Moradi and Comcare (Compensation)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered three applications brought by Mr Moradi, Ms Moussavi, and Mr Rohani, concerning claims for compensation. The central dispute revolved around whether the conditions suffered by the applicant arose from reasonable administrative action taken in connection with their employment. The applicant had been deployed as a Persian interpreter to Nauru, and their deployment was terminated on 12 January 2018. The applicant claimed to have suffered an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressive reaction as a result of this termination.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant's claimed condition was contributed to by their employment, whether the condition was permanent, and if so, to what degree. Crucially, the Tribunal had to determine if the termination of the applicant's deployment constituted reasonable administrative action. This involved assessing whether the action was reasonable in its conception and execution, considering the terms of the applicant's contract and the operational needs of the Department.

The Tribunal found that the termination of the applicant's deployment on 12 January 2018 was reasonable administrative action. This conclusion was based on the contractual terms, specifically clause 6.3.6 of the Deed of Standing Offer, which allowed for the cancellation of deployments with notice, and clause 4.1.1, which subjected deployments to the Department's allocation policy and operational needs. The applicant was aware of these provisions, which were also reiterated in the "Interpreter deployment brief-Nauru." The Tribunal noted that the standard of reasonableness does not require perfection, and even if an action could have been handled differently or better, it does not render it unreasonable. Evidence was accepted that the number of interpreters required on Nauru fluctuated and diminished, supporting the Department's operational reasons for the early termination.

The Tribunal affirmed the decision that the condition suffered by the applicant was a result of reasonable administrative action. Consequently, the applications for compensation were dismissed.