Nguyen and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation)

This matter concerned a claim for compensation by the applicant, a Parcel Post Officer employed by Australian Postal Corporation, for bilateral epicondylitis. The applicant alleged the condition had an onset date of 6 January 2021 and sought compensation under section 14 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) (SRC Act). Australian Postal Corporation denied liability. The proceedings were heard by Senior Member A Poljak.

The court was required to determine several issues: the precise diagnosis of the applicant's condition; whether this condition constituted an 'ailment' under the SRC Act; if it was an 'ailment', whether it was contributed to by the applicant's employment to a significant degree, thereby qualifying as a 'disease'; and whether the applicant had suffered an 'injury' as defined by the Act, ultimately leading to Australian Postal Corporation's liability to pay compensation.

The Senior Member considered the applicant's medical history, including a significant bike accident in 2011 causing ongoing neck and shoulder pain, and a history of active physical pursuits. Medical evidence indicated a partial thickness tear of the common extensor tendon attaching to the lateral epicondyle of the humerus in the applicant's right arm, along with diagnosed common extensor tendinopathy and bilateral epicondylitis. Crucially, contemporaneous medical records from December 2020 and January 2021 detailed the applicant reporting injury to his right arm while working out in a gym and subsequently while surfing, with medical examinations and ultrasound imaging confirming a tear of the common extensor tendon with epicondylitis. The Senior Member found that the applicant's condition was not contributed to by his employment with Australia Post to a significant degree, and therefore did not meet the definition of a 'disease' under the SRC Act.

Consequently, the Senior Member affirmed the decision under review, ordering that Australian Postal Corporation was not liable to pay compensation under section 14 of the SRC Act for the claimed condition.