Pedersen and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning a compensation claim by the Applicant against Comcare. The Applicant sought compensation for anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), alleging that her employment had significantly contributed to her condition. The core dispute revolved around whether the actions taken by her employer constituted a contribution to her psychological injury and, if so, whether those actions were reasonable administrative actions taken in a reasonable manner.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the administrative actions of Comcare could be characterised as contributing to the aggravation of the Applicant's condition "by the employee's employment" for the purposes of section 5B of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth). Secondly, if this threshold was met, the Tribunal had to consider whether those administrative actions amounted to "reasonable administrative actions taken in a reasonable manner in respect of the employee's employment" under section 5A(2)(f) of the same Act.

The Tribunal considered the Applicant's employment history, which included several distressing incidents involving clients, a transfer to a new position she found distressing, and a subsequent restriction of her duties to avoid face-to-face client contact. A key event was the Applicant hearing about a client threatening to return to the workplace with a gun, which she alleged exacerbated her anxiety. A consultant psychiatrist diagnosed an adjustment disorder with anxiety, linking it to the stressful nature of her employment, including ongoing threats. The Tribunal's reasoning focused on whether these employment-related stressors and the employer's responses constituted a significant contribution to her condition and whether any administrative actions taken by the employer were reasonable.