Coveney v Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund Ltd; Davis v Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund Ltd; WorkCover Queensland v Asbestos Injuries Compensation Fund Ltd

In the New South Wales Court of Appeal, Ward P, Leeming and Payne JJA considered appeals arising from a dispute concerning a scheme established to compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases. The primary dispute involved two victims who had obtained judgments for personal injury damages against a liable entity, having previously received workers' compensation payments from WorkCover Queensland. WorkCover Queensland asserted an entitlement to reimbursement and a charge over these judgments, leading to the question of whether the trustee of the compensation scheme was justified in withholding payments to the judgment creditors to the extent of WorkCover's claimed reimbursement.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the trustee of the asbestos injuries compensation scheme was entitled to refuse to make payments to discharge the judgment debts of the liable entity, where those debts were subject to a claim for reimbursement by WorkCover Queensland. This required the court to determine the proper interpretation and application of the scheme's trust deed and relevant legislation in the context of WorkCover's asserted rights.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeals, setting aside the orders made by the primary judge. The court's reasoning, though not fully detailed in the provided text, led to the conclusion that the trustee was not justified in withholding payments as the primary judge had ordered. The court directed the parties to provide agreed short minutes of order or their proposed minutes with submissions, indicating a substantive alteration to the initial judicial determination.