A partially incapacitated worker who becomes totally incapacitated by a supervening non-compensable condition (such as alcohol dependence unrelated to the work injury) breaches the obligation of mutuality under s 36 of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1986 (SA), entitling the employer to discontinue weekly payments. The hypothetical reasonable employer test is a permissible shorthand for determining whether employment is reasonably accessible in the labour market. However, discontinuance of weekly payments does not extinguish the underlying entitlement to compensation for the continuing work-caused partial incapacity.
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