QXQH and Comcare (Compensation)

The applicant, QXQH, sought compensation from Comcare for medical treatment, incapacity benefits, and household and attendant care under the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) (SRC Act). The dispute concerned whether the applicant had a present entitlement to compensation for a partial tear of the rotator cuff in his right shoulder, an injury accepted by Comcare with a date of injury of 13 October 2015. The reviewable decision had affirmed a prior determination that the applicant had no present entitlement to such compensation.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant continued to suffer an injury within the meaning of the SRC Act, and consequently, whether the causative thresholds under sections 5A and 5B of the SRC Act continued to be met. This involved determining if the applicant's ongoing pain and problems with his shoulder and bicep were attributable to the accepted workplace injury, or if they constituted a separate injury for which compensation was payable. The Tribunal was required to consider whether a subsequent injury arising from surgery related to the accepted injury should be treated as a separate injury under section 4(3) of the SRC Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the facts of the incident and the acceptance of liability for the initial injury were not in dispute, the core of the matter was a medical question regarding ongoing entitlement. The Tribunal noted that the acceptance of liability for an injury does not preclude a later decision from finding that liability has ceased or ought never to have been accepted, particularly when reviewing whether compensation is payable. The Tribunal considered the applicant's contentions that his current pain was linked to complications from surgeries approved by Comcare, and that this should be treated as a standalone injury. However, based on its findings, the Tribunal rejected the applicant's contention that his present pain and ongoing problems were likely attributable to complications linked to the surgeries and therefore constituted a separate injury under section 4(3) of the SRC Act.

Accordingly, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that the applicant did not have a present entitlement to compensation.