The expression 'seek damages at law' in s 182D(1) of the Workers' Compensation Act 1990 (Qld) encompasses the commencement of proceedings by issue of a writ, not merely service. The transitional provisions in ss 551 and 558 of the WorkCover Queensland Act 1996 enabled the Chief Executive Officer to approve forms for the purposes of s 182D(2) after the repeal of the 1990 Act, and the July 1997 'Application for Damages Certificate' form constituted a valid approved form. A common law right to sue for damages for a workplace injury is not a right 'accrued under' the 1990 Act for the purposes of s 20(2)(c) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1954 (Qld). The question of whether the July 1997 form was identifiable as a form under s 182D (given it made no reference to that section or the 1990 Act) was the subject of dissent by McMurdo P.
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