The NSW Workers Compensation Commission is not a court for the purposes of Ch III of the Constitution or s 39(2) of the Judiciary Act. The costs recoverable under Schedule 6 to the General Regulation must be assessed as a whole, not by reference to individual items in isolation; when so assessed, the maximum recoverable for a non-complex matter is $2,130 and for a complex matter $2,380. Section 337(6) of the 1998 Act expressly authorises the making of regulations fixing costs at nil for particular services, and this power is not inconsistent with the right to legal representation in s 356(1). There is no absolute common law right to legal representation; the need for representation depends on the circumstances of the case, the nature of the proceedings, the tribunal and the claim.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 35 later cases that cite this judgment.
5 of the 35 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.