Rodway and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application for review before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding Comcare's denial of liability for the applicant's condition of adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression. The applicant, employed by Services Australia as a team leader, had lodged a claim for compensation under section 14 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (the Act). A delegate of Comcare initially denied liability, and this decision was affirmed by an independent review officer. The applicant subsequently sought a review of this decision by the Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression constituted an "injury" for the purposes of section 14 of the Act, or if it fell within an exclusionary provision. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the condition was suffered as a result of reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner in respect of the applicant's employment, as defined by section 5A(1) of the Act. This involved assessing whether the informal counselling provided to the applicant by Ms. Hines on 22 January 2019, which was identified as a trigger for her condition, constituted such reasonable administrative action.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had suffered from an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depression to which her employment contributed to a significant degree. The medical evidence established that the condition resulted from a build-up of stressors in her employment, triggered by the informal counselling. Crucially, the Tribunal determined that while the counselling was an administrative action, it was not taken in a reasonable manner in all the circumstances. Therefore, the exclusionary provision in section 5A(1) of the Act did not apply. The Tribunal was satisfied that the applicant's condition resulted in her incapacity for work, and consequently, she was entitled to compensation under section 14 of the Act.