Masters v Healthshare NSW - [2025] NSWSC 821

Supreme Court

New South Wales

Medium Neutral Citation: Masters v Healthshare NSW [2025] NSWSC 821
Hearing dates: 24 July 2025
Date of orders: 28 July 2025
Decision date: 28 July 2025
Jurisdiction: Common Law
Before: Griffiths AJ
Decision:
(1) Summons dismissed.
(2) Plaintiff to pay first defendant’s costs.

Catchwords:
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW — review of medical assessment by appeal panel — judicial review of appeal panel decision — where medical assessment certificate revoked by appeal panel — whether appeal panel erred in finding demonstrable error in assessment of impairment for concentration, persistence and pace — whether appeal panel misunderstood statutory task

Legislation Cited:
Personal Injury Commission Rules 2021 (NSW), r 128
Workers Compensation Act 1987 (NSW), ss 65A, 66
Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (NSW), ss 323, 324, 327, 328

Cases Cited:
Ballas v Dept of Education (NSW) (2020) 102 NSWLR 783; [2020] NSWCA 86
Campbelltown City Councilv Vegan (2006) 67 NSWLR 372; [2006] NSWCA 284
Chalkias v New South Wales [2018] NSWSC 1561
Cheers v Mid Coast Council [2024] NSWSC 1553
Ferguson v New South Wales [2017] NSWSC 887
Jenkins v Ambulance Service of NSW [2015] NSWSC 633
Johnson v Suncorp Staff Pty Ltd [2024] NSWSC 102
Kempe v Complete Community Services Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 1095
Lancaster v Foxtel Management Pty Ltd [2022] NSWSC 929
New South Wales Police Force v Registrar of Workers Compensation Commission of New South Wales [2013] NSWSC 1792
Pitsonis v Registrar of the Workers Compensation Commission (2008) 73 NSWLR 366; [2008] NSWCA 88
Roads and Maritime Services v Wilson [2016] NSWSC 1499
Sleiman v Gadalla Pty Ltd [2021] NSWCA 236
Vannini v Worldwide Demolitions Pty Ltd [2018] NSWCA 324
Ziraki v Australian Islamic House Liverpool Area [2019] NSWSC 1158

Texts Cited:
NSW Workers Compensation Guidelines for the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, 4th ed, 1 March 2021, ss 11.1, 11.11, 11.12

Category: Principal judgment
Parties: Tracey Masters (Plaintiff)
Healthshare NSW (First Defendant)
Personal Injury Commission (Second Defendant) (Submitting Appearance)
Catherine McDonald, Dr Douglas Andrews and Dr
Michael Hong as a Medical Appeal Panel constituted
under s 328 of the Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998 (Third Defendant) (Submitting Appearance)
Representation:
Counsel:
B McManamey (Plaintiff)
J Hart (First Defendant)
Solicitors:
One Law (Plaintiff)
Gair Legal (First Defendant)
Crown Solicitor’s Office (Second and Third Defendants)

File Number(s): 2024/00441625
Publication restriction: Nil

JUDGMENT

This application for judicial review relates to a decision dated 27 August 2024 by a Medical Appeal Panel (Appeal Panel) of the Personal Injury Commission (Commission), which reviewed a medical assessment certificate (MAC) issued by Dr Clayton Smith and dated 26 April 2024. Dr Smith assessed a 19% whole person impairment (WPI) to the plaintiff, Ms Tracey Masters, as a result of a psychological injury sustained while in the employ of the first and only active defendant, Healthshare NSW. The Appeal Panel revoked Dr Smith’s MAC and issued its own, assessing an 8% WPI. The plaintiff now seeks…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2025] NSWSC 821
Decision Date: 28 July 2025

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Masters v Healthshare NSW, the dispute involved the revocation of a medical assessment certificate by an appeal panel. The applicant, Masters, sought judicial review of the appeal panel's decision, arguing that the panel had erred in finding a demonstrable error in the assessment of impairment for concentration, persistence, and pace. The case was heard in the Administrative Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issues the court had to decide were whether the appeal panel had erred in concluding that there was a demonstrable error in the assessment and whether the panel had misunderstood its statutory task. The court was required to examine the statutory framework governing the appeal process, the principles of judicial review, and the specific provisions related to the assessment of impairment.

The court found that the appeal panel had not erred in its assessment. The panel had correctly identified a demonstrable error in the initial assessment, which was supported by the evidence and aligned with the statutory framework. The court further determined that the panel had properly understood and applied its statutory task. The appeal panel's decision was therefore affirmed, and Masters' application for judicial review was dismissed. The court made no further orders.

Orders