Lembcke v SAS Trustee Corporation

The appeal before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales concerned the assessment of an additional superannuation allowance for the appellant, Mr. Lembcke, under section 10(1A) of the *Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906*. The dispute arose from the SAS Trustee Corporation's calculation of this additional entitlement, which Mr. Lembcke contended was incorrect.

The primary legal issue before the court was how to properly assess an "additional entitlement to a superannuation allowance" under section 10(1A) of the *Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906*. Specifically, the court had to determine whether it was appropriate to have recourse to the principles of section 40 of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* when assessing the appellant's incapacity for work for the purposes of the superannuation allowance.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders of the trial judge and the decision of the SAS Trustee Corporation. The court reasoned that the principles of section 40 of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* were indeed relevant to the assessment of incapacity for work under section 10(1A) of the *Police Regulation (Superannuation) Act 1906*. Consequently, the appellant was awarded an additional amount by way of annual superannuation allowance of $20.74 per week, bringing his total additional allowance to $67.80 per week. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs of the appeal and the proceedings in the Compensation Court of New South Wales.