Constantinou and Comcare (Compensation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered a claim for compensation by Mr Constantinou against Comcare. Mr Constantinou, an Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer, sought compensation for a psychological stress injury, which he alleged arose from workplace bullying, discriminatory behaviour, and assault during his deployment to Papua New Guinea. Comcare had rejected his claim, asserting that the condition arose from reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner.

The Tribunal was required to determine two key legal issues. First, whether Mr Constantinou suffered from a "disease" for the purposes of the relevant legislation. Second, if a disease was established, whether it was a result of reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner in respect of his employment, which would trigger an exclusionary provision and prevent compensation.

The Tribunal found that there was no dispute that Mr Constantinou suffered from a condition outside the boundaries of normal mental functioning and behaviour, and that his employment with the AFP was a significant contributing factor. However, the dispute centred on the onset of the condition and its cause. Mr Constantinou argued his condition stemmed from various bullying events and the incident with his supervisor, Mr Murphy, and the subsequent handling of his complaints. Comcare contended that his symptoms manifested after the revocation of his deployment to PNG in May 2018, which they argued constituted reasonable administrative action taken reasonably. The Tribunal ultimately determined that the action of revoking Mr Constantinou's deployment was reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner, thereby excluding his claim for compensation under section 5A(2) of the Act.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision of 30 October 2018 to reject Mr Constantinou's claim for compensation.