Shaw v Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd

The appeal concerned a personal injury claim arising from an incident at a processing plant. The appellant, Mr Shaw, had been injured while working at the plant. The central dispute revolved around identifying the correct employer at the time of the injury, as Mr Shaw had been employed by Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd but later entered into a training contract with a different entity, Bindaree Training Pty Ltd, which was named as his employer in that contract. Mr Shaw continued to perform the same work and receive payment from Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd. The appeal was heard by the New South Wales Court of Appeal.

The primary legal issues before the court were: firstly, whether Bindaree Training Pty Ltd was the employer of Mr Shaw at the time of his injury, notwithstanding the circumstances surrounding the training contract and continued payment by Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd; and secondly, if Bindaree Training Pty Ltd was indeed the employer, whether the *Apprenticeship and Training Act 2001* (NSW) or the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) and *Workplace Injury Management and Workers Compensation Act 1998* (NSW) operated to deem Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd as the employer for the purposes of those workers' compensation statutes.

The majority of the Court of Appeal found that Bindaree Training Pty Ltd was not the employer of Mr Shaw at the time of his injury. Their Honours reasoned that the naming of Bindaree Training Pty Ltd as the employer in the training contract was not done with a clear consciousness that it was intended to be the employer in substance. The continued payment by Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd and the nature of the work performed were significant factors in this determination. Consequently, the court held that the provisions of the *Apprenticeship and Training Act 2001* and the relevant workers' compensation legislation did not operate to deem Bindaree Beef Pty Ltd as the employer in this context.

By majority, the Court of Appeal refused leave to amend the notice of appeal to add a proposed ground 6 and dismissed the appeal with costs.