Green and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Green against a decision by Comcare regarding his claim for compensation. Mr Green alleged that he had suffered a mental ailment, specifically an adjustment disorder with anxiety, which was contributed to, to a significant degree, by his employment. The dispute centred on whether the alleged ailment constituted an "injury" for the purposes of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) (SRC Act), particularly in light of the exclusion for reasonable administrative action. The case was heard by Dr I. Alexander, Member.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether Mr Green's condition qualified as an "injury" under the SRC Act. This required the Tribunal to consider whether his ailment was caused or contributed to by his employment, and crucially, whether it fell within the exclusion for "reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner." The Tribunal also had to assess whether Mr Green's reported symptoms constituted a "mental ailment" that was outside the boundaries of normal mental functioning and behaviour.

The Tribunal's reasoning was guided by the principles established in *Comcare v Paul Mooi*, which emphasised that for a psychological condition to be compensable, it must be demonstrably outside the range of normal mental functioning and behaviour. The Tribunal found that, apart from Mr Green's self-reports, there was insufficient convincing evidence to support the claim that he suffered a mental ailment during 2014 and 2015 due to workplace issues. While medical evidence indicated a diagnosis of adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood, the notes were often brief and lacked detail regarding the onset, cause, severity, or prognosis of his condition. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Green's "disease" was suffered as a result of reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner, which, pursuant to section 5A(1) of the SRC Act, meant it was not an "injury" for the purposes of the Act.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that Comcare was not liable to pay compensation to Mr Green.