Qantas Airways Ltd v Strong

Qantas Airways Ltd applied to the New South Wales Court of Appeal seeking determination of questions of law concerning the application of section 69A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The dispute arose from a claim by Mr. Strong for compensation under the Act following a diagnosis of bilateral hearing loss and severe tinnitus. The issues in contention were whether severe tinnitus could be considered in the application of section 69A, whether only binaural hearing loss should be considered without any addition for tinnitus, and if severe tinnitus could be classified as hearing loss due to boilermakers' deafness.

The Court of Appeal addressed these questions sequentially. Firstly, it concluded that it is permissible to consider any allowance for severe tinnitus when applying section 69A. Secondly, the court found that the correct application of the section does not require the consideration of only a worker's binaural hearing loss without any addition for severe tinnitus. The court determined that both the hearing loss and the tinnitus should be considered in the overall assessment. The third question was deemed unnecessary to answer as the prior findings addressed the application of the relevant sections of the Act.

The Court ordered that the answers to the questions of law were that it is permissible to consider any allowance for severe tinnitus in the application of section 69A, and that the correct application of the section requires consideration of both the binaural hearing loss and the allowance for severe tinnitus. The costs of the application were to be borne by the parties, with the Workcover Authority of New South Wales paying its own costs.