Lieschke and Telstra Corporation Ltd (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application by Mr Lieschke against Telstra Corporation Ltd regarding compensation entitlements under the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth). The dispute arose from the calculation of Mr Lieschke's normal weekly earnings (NWE) following a workplace injury in 2009, and involved a complex history of determinations and reviews. The case was heard by Senior Member Hon J Rau SC of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine the correct calculation of Mr Lieschke's entitlements under section 19 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988*, which required a review of Telstra's entire decision-making process concerning his NWE. A significant aspect of this involved determining the continuing application and effect of an Australian Workplace Agreement (AWA) signed by Mr Lieschke in 2006, particularly in light of the *Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009* (Cth) and the subsequent introduction of an Enterprise Agreement by Telstra.

The Tribunal considered the provisions of the *Fair Work (Transitional Provisions and Consequential Amendments) Act 2009*, specifically Schedule 3, which preserved the operation of AWAs as "agreement-based transitional instruments". The Tribunal noted that Item 3 of Part 2 of Schedule 3 stipulated that such instruments continued to cover the same employees and employers as they would have if the *Workplace Relations Act 1996* (Cth) had remained in force. Furthermore, Item 18 of Part 3 addressed the conditional termination of individual agreement-based transitional instruments, such as AWAs, upon the making and commencement of an enterprise agreement, provided specific requirements for written agreement and notification were met. The Tribunal indicated that it would invite further submissions on the appropriate form of final orders.