Bindah v Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a dispute over workers' compensation entitlements, brought before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales by the appellant, Bindah, against the respondent, Carter Holt Harvey Woodproducts Australia Pty Ltd. The core of the dispute involved whether the Appeal Panel of the Workers Compensation Commission had erred in its determination of liability and causation, particularly in relation to the characterisation of the appellant's injury.

The legal issues before the Court of Appeal included whether the Appeal Panel had wrongly determined liability and causation in place of an arbitrator, whether the matter was capable of referral to an approved medical specialist under section 321 of the *Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998* (NSW), and whether the arbitrator had characterised the injury as a "frank injury" or as an exacerbation or aggravation of a pre-existing condition. Furthermore, the court considered whether the Appeal Panel had erred by failing to address section 323 of the Act.

The Court of Appeal granted leave to appeal and directed that a draft notice of appeal, with specific deletions, stand as the formal notice of appeal. Ultimately, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal to the first respondent.