Foley and Australian Postal Corporation

Administrative

Appeals

Tribunal

 

DECISION AND REASONS FOR DECISION [2003] AATA 904

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL      )

)          No V02/1419

GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE  DIVISION		)
Re		JOHN FOLEY

Applicant

And AUSTRALIAN POSTAL CORPORATION

Respondent

DECISION

Tribunal Mr J Handley, Senior Member

Date15 September 2003

PlaceMelbourne

Decision The decision under review is affirmed.

(Sgd) J Handley

Senior Member

CATCHWORDS

COMPENSATION – Applicant suffered “nervous breakdown” in 1987; claim for compensation made in 2002; whether notice of injury made as soon as practicable; whether employer would suffer prejudice; whether failure to claim resulted from ignorance or mistake or other reasonable cause; decision affirmed.

Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 s124(2)

Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act 1971 s53(1)(a)(b), s54(1), s54(2)(a)(i)(ii), s54(6)

Corry and Others v Keperra Country Gold Club and Others (1986) 64 ALR 556

Pacific Manning Company Pty Ltd v Barton (2003) FCA 498

Comcare v Luck (1999) 29 AAR 403

Telstra Corporation v Roycroft (1997) 774 FCA

Banks v Comcare, Federal Court, 1954, 382/96

Re Scutts and Department of Defence (1998) AATA 527

Re Willis and Australian Telecommunications Commission (1989) 10 AAR 352

REASONS FOR DECISION

15 September 2003   Mr J Handley, Senior Member

1.      The applicant applies to review a decision made by the respondent on 24 October 2002.  The respondent then decided to affirm a decision it made on 1 August 2002 to reject a claim made on 25 July 2002.

2.      The claim then made was in respect of a “nervous breakdown” which the applicant alleged occurred in 1987 when he was employed by the respondent (refer T-document page 21).

3.      The “commencing day” of the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 was 1 December 1988. Section 124(2) is recorded in the following terms:

(2)A person is not entitled to compensation under this Act in respect of an injury, loss or damage suffered before the commencing day if compensation was not payable in respect of that injury, loss or damage:

(a)where the injury, loss or damage was suffered before the commencement of the 1930 Act - under the 1912 Act;

(b)where the injury, loss or damage was suffered after the commencement of the 1930 Act but before the commencement of the 1971 Act - under the 1930 Act as in force when the injury, loss or damage was suffered; or

(c)in any other case - under the 1971 Act as in force when the injury, loss or damage was suffered.

4.      By reason of the injury having occurred prior to 1 December 1988 and during the currency of the Compensation (Commonwealth Government Employees) Act 1971 (“the 1971 Act”) the provisions of sub-section of (2)(c) above apply. Accordingly it is necessary to examine the relevant provisions of the 1971 Act namely, s53(1)(a)(b), s54(1), (2)(a)(i)(ii) and (6) which are relevantly reproduced as follows;

53.(1)     This Act does not apply in relation to an injury caused to an employee unless notice in writing of the injury was served, as prescribed, on the Commonwealth-

(a)as…