Rehberg and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Mr Rehberg against a decision by Comcare to cease his compensation payments. Mr Rehberg had accepted an injury of "acute lumbar strain" sustained on 1 November 1991, and sought continued compensation under sections 16 and 19 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth). The dispute centred on whether the accepted injury continued to contribute, to a material degree, to Mr Rehberg's ongoing low back symptoms.

The court was required to determine whether Mr Rehberg's compensable injury from November 1991 continued to materially contribute to his current low back symptoms, and specifically, whether any effects of that injury persisted as at 26 October 2017. This involved assessing the nature of the injury sustained in 1991 and its relationship to Mr Rehberg's pre-existing degenerative spinal condition.

The Tribunal found that Mr Rehberg suffered a temporary aggravation of a pre-existing degenerative condition of the L5/S1 intervertebral disc in November 1991. Medical evidence indicated this degenerative condition was present prior to the 1991 incident, as shown by an earlier X-ray. While a CT scan in February 1992 revealed a disc protrusion, expert opinions suggested this was related to the underlying degenerative disease, with the work incident acting as a precipitating or temporary aggravation factor. The Tribunal concluded that the compensable injury did not materially contribute to Mr Rehberg's ongoing symptoms and that he no longer suffered any effects of that injury after approximately 26 years.

Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the decision under review, finding that Mr Rehberg was no longer entitled to compensation payments under sections 16 and 19 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988*.