Appeal by employer against finding of liability � meaning of "fixed work place" �
,,working day within the Work Health Act 1986 (NT)
Work Health Act 1986 (NT), s 53
Quick Take
1Per [name withheld]: where a worker has a fixed workplace, that workplace comprises every physical location on the employer's premises where the worker is expected and permitted to work, including means of access and egress. On the facts, the part of an on-site staff unit that the worker regularly used for work, with the employer's knowledge, formed part of one fixed workplace with the kitchen, not a second workplace. The broader 'whole area, scope or ambit' definition in s 4(7) applies only where there is no fixed workplace.
2Under s 4(1)(a)(i) of the Work Health Act 1986 (NT), applying Buchanan & Brock Pty Ltd v Harris (1957) 98 CLR 22, an injury is deemed to arise out of or in the course of employment if it occurs while the worker, on a day on which he attends his workplace for the purpose of working, is present there. No further inquiry into the connection with employment is required. Per [name withheld], the limit on the provision lies in the requirements of presence and 'for the purpose of working', which import the 'substantial continuity' requirement described in Nichols v Attorney-General (1950) Tas SR 54.
3Per [name withheld], a worker returning to on-site accommodation has not entered his place of residence, or left his workplace, until he has fully traversed the front door. Per [name withheld] (dissenting), 'workplace' may be plural under s 24(b) of the Interpretation Act (NT), and separately identifiable work areas may be distinct workplaces. On that view, a unit occupied by the worker's choice and used only partly for work was not a workplace on a day he did not attend it for the purpose of working.
