Select Civil (Kiama) Pty Ltd v Kearney

Select Civil (Kiama) Pty Ltd appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against a decision of the Workers Compensation Commission. The dispute concerned whether the respondent, Mr Kearney, was a "coal miner" for the purposes of Part 18 Clause 3(1) of Schedule 6 to the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW), and whether the site where he was injured constituted a "mine" to which the *Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982* (NSW) applied. Mr Kearney had been injured while undertaking site rehabilitation at a coal mine where operations had been discontinued.

The primary legal issues before the Court of Appeal were whether the site of Mr Kearney's employment qualified as a "mine" under the relevant legislation, particularly given that mining operations had ceased. This involved determining whether the site had been abandoned and whether the rehabilitation work undertaken by Mr Kearney was "in connection with mining" as contemplated by the definition of "mine" in section 5(1) of the *Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982*. The court also had to consider whether Mr Kearney's role in site rehabilitation meant he was a "coal miner" for the purposes of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987*.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the definition of "mine" in section 5(1) of the *Coal Mines Regulation Act 1982* was broad and encompassed land from which minerals had been extracted, even if operations had ceased. The court found that the rehabilitation work was intrinsically linked to the prior mining activities, thus falling within the scope of "in connection with mining". Consequently, the site was considered a "mine" for the purposes of the Act. The court further held that Mr Kearney's engagement in rehabilitation activities on a former mine site, which was directly related to the mining operations, qualified him as a "coal miner" under the *Workers Compensation Act 1987*.

The appeal was dismissed, and Select Civil (Kiama) Pty Ltd was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.