CHING And AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2011] AATA 361

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)   No.     2008/0916; 2008/0918     2008/0920 2008/4691

2010/3609

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION		)
Re		XIAO MEI CHING

Applicant

And AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Dr J D Campbell, Member

Date30 May 2011

PlaceSydney

Decision

1.     In respect of application No. 2008/0916, the decision under review is affirmed.

2.     In respect of application No. 2008/0918, the decision under review is affirmed.

3.     In respect of application No. 2008/0920, the decision under review is set aside and in substitution thereof it is determined:

     i.     liability is accepted for the psychiatric conditions of pain disorder, panic attack with agoraphobia and major depressive disorder; and

ii. the matter is to be remitted to the Respondent in relation to the calculation for section 16 and 19 payments; and

    iii.     the Applicant is entitled to recover costs in the nominated matter in accordance with the Tribunal’s existing cost recovery instructions.

4.     In respect of application No. 2008/4691, the decision under review is affirmed.

5.     In respect of 2010/3609, the decision under review is set aside and in substitution thereof it is determined:

     i.     the Applicant is entitled to permanent impairment payment in respect of an accepted psychiatric condition, nominated in the previous matter, with the level of whole body impairment determined to be 15 per cent; and

     ii.     the matter to be remitted to the Respondent for calculation of the compensation payment; and

    iii.     costs are awarded to the Applicant in relation to the nominated matter.

...................[sgd]...........................

Dr J D Campbell
  Member

LONGTITUDINAL BACKGROUND

2.      Mrs Ching was born in 1961.  Mrs Ching commenced work in 1980 in Hong Kong initially as a customer services’ representative for an air freight operator and from 1983 to 1986 as a secretary to an executive.  Mrs Ching migrated to Australia in 1986 and she commenced work with Australia Post as a mail officer at the Southern Suburbs Mail Centre in 1988.  Prior to her employment, she underwent a medical examination on 24 November 1988, during which she denied any history of any disorder of limbs, anxiety, mental or other nervous conditions.  No evidence of limb or mental or nervous disorder was found at examination on that day.

3.      Following her employment with Australia Post in 1988, Mrs Ching undertook studies in accountancy part-time at Liverpool TAFE College.  For the next ten years Mrs Ching undertook a wide variety of tasks, including forklift driving as a mail officer, and during this period she much enjoyed her work and the work environment.  During this period, she suffered a small injury to her hand in 1996, which was of little consequence.

4.      In 1999 Mrs Ching, as a result of a reorganisation within within Australia Post, was transferred to work at the South West Mail Facility at Rookwood.  Mrs Ching, after a two day training course, commenced working on the Spectrum 10 machine, undertaking the tasks of coding, loading, clearing on a 45 minute rotational basis.…