Alvorac General Engineering Pty Limited v Arlotta

This matter came before the High Court of Australia on an application for special leave to appeal by Alvorac General Engineering Pty Limited, the respondent employer below, against the respondent, Mr Arlotta. The dispute concerned the interpretation and application of provisions within the Workers Compensation Act of New South Wales, specifically section 67, which deals with awards for pain and suffering in respect of scheduled injuries.

The applicant sought special leave to appeal on two primary grounds. Firstly, it raised a question regarding the construction of section 67, particularly the phrase "a most extreme case" used as a benchmark for awarding compensation for pain and suffering. Secondly, the applicant challenged the Workers Compensation Court's decision to award interest on the pain and suffering component of the award at half the statutory rate, arguing that the rate should have been determined in accordance with the principles established by the High Court in *MBP SA Pty Ltd v Gogic*. A subordinate point concerned the failure to split the award for pain and suffering to differentiate between pre-trial and future suffering for the purpose of calculating interest.

The High Court, through Brennan J, indicated that the issues raised appeared to be matters more appropriately dealt with by the Court of Appeal, given their nature as statutory interpretation points concerning an important New South Wales statute. Mr Hughes, for the applicant, contended that the frequency with which section 67 is applied in the Workers Compensation Court, with a significant volume of cases involving similar points being heard, justified the High Court's consideration. However, Dawson J questioned whether the matter was largely a question of fact. The transcript does not contain the final orders or outcome of the special leave application.