The power to refer medical questions to a medical panel under s 274 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 is not confined to cases where there is an existing conflict in the medical evidence. Relevance is determined by reference to the statutory issues the applicant must establish, not by whether there is an evidentiary dispute on the particular topic. A referral where the medical evidence is 'all one way' is not, without more, an abuse of process. The approach in Stewart v G.U.D. Manufacturing Co Pty Ltd, which required a conflict in medical opinions before referral, should not be followed.
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