Insights
Publications
Search Publications
Recent Publications
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.
Tribunal finds lower back injury not caused by prolonged sitting/standing at government department
November 30, 2021
Salehi and Comcare [2021] AATA 3294. Key Points: The Tribunal was asked to determine liability for a lower back injury claimed to have been sustained due to prolonged sitting and standing in the workplace. The Tribunal accepted that the employee suffered from a lower back condition but found no evidence that the condition was […]
Tribunal: actions to address underperformance were reasonable
November 29, 2021
YYHQ and Comcare [2021] AATA 3809. Key Points: The Tribunal was asked to consider liability for a psychological condition, claimed to have been caused by bullying and harassment at the Department of Home Affairs. The Tribunal found that the psychological condition did not meet the definition of Injury as it was suffered as a […]
Weight loss surgery not related to psychological condition
November 29, 2021
Fittock and Comcare [2021] AATA 3628. Key Points: The Tribunal was asked to consider liability for weight loss surgery obtained by a customer service officer working at Services Australia. The employee claimed that the surgery was necessary to treat her accepted psychological condition. The Tribunal applied Howes v Comcare [2016] FCA 1521 and found […]
AFP Officer’s appeal dismissed – Full Federal Court upholds reliance on section 53
November 29, 2021
Leach v Comcare [2021] FCAFC 134. Key Points: The Full Federal Court was asked to decide whether the Federal Court and the Tribunal had erred in finding that Mr Leach had failed to provide notice of his injury as soon as practicable after he became aware of it. The Full Court dismissed the appeal. […]
HBA again among Australia’s best insurance law firms
November 11, 2021
HBA Legal has been named one of Australia’s best insurance law firms in the 2021 Doyle’s Guide rankings – this year on both the east and west coasts of Australia. The rankings are highly regarded within the legal industry in that they are peer nominated and peer and client voted. Additionally, one can only nominate […]
Covid-19, vaccinations & the workplace – an HR issue or a Safety issue?
October 1, 2021
The management of COVID-19 in the workplace is a health and safety issue employers have been grappling with since the start of the pandemic. The recent developments with WorkSafe Victoria charging the Victorian Department of Health with 58 breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act (Vic) regarding Victoria’s hotel quarantine system is reflective of […]
Federal Court: AFP Officer not “double dipping”
September 30, 2021
Friend v Comcare [2021] FCA 837. Key Points: Ms Friend had an accepted claim for workers’ compensation under the SRC Act for “gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, adjustment disorder with depressed and anxious mood and panic disorder without agoraphobia”. Ms Friend received $1.25 million in damages for sexual harassment and discrimination allegedly experienced in the […]
When a medical clinic submits summons compliance expenses, what’s reasonable?
September 30, 2021
Stekovic and Comcare [2021] AATA 2230. Key Points: The Tribunal was asked to consider the reasonableness of expenses claimed by a medical clinic for compliance with a summons. The Tribunal found that the medical clinic had not provided sufficient evidence to support the costs claimed. The Tribunal applied the authority in Bestt and Military […]
Full Federal Court confirms compensation not payable where causal nexus between injury and employment no longer exists
September 30, 2021
Woodhouse v Comcare [2021] FCAFC 95. Key Points: The Full Federal Court was asked to decide whether the Tribunal had erred in deciding that Ms Woodhouse’s psychological condition could no longer be said to be contributed to, to a material, degree, by her employment. The Full Court dismissed each of Ms Woodhouse’s grounds of […]
Tribunal confirms physiological change necessary for an “Injury” under Comcare scheme
September 30, 2021
QXQH and Comcare [2021] AATA 3036. Key Points: The Tribunal was asked to consider whether an Executive with Services Australia was entitled to further compensation in relation to a shoulder injury suffered in 2015. The Tribunal found that the original injury was a sprain, without physiological change, which did not constitute an “Injury”. The […]