Harding v Westpac Banking Corporation (No 2)

In Harding v Westpac Banking Corporation, the dispute between the parties, Harding and Westpac, centred around a workers compensation claim. The matter was heard in the Workers Compensation Commission of New South Wales. The primary issue for the court was to reconsider the compensation claim related to the weekly rate of payments for a specified period, specifically from 4 April 2017 to 30 November 2017, as outlined in the Certificate of Determination dated 17 November 2017. The court needed to decide whether the weekly rate of compensation as set by the original decision was appropriate or needed adjustment.

The court examined the relevant statutory provisions, particularly Section 350(3) of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998, which allowed for reconsideration of the decision. The court noted that the initial decision had made an error in calculating the weekly rate of compensation for the specified period. The original decision had incorrectly applied a rate that was not consistent with the statutory requirements. The court found that the correct rate should have been $919.92 per week, as per Section 37 of the Act.

Upon finding that the original decision contained an error in the calculation of the weekly compensation rate, the court revoked and substituted the relevant order. Consequently, the court ordered that sub-paragraph [1(c)] of the Certificate of Determination dated 17 November 2017 be revoked and replaced with a new order setting the correct weekly rate of $919.92 from 4 April 2017 to 30 November 2017. This decision rectified the error in the previous determination and ensured compliance with the statutory provisions.