Harrison and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal to the Tribunal regarding Comcare's decision to deny liability for Ms Harrison's adjustment disorder. Ms Harrison had been employed by the Department of Social Services and had held a temporary performance allowance (TPA) at the APS6 level, managing access to datasets. This allowance was periodically extended over approximately eight months, with the final approval expiring on 29 February 2016. Following a review of staffing, Ms Harrison's TPA was not renewed, and she was subsequently allocated to an APS5 role. Ms Harrison contended that this failure to retain her APS6 TPA constituted a "failure to retain a benefit" and that the administrative actions taken in respect of her employment were unreasonable and caused her psychological injury.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether the failure to renew Ms Harrison's temporary performance allowance constituted a "failure to retain a benefit" under the relevant Act. It also needed to consider whether any administrative action taken in respect of Ms Harrison's employment was reasonable and taken in a reasonable manner, so as to attract an exemption from liability under section 5A of the Act. Specifically, the Tribunal had to assess whether the department's actions, including the non-renewal of the TPA and the subsequent allocation to an APS5 role, were objectively reasonable, irrespective of Ms Harrison's subjective expectations or reactions.

The Tribunal reasoned that the failure to renew Ms Harrison's TPA did indeed constitute a failure to retain a benefit, which was a form of reasonable administrative action under section 5A(2)(f). While acknowledging that Ms Harrison suffered a psychological injury as a result of this administrative action, the Tribunal found that Comcare had discharged its onus to demonstrate that the actions taken by the department were reasonable and executed in a reasonable manner. The Tribunal noted that the department's actions appeared to be in accordance with relevant policies and administrative practices, including the Temporary Performance Allowance Policy which indicated that temporary performance was intended as a short-term measure. Although the failure to offer Ms Harrison a support person on 29 February 2016 was considered a departure from ideal practice, the Tribunal did not regard this as sufficiently serious to invalidate the overall reasonableness of the administrative restructure. The Tribunal emphasised that the test for exemption under section 5A focused on the objective reasonableness of the employer's actions, not the employee's subjective expectations.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the reviewable decision of Comcare dated 2 August 2016.