Maricic v The Registrar, Workers Compensation Commission

The applicant, Maricic, appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Registrar of the Workers Compensation Commission. The dispute concerned whether the appeal panel had afforded the applicant procedural fairness when it considered a further medical examination report that was adverse to the applicant's case.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the appeal panel had breached its obligation to afford procedural fairness to the applicant by failing to provide the applicant with a copy of a further medical examination report, which had been obtained by an approved medical specialist on the appeal panel, prior to the panel making its decision. This report addressed a matter previously in dispute.

The Court of Appeal held that there was no breach of the obligation to afford procedural fairness. Their Honours reasoned that the applicant had been aware of the issue that the further medical examination report addressed, and had had the opportunity to make submissions on that issue. The report itself did not introduce a new issue or a new line of reasoning that the applicant had not had an opportunity to address. Therefore, the failure to provide the report to the applicant before the panel considered it did not amount to a denial of procedural fairness in these circumstances. Leave to appeal was granted, but the appeal was ultimately dismissed with costs.