Inner West Council v BFZ

Inner West Council brought this appeal against the decision of a delegate of the Workers Compensation Regulator to award the worker, Mr BFZ, compensation for an injury arising out of and in the course of his employment. The Council argued that the delegate was wrong to determine that Mr BFZ was entitled to compensation. The Council contended that Mr BFZ was estopped from claiming that his current injury arose out of and in the course of his employment because of a prior Certificate of Determination which entered consent orders that the worker’s injury did not arise out of and in the course of his employment. The Commission was asked to determine whether the delegate was correct to determine that Mr BFZ was entitled to compensation. The Commission found that the Council’s appeal should be dismissed with costs. The Commission held that there was no error in the delegate’s determination that Mr BFZ was entitled to compensation. The Commission found that the worker’s current injury was not the same as the injury the subject of the prior consent orders. The Commission held that there was no estoppel preventing Mr BFZ from claiming compensation for his current injury. The Commission found that the delegate’s decision was not unreasonable and therefore the appeal should be dismissed. The Commission dismissed the appeal with costs.