Mafulu Pty Limited v Mather

Mafulu Pty Limited sought special leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia from a decision of the Court of Appeal concerning a workers' compensation claim. The applicant, Mafulu Pty Limited, was the respondent in the Court of Appeal, and Mr Mather was the applicant. The dispute centred on whether Mr Mather, a director of the company, was a worker for the purposes of the Workers' Compensation Act.

The High Court was asked to consider two primary legal issues. Firstly, what is the minimum level of evidence required to establish a master-servant relationship between a company and its director. Secondly, whether a director's subjective belief or assumption that they are a worker, even if shared by other directors, is sufficient to establish such a relationship, particularly in the absence of objective indicia.

The applicant argued that the courts below had erred by accepting a bare belief or assumption of a director as sufficient to establish a worker relationship, without requiring objective evidence. The evidence presented indicated that Mr Mather and his wife, who were previously partners in a business, had discussed with an accountant and their sons the idea of becoming employees of the company. Mr Mather continued to act on this basis, and the family agreed that he and his wife would be "deemed" employees. The Court of Appeal had interpreted the word "deemed" in a lay sense of "assumed" or "classified," rather than a technical legal one, and found this sufficient. The applicant contended that this approach lacked objective indicia and relied solely on subjective intention.

The Chief Justice questioned whether these issues were suitable for special leave, suggesting they did not appear to be significant points of law. The applicant acknowledged the claim was for a relatively small amount and period of incapacity but maintained that the reasoning process at all levels accepted insufficient evidence to establish the worker relationship. The Court ultimately did not grant special leave.