Ray Maybury and Australian Postal Corporation

This matter concerned an application by Ray Maybury against the Australian Postal Corporation. Mr Maybury sought compensation for a torn supraspinatus and long head biceps tendon in his right shoulder, which he alleged was contributed to by his employment as a Postal Delivery Officer and Night Sorter. The dispute centred on whether Mr Maybury's condition constituted an "injury" or "disease" as defined by the relevant legislation and whether his employment had contributed to it to a significant degree.

The Tribunal was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether Mr Maybury's condition qualified as an "injury" under section 5A or a "disease" under section 5B of the *Safety Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (the Act). Secondly, if it did, whether Mr Maybury was entitled to compensation under section 14 of the Act for the condition.

In its reasoning, the Tribunal found that Mr Maybury's right shoulder condition was a degenerative ailment. It concluded that section 5B(1)(a) of the Act did not apply because the degenerative nature of the condition meant it was not contributed to to a significant degree by his employment. However, the Tribunal then considered section 5B(1)(b), which addresses the aggravation of an ailment. Applying principles from *Federal Broom Co Pty Ltd v Semlitch* and subsequent Full Federal Court decisions, the Tribunal determined that Mr Maybury had suffered an aggravation of his right shoulder condition. This aggravation was found to be contributed to to a significant degree by his employment, particularly due to the repetitive nature of his mail-sorting duties and the resistance caused by incorrectly positioned plastic strips on the sorting frames.

Consequently, the Tribunal set aside the previous reviewable determination and substituted a decision that Mr Maybury is entitled to compensation under section 14 of the Act for his injury.