My v WA

[2018] WASCA 1

Western Australia Court of Appeal

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Interrogate

Catchwords

1. Workers' Compensation
2. › Disease caused by stress from discipline
3. › Whether discipline 'unreasonable and harsh on the part of the employer'
4. › Objective assessment of all circumstances
5. › Whether arbitrator misapprehended scope of statutory inquiry
6. › Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (WA), s 5, s 18
1. Administrative Law
2. › Error of law
3. › Misapprehension of nature and scope of statutory power
4. › Whether finding of fact without supporting evidence, taking into account irrelevant considerations, and failing to take account of relevant considerations constitute errors of law
5. › Jurisdictional error
1. Appeal
2. › Workers' compensation appeal
3. › Leave to appeal
4. › Whether appeal involves a question of law
5. › Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (WA), s 247, s 254

Quick Take

The expression 'unreasonable and harsh on the part of the employer' in the definition of 'injury' in s 5 of the Workers' Compensation and Injury Management Act 1981 (WA) requires an objective assessment of all the circumstances, not an inquiry into the worker's subjective perceptions. An arbitrator who proceeds on the basis of the worker's subjective belief that they were being unfairly targeted, rather than undertaking an objective assessment, misapprehends the scope of the statutory inquiry and commits an error of law. The existence of evidence capable of supporting the ultimate conclusion does not preclude a finding of jurisdictional error where the decision-maker materially misapprehended the nature and limits of the statutory power.