear the basis upon which the
proposition that the applicant
had suffered a disease of the requisite kind was
being advanced.
- In
his oral submissions to the Tribunal, Counsel for the applicant did specifically
put that the applicant had suffered an aggravation
of a disease and thus an
injury at work. A little later in his submissions, aggravation was mentioned
again. It is also fair to
say that the submissions made in the Tribunal on
behalf of the applicant seemed also to rely upon sub-clause (a) of the
definition
of disease in the sense that Counsel argued that the applicant
had sustained his psychological condition as a result of his employment by
Centrelink.
- Counsel
for the respondent quite properly and fairly conceded that the question of
aggravation had been argued before the Tribunal.
His submissions in the appeal
proceeded upon the footing that the case based upon aggravation of the
applicant’s existing
psychiatric condition had been understood and
addressed by the Tribunal. It was submitted on behalf of the respondent that
conformably
with the medical evidence adduced by the respondent before the
Tribunal, the Tribunal found that the applicant suffered from underlying
psychological disorders which were inevitably going to bubble to the surface in
the workplace and that those disorders had not been
aggravated by the
applicant’s employment by Centrelink. All that had happened was that the
inevitable consequences of those
disorders manifested themselves during the
applicant’s employment by Centrelink.
- Counsel
for the respondent submitted that the medical evidence made clear that the
applicant’s underlying condition was such
that it was always going to
manifest itself in the ways that it did, no matter where he worked or what the
circumstances of his employment
turned out to be. Counsel was at some pains to
demonstrate that there was a significant body of medical evidence before the
Tribunal
which would have justified a conclusion being reached by the Tribunal
to the effect that, notwithstanding the fact that the applicant
did suffer from
an underlying condition, the symptoms which manifested themselves from 2003
onwards were the inevitable result of
that underlying condition rather than the
result of exacerbating factors caused by his employment.
- It
is true that there is evidence to that effect submitted by Counsel for the
respondent. However, there was also evidence called
on behalf of the applicant
to the effect that the applicant’s underlying condition was made worse or
more severe by his employment
with Centrelink.
- I
do not think that the respondent can answer the criticisms presently raised by
the applicant by submitting, in effect, that, if
the Tribunal had considered the
question of aggravation, it would inevitably have come to the view that the
applicant’s underlying
condition was not aggravated by his employment. Of
course, I appreciate that the respondent does not quite put its submission in
this way. The respondent’s submission is that the Tribunal did, in fact,
address the question of aggravation and gave it short
shrift. The respondent
submitted that the Tribunal was entitled to give the question of aggravation
short shrift because there was
a substantial body of evidence that would justify
the Tribunal taking that approach.
- The
applicant did argue before the Tribunal that his underlying condition had been
aggravated by his employment in the sense contemplated
by the definitions in
s 4 of the Act. The argument was not developed much but this does not
detract from the fact that the argument was put. The Tribunal
was obliged to
turn its mind to the argument and to deal with the question of aggravation. It
was a significant part of the applicant’s
case before the Tribunal. The
argument was seriously advanced by the applicant and was worthy of serious
consideration. Whilst
it is true that the Tribunal is not required to consider
and address every submission made to it, serious submissions of the type
to
which I have just alluded must be addressed (Dennis Willcox Pty Ltd
v Federal Commissioner of Taxation (1988) 79 ALR 267 at 276–277
per Jenkinson J). It is an error of law for the Tribunal not to consider
such a submission and not to reveal
its consideration of that submission in its
Reasons for Decision (see Hartnett v Migration Agents Registration
Authority [2004] FCA 50 at [50]; and Australian Postal Corporation
v Sellick [2008] FCA 236; (2008) 245 ALR 561 at [88]–[89]
(pp 579–480)). This statement of principle is consistent with the
more general statements of principle directed
to giving content to the concept
of error of law made by the Full Court in Repatriation Commission
v Hill [2002] FCAFC 192; (2002) 69 ALD 581 at [59] (pp 597–598).
- In
order to meet its obligations in this regard, it was incumbent upon the Tribunal
to turn its mind by a rational process of reasoning
to the question of
aggravation and to come to a view as to whether or not the applicant’s
argument should be acceded to. In
order to meet those requirements in the
present case, the Tribunal was obliged to make reference to the relevant medical
evidence,
to come to a view about that evidence and to explain its reasons for
doing so. It was then obliged to relate that evidence to the
notion of
aggravation by reference to the relevant statutory provisions and authorities.
The Tribunal did none of those things.
- Counsel
for the applicant also submitted that the Tribunal had committed a reviewable
error of law by failing to give any or adequate
reasons for its decision when it
failed to address the applicant’s case based upon aggravation of an
existing ailment. I think
that the error committed by the Tribunal is more
aptly described as a failure to consider and address that case rather than a
failure
to give reasons or adequate reasons for rejecting that case.
- For
these reasons, the Tribunal’s decision must be set aside. I will make
orders accordingly.
- The
applicant seeks an order that, in the event that his appeal is successful, the
matter be remitted to a differently constituted
Tribunal to be determined
according to law. This application was not supported by any particular
submissions. I do not think that
the applicant has made out a case for such an
order and I decline to make an order in those terms.
I certify that the preceding fifty-four (54)
numbered paragraphs are a true copy of the Reasons for Judgment herein of the
Honourable
Justice Foster.
|
Associate:
Dated: 8 October 2009
Counsel for the
Applicant:
|
|
|
|
|
Solicitor for the Applicant:
|
Slater & Gordon Lawyers
|
|
|
|
Solicitor for the Respondent:
|
Mr B Dubé of Sparke Helmore Lawyers (Appeared)
|
|
|
|
Solicitor for the Respondent:
|
Dibbs Barker
|
AustLII:
Copyright Policy
|
Disclaimers
|
Privacy Policy
|
Feedback
URL: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/cth/FCA/2009/1149.html