Cunha v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited

In the matter of Cunha v QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited, the dispute arose from a motor vehicle accident involving the claimant on 19 June 2023. The claimant had been receiving a carer's pension for his mother until 28 May 2023, when he began working as a delivery driver. He worked for 12 days before the accident. The issue before the court was whether the claimant's Centrelink payments and the income from his 12 days of work should be considered as income for determining his pre-accident weekly earnings under the Motor Accidents Injuries Act 2017.

The legal issue was whether payments not yet received, but earned, could be considered as pre-accident weekly earnings. The claimant argued that his Centrelink payments and the income from his work should be included, whereas the insurer maintained that only payments actually received should be considered. The court found that the Centrelink carer payments were not income for the purposes of assessing the claimant's pre-accident weekly earnings. Moreover, since the claimant did not receive any payment for his work until after the accident, it could not be included in the assessment of his pre-accident weekly earnings.

As a result, the claimant was entitled to the minimum statutory benefit. The court's decision was based on the statutory definition of income and the requirement that only payments received before the accident should be considered. The claimant's argument that earned but unpaid income should be included was rejected by the court. The final order of the court was that the claimant was entitled to the minimum statutory benefit, as his pre-accident weekly earnings did not include the Centrelink payments or the income from his work.