Hilder v Aware Super Services Pty Ltd - [2025] NSWPIC 463

CERTIFICATE OF DETERMINATION OF MEMBER
CITATION:	Hilder v Aware Super Services Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 463
APPLICANT:	Michael Hilder
RESPONDENT:	Aware Super Services Pty Limited
MEMBER:	Cameron Burge
DATE OF DECISION:	8 September 2025
CATCHWORDS:	WORKERS COMPENSATION - Workers Compensation Act 1987; weekly compensation and medical expenses claim in respect of a psychological injury; whether the applicant’s injury was wholly or predominantly caused by the respondent’s reasonable action with respect to retrenchment; applicant suffered a psychological injury in the course of his employment with the respondent; liability was denied on the basis the respondent’s reasonable actions with regards to retrenchment were the whole or predominant cause of the injury; Held – applicant carries the onus of establishing the requirements for ongoing payments beyond 130 weeks under section 38 have been met; the evidence does on balance establish total incapacity up to the expiration of the second entitlement period under section 37; respondent ordered to pay weekly compensation to the applicant in the amount claimed for total incapacity for the totality of the sections 36 and 37 period; award for the respondent on the claim for compensation pursuant to section 38; respondent to pay the applicant’s section 60 expenses.
DETERMINATIONS MADE:	The Commission determines: 1. The applicant suffered a psychological injury in the course of his employment with the respondent, with a deemed date of injury of 8 February 2021. 2. At the date of injury, the applicant’s pre-injury average weekly earnings were $2,974.33, a figure in excess of the statutory maximum rate of payments pursuant to s 34 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. 3. The applicant’s injury was not wholly or predominantly caused by the reasonable actions of the respondent with respect to retrenchment. 4. As a result of his injury, the applicant was totally incapacitated for employment from 9 February 2021 to 30 June 2023. 5. The respondent is to pay the applicant weekly compensation pursuant to s 36 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 as follows: (a) from 9 February 2021 to 31 March 2021 at the rate of $2,130.28 per week, and (b) from 1 April 2021 to 10 May 2021 at the rate of $2,141.87 per week. 6. The respondent is to pay the applicant weekly compensation pursuant to s 37 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 as follows: (a) from 11 May 2021 to 30 September 2021 at the rate of $1,803.68; (b) from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 at the rate of $1,826.32; (c) from 1 April 2022 to 30 September 2022 at the rate of $1,854.40; (d) from 1 October 2022 to 31 March 2023 at the rate of $1,873.36, and (e) from 1 April 2023 to 7 August 2023 at the rate of $1,916.24. 7. Award for the respondent on the claim for weekly compensation from 8 August 2023 to date and continuing. 8. The respondent is to pay the applicant’s reasonably necessary medical and treatment expenses pursuant to s 60 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Hilder v Aware Super Services Pty Ltd

Details

AGLC: Hilder v Aware Super Services Pty Ltd [2025] NSWPIC 463
Case: [2025] NSWPIC 463
Decision Date: 8 September 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In Hilder v Aware Super Services Pty Ltd, the applicant, Mr. Hilder, sought compensation for a psychological injury sustained during his employment with the respondent, Aware Super Services Pty Ltd. The respondent contested the claim, arguing that the applicant’s injury was caused predominantly by the respondent’s reasonable actions relating to his retrenchment. The matter was determined by the Workers Compensation Authority of New South Wales, presided over by Deputy President S.J.M. Walsh.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the applicant’s psychological injury was wholly or predominantly caused by the respondent’s reasonable actions in relation to his retrenchment, thereby negating the respondent’s liability for compensation. Additionally, the court had to decide if the applicant met the criteria for ongoing payments beyond 130 weeks under the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The court also needed to determine if the evidence supported a finding of total incapacity up to the expiration of the second entitlement period under section 37.

The court found that the applicant carried the onus of proving that his injury was not wholly or predominantly caused by the respondent’s reasonable actions with respect to retrenchment. The evidence presented established that the applicant had suffered a psychological injury in the course of his employment. The court concluded that the evidence did on balance establish total incapacity up to the expiration of the second entitlement period under section 37. Consequently, the respondent was ordered to pay weekly compensation to the applicant in the amount claimed for total incapacity for the entirety of the sections 36 and 37 period. The respondent was also required to pay the applicant’s expenses under section 60.

The court’s final orders mandated that the respondent pay the applicant’s weekly compensation and medical expenses as claimed, while dismissing the respondent’s claim for compensation pursuant to section 38.

Orders