Fitzgerald and Comcare (Compensation)

The matter of *Fitzgerald and Comcare (Compensation)* concerned an employee of the Department of Human Services who sought compensation for an adjustment disorder. The applicant had a pre-existing right elbow condition which, over time, led to periods of pain and incapacitation. In 2008, she experienced a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with an adjustment disorder with depressed mood by several consultant psychiatrists. These diagnoses identified contributing factors including personality traits, workplace interpersonal conflicts, her right elbow condition, and the compensation process itself. Comcare rejected her claim for the psychological condition, leading to an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal made consent orders acknowledging her entitlement to compensation for the aggravation of her right elbow condition but not for the psychiatric condition.

The legal issues before the court were whether the applicant's adjustment disorder constituted an ailment or an aggravation of an ailment, and if so, whether this aggravation was contributed to, to a significant degree, by her employment. Crucially, the court also had to determine if any such aggravation arose as a result of reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner in respect of her employment. The applicant's employer's conduct was also a consideration in relation to its causative effect on any aggravation.

The court affirmed the decision under review, finding that while the applicant suffered from an adjustment disorder, the aggravation of this condition was not contributed to by her employment to a significant degree. Furthermore, the court determined that any administrative actions taken by the employer concerning the applicant's employment were reasonable and taken in a reasonable manner. Therefore, the employer's conduct, being reasonable administrative action, was not causative of the aggravation of the applicant's condition in a way that would attract compensation under the relevant legislation.