Adams v Commissioner of Police

The appeal in *Adams v Commissioner of Police* concerned the admissibility of an expert report in proceedings before the Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT), now the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). The appellant, Mr. Adams, sought to rely on an expert report to establish that his anxiety symptoms constituted an injury for which his employment was a substantial contributing factor, thereby entitling him to workers' compensation. The Commissioner of Police opposed the admission of this report.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the ADT had erred in rejecting the expert report, and whether this rejection constituted an error of law. Specifically, the court considered whether the ADT's finding that there was a lack of congruence between the assumed facts in the expert report and the facts proved before the tribunal was a legally sound basis for its exclusion. The court also examined whether the ADT's decision was vitiated by a deficiency of reasons or an error of law, and whether the appeal could be dismissed if no error was demonstrated on a particular ground.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the ADT was entitled to reject the expert report if it found that the factual assumptions underpinning the expert's opinion did not align with the evidence presented. The court affirmed that an expert report is only of value if it addresses the specific factual matrix of the case. The rejection of the report was found not to be an error of law, but rather a determination based on the evidence before the tribunal. The court also considered whether the appeal should be dismissed if the appellant failed to establish an error of law on a specific ground, even if other grounds were arguable.

The appeal was dismissed with costs.