Dominice v Allianz Australia Insurance Ltd

The New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal by Dominice against a decision of the Supreme Court of New South Wales concerning a review of a whole person impairment assessment under the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW). The dispute arose when the proper officer of the Motor Accidents Authority (now the Insurance Regulator) formed the belief that a medical assessment of the appellant's whole person impairment was incorrect in a material respect, leading to a referral to a review panel. The appellant sought judicial review of this decision.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the proper officer's satisfaction that reasonable cause existed to suspect the assessment was incorrect in a material respect constituted a jurisdictional fact, and if so, whether that satisfaction was reviewable by the Supreme Court. Additionally, the court considered whether the reasons provided by the proper officer amounted to an error of law on the face of the record, thereby engaging the Supreme Court's supervisory jurisdiction under section 69(3) and (4) of the *Supreme Court Act 1970* (NSW).

The Court of Appeal affirmed that the proper officer's satisfaction was not a jurisdictional fact but rather a prerequisite for the exercise of a statutory power. It held that the test for reviewability was whether the proper officer's conclusion was so unreasonable that no reasonable officer could have reached it, or if irrelevant considerations were taken into account. The court found no error of law on the face of the record, concluding that the proper officer's reasons did not demonstrate a failure to apply the correct test or a misinterpretation of the relevant statutory provisions. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed, and the appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs.