Henderson v QBE Insurance (Australia) Ltd

Henderson, the appellant, sought judicial review of a decision made by the proper officer of QBE Insurance (Australia) Ltd, the respondent, concerning a motor accidents compensation claim. The dispute centred on whether certain information provided after an initial assessment constituted "additional relevant information" that could affect the outcome of that assessment, and whether this constituted a jurisdictional fact. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the proper officer's decision was affected by jurisdictional error or an error of law on the face of the record. This involved determining the meaning and effect of "additional relevant information" under the *Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999* (NSW) and whether its presence or absence was a jurisdictional fact that, if misapprehended, vitiated the decision.

The Court of Appeal found that the proper officer's decision had been affected by jurisdictional error. The Court reasoned that the concept of "additional relevant information" was critical to the proper officer's power to make a determination. By failing to properly consider or give effect to information that was, in fact, additional and relevant, the proper officer had acted outside their jurisdiction or made an error of law on the face of the record. Consequently, the appeal was allowed, the judgment and orders of the court below in favour of QBE Insurance were set aside, and QBE Insurance was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of both the appeal and the proceedings in the court below.