South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service v Gadiry

South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service (the appellant) sought indemnity from Mr and Mrs Gadiry (the respondents) for workers' compensation payments made to an employee injured in a motor vehicle accident. The appellant appealed to the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales against an order dismissing its proceedings.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was the interpretation of s 151Z(1)(d) of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW). Specifically, the court had to determine whether this provision created a single cause of action for indemnity or whether it applied to each individual payment of compensation made by the employer. The appellant contended that the trial judge had misconceived the nature of the cause of action.

The Court of Appeal found that s 151Z(1)(d) created a single cause of action for indemnity, not a cause of action that accrued with each payment. The court reasoned that the employer's right to indemnity arose at the time of the injury and was not a continuing right that renewed with each compensation payment. Consequently, the appellant's claim was not statute-barred as the trial judge had determined.

The appeal was allowed. The order dismissing the proceedings was set aside, and the respondents' Notice of Motion was dismissed with costs. The proceedings were remitted to the District Court to be dealt with according to law.