McDermott and Comcare (Compensation)

In *McDermott and Comcare (Compensation)*, the Deputy President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an interlocutory application made by the applicant. The applicant sought to split the hearing of her worker's compensation matter to first determine specific issues before proceeding with the entirety of the claim.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was appropriate to grant the applicant's request to bifurcate the hearing. This involved considering the potential benefits and drawbacks of hearing certain aspects of the compensation claim separately from the main proceedings.

The Deputy President refused the application to split the hearing. While acknowledging that the respondent had indicated a willingness to assist the applicant in obtaining certain evidence from her former employer, this did not, in the Tribunal's view, justify a departure from the usual practice of hearing the matter in its entirety. The decision implies that the Tribunal prioritised a consolidated approach to resolving the compensation claim.