Ross and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by Comcare to refuse to accept liability under section 14 of the *Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988* (Cth) for the applicant's claim for a "stress related fracture which has resulted in need for a hip replacement (right side)". The applicant, an APS6 officer, alleged she suffered a stress fracture on 5 December 2017 due to repetitive stair climbing on a maritime vessel as part of her employment. Comcare accepted that the applicant had a degenerative osteoarthrosis condition that was aggravated by the workplace incident, but submitted that her employment did not contribute to this aggravation to a significant degree. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was required to determine whether Comcare should accept liability for the applicant's condition.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's degenerative osteoarthrosis, aggravated by a workplace incident involving repetitive stair climbing, constituted an "injury" for the purposes of section 14 of the Act, and if so, whether her employment contributed to that injury to a significant degree. The Tribunal considered whether the condition was a "disease" or an "injury other than a disease" or an "ailment" and whether the aggravation of a pre-existing ailment was compensable. The central question was one of causation: whether the applicant's employment significantly contributed to the aggravation of her osteoarthrosis.

The Tribunal agreed with Comcare's submission that liability should not be accepted. It reasoned that while the applicant suffered from degenerative osteoarthrosis and this condition was aggravated by the workplace incident, the evidence did not establish that her employment with the Commonwealth contributed to this aggravation to a significant degree. The Tribunal noted that the applicant had pre-existing mild to moderate degenerative arthrosis in her right hip, as indicated by radiology reports prior to the incident. The Tribunal found that the repetitive stair climbing, while causing soreness, did not meet the threshold for significant contribution to the aggravation of the underlying degenerative condition.

Consequently, the Tribunal found that the correct and preferable decision was to affirm Comcare's Reviewable Decision to refuse to accept liability. The Tribunal's orders were to affirm the Reviewable Decision.