Dean and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application by Comcare for access to the complete medical records of Mr Dean, a party to a workers' compensation proceeding before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Comcare sought these records on the basis that a broad range of medical material could be relevant to determining the diagnosis of Mr Dean's accepted injury, which Comcare was challenging. Mr Dean had objected to Comcare's access to these documents.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Comcare should be allowed access to Mr Dean's complete medical records, despite privacy concerns, in circumstances where Comcare was challenging the diagnosis of an accepted injury. The central legal issue was the extent to which a party in a tribunal proceeding, particularly Comcare in a workers' compensation matter, could access the medical records of the other party when those records might be relevant to the dispute.

The Tribunal disallowed Comcare's objection to access, applying the principles established in cases such as *Comcare v Maganga*. The Tribunal affirmed that access to relevant material is crucial for procedural fairness, requiring that parties be given a reasonable opportunity to present their case. While the ultimate relevance of documents is for the Tribunal to decide, during the preparation stages, the net for potential relevance is cast broadly. The Tribunal held that a party seeking inspection of documents does not need to prove their relevance definitively, but rather that there is a real possibility they may assist in resolving the matters before the Tribunal. The Tribunal also noted that an applicant seeking review of a decision concerning their personal affairs must be prepared for matters relating to their health to be revealed, and that the threshold for material sought under summons is lower than that for material considered during the review process itself.