Davison v State of New South Wales

The case of Davison v State of New South Wales involved the claimant, Mr Davison, challenging the decision of the Arbitrator that his injuries did not meet the threshold for classification as a "seriously injured worker" under section 32A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW). Mr Davison argued that his multiple injuries should be aggregated to reach the necessary impairment percentage. The dispute was heard by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which had to determine whether the statutory language permitted such aggregation. The court's task was to interpret the meaning of "seriously injured worker" in the context of multiple injuries and whether the statutory language indicated an intention to include or exclude aggregation.

The court needed to address whether the term "seriously injured worker" in section 32A of the Act included a person with multiple injuries that, when combined, meet the impairment threshold. This required an analysis of the language in section 32A, and in particular, whether the use of the singular term "seriously injured worker" implied the plural. The court also considered section 8(b) of the Interpretation Act 1987, which states that the singular includes the plural unless a contrary intention appears in the legislation. The primary issue was whether the contrary intention was evident in the Workers Compensation Act.

The Supreme Court held that the term "seriously injured worker" in section 32A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 did not permit the aggregation of multiple injuries to reach the impairment threshold. The court reasoned that while section 8(b) of the Interpretation Act 1987 generally allows the singular to include the plural, the specific context of the Workers Compensation Act suggested otherwise. The court found that the legislative intent did not support the aggregation of injuries to meet the impairment threshold, as this would have a significant impact on the operation of the scheme. Consequently, the court confirmed the Arbitrator’s determination that Mr Davison's injuries did not qualify him as a "seriously injured worker" under section 32A of the Act.