The Industrial Court of Queensland dismissed all five grounds of appeal against the QIRC's dismissal of a disability discrimination complaint under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld). The Court held that evidence of an out-of-court statement by a doctor to the employer's WHS officer was admissible not for its truth but to explain the officer's state of mind and subsequent decision-making regarding the complainant's fitness to return to work. The Court confirmed that a [name withheld] v [name withheld] inference was properly declined where the uncalled witness (the doctor) was equally available to the complainant who bore the onus of proof and whose case relied on the doctor's medical clearance. On the comparator issue, the Court upheld the Commissioner's use of a hypothetical comparator incorporating the circumstance that the employee might need to cease duties unpredictably, rather than an actual comparator who had not suffered the injury.
The full text is available to signed-in members.