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Our team regularly produces articles and updates on legal developments and the implications for clients. Our latest publications can be viewed below. Alternatively, use the Search function on the left to find the topic of your choice.
Sean Hayes to Helm New Player in Claims Management Market
November 8, 2017
Sean Hayes has been announced as director and General Manager of HBA Group’s new claims, legal and risk management business Paratus, launched June this year. Paratus challenges traditional models of claims management by integrating legal services and continual risk assessment to deliver streamlined, cost-effective services to insurance clients. Hayes was formerly CGU’s National Agencies […]
Can an email or an impromptu discussion be an informal counselling action?
October 13, 2017
Adam and Comcare [2017] AATA 1507 Key Points The Applicant worked for the Department of Defence and claimed to have suffered a psychological condition due to the imposition of a deadline. Comcare argued that the Applicant’s disease was caused by an email from the Applicant’s first level supervisor and a discussion with her second […]
Serious invasions of privacy tort: where are we?
September 27, 2017
Key Points After 15 years of contemplation of the existence of a serious invasions of privacy tort at common law, the Australian Law Reform Commission in 2014 formally recommended its creation to the federal government. Public liability insurers would potentially be one of the first to be impacted by any more far reaching development of […]
Tribunal sorts out SRC Act aggravation principles
August 29, 2017
Almeida and Australian Postal Corporation [2017] AATA 1001 Key Points Ms Almeida, a Delivery Officer, complained of straining her lower back, right elbow and left knee while sorting some large mail in the course of her employment. The Tribunal found there was only a temporal, and not causal, connection between incident on 9 October 2014 […]
Failure to convince the Tribunal sees second bite at the cherry pipped
August 29, 2017
Moore and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission [2017] AATA 532 Key Points The central issue was whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal should allow a case to be re-litigated in circumstances where there had previously been a consent decision issued. The Tribunal determined that Mr Moore failed to provide sufficiently compelling reasons for the Tribunal […]
Managers beware: reasonable administrative action in the post-Comcare v Martin world
August 29, 2017
Lim v Comcare [2017] FCAFC 64 Key Points The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia was required to consider whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal had made an error in law by misconstruing the meaning of the expression “suffered as a result of” contained in the exclusion set out in section 5A(1) of the […]
Assumptions of fact deemed insufficient to invoke willful and false misrepresentation exclusion
August 29, 2017
JXTZ and Comcare [2017] AATA 880 Key Points The Tribunal was required to consider whether the exclusion in section 7(7) of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 (Cth) (SRC Act) operated in the circumstances. The Tribunal determined that the evidence did not establish, on the balance of probabilities, that there had been a false […]
Release from implied undertaking? There might be no need!
August 29, 2017
Chin v Comcare [2017] AATA 634 Key Points The Tribunal was required to consider whether Comcare could use reports obtained in the course of proceedings for claims management purposes, despite them being caught by the implied undertaking. The Tribunal found that, while the implied undertaking applied to the documents, Comcare’s proposed use of the documents […]
AAT settles the issue of legal privilege in Tribunal proceeding
August 29, 2017
Buttigieg and Comcare [2017] AATA 1002 Key Points The key issue was whether section 38AA of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) (AAT Act), and the ongoing obligation of a decision-maker to disclose all documents that come into its possession after it has complied with its obligations under section 37 of the AAT Act, […]
NBN and RAA in the AAT: Tribunal confirms Martin v Comcare ‘significance’ threshold
August 24, 2017
Yunupingu and Comcare [2017] AATA 622 Key Points The Tribunal considered the principles expounded in the High Court case of Comcare v Martin, in respect of the reasonable administrative action provisions in section 5A(2) of the SRC Act. This decision serves as further authority to support the view that Martin limits the operation of the […]