Ballas v Department of Education (State of NSW)

The appeal concerned a judicial review of a decision made by a delegate of the Registrar of the Workers Compensation Commission, and a subsequent decision by the primary judge. The appellant, Ballas, challenged the delegate's assessment of whole person impairment, arguing that the approved medical specialist had taken into account irrelevant considerations and failed to consider relevant ones when applying the Workers Compensation Guidelines.

The central legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the primary judge and the delegate had misconstrued the role of the Registrar, whether the delegate's decision contained jurisdictional error, and whether the delegate erred in concluding that the characterisation of conduct into the categories of the Psychiatric Impairment Rating Scale was a matter of discretion.

The Court of Appeal found that the delegate had indeed erred in law by failing to properly consider the evidence and the relevant provisions of the Workers Compensation Guidelines. The court held that the characterisation of conduct into the scales under the Guidelines was not a matter of unfettered discretion but required adherence to the established criteria. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the primary judge's decision was set aside, and the delegate's certificate and decision were declared void and of no effect. The matter was remitted to the Second Defendant for referral to a different delegate for determination according to law, with costs awarded to the appellant.