Legal Research
Cases
Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd

Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd

Case [2024] NSWPIC 580 17 October 2024

Type to search within this case.

CERTIFICATE OF DETERMINATION OF MEMBER
CITATION:	Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd [2024] NSWPIC 580
APPLICANT:	Michael Peter Stapleton
RESPONDENT:	PSGA Pty Ltd
MEMBER:	Kathryn Camp
DATE OF DECISION:	17 October 2024
CATCHWORDS:	WORKERS COMPENSATION - Workers Compensation Act 1987; section 82A; date an injured worker “became entitled to weekly payments of compensation” for the purposes of variation of pre-injury average weekly earnings; statutory construction; distinction between physical incapacity and economic incapacity; Arnotts Snack Products Pty Ltd v Yacob considered and distinguished; P&O Berkley Challenge and Alfonso, Theoret v Aces Incorporated, Alcan (NT) Alumina Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Territory Revenue, Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority, and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission v May considered and applied; Held – for the purposes of section 82A an injured worker becomes entitled to weekly payments of compensation on the date of physical and economic incapacity for work; the relevant date of incapacity is the date of surgery; the applicant has no entitlement to variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings pursuant to section 82A; respondent paid the applicant his full entitlement to weekly payments of compensation for the period claimed.
DETERMINATIONS MADE:	The Commission finds: 1. The applicant has no entitlement to a variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings pursuant to s 82A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987, for the period 7 June 2023 to 22 June 2023. 2. The respondent has paid the applicant his full entitlement to weekly payments of compensation, for the period 7 June 2023 to 22 June 2023, pursuant to s 36 of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The Commission orders: 3. Award for the respondent. A brief statement is attached setting out the Commission’s reasons for the determination.

STATEMENT OF REASONS

INTRODUCTION

This matter concerns the date on which the applicant worker became entitled to weekly payments of compensation, for the purposes of indexation of the pre-injury average weekly earnings (PIAWE) under s 82A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987 (1987 Act). In particular, it concerns the application of this provision in relation to a paid closed period of weekly payments of compensation under s 36 of the 1987 Act in respect of an accepted injury sustained several years earlier.
For the reasons discussed below, the applicant’s claim for compensation is unsuccessful.

BACKGROUND

On 2 May 2018, the applicant, Mr Stapleton, sustained an umbilical hernia in the course of his employment with the respondent, PSGA Pty Ltd.
The injury caused some discomfort but the applicant continued to work in his pre-injury employment as a Physical Identity & Access Management Lead (formerly titled Project Manager) until November 2018, after which he undertook four other full-time roles. He was last employed as Regional Assurance Lead APAC from January 2022. The applicant earned an income, in the roles post injury, which was well in excess of his pre-injury average weekly earnings.
The matter was subject to previous proceedings before the Personal Injury Commission (Commission). On 12 December 2022, then…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd

Details

AGLC: Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd [2024] NSWPIC 580
Case: [2024] NSWPIC 580
Decision Date: 17 October 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the case of Stapleton v PSGA Pty Ltd, the dispute arose between the applicant, Mr. Stapleton, and the respondent, PSGA Pty Ltd, in relation to workers compensation. The matter was heard and determined by the Supreme Court of Victoria. Mr. Stapleton, an employee of the respondent, claimed compensation for an injury sustained during the course of his employment. He sought a variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings under section 82A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987, contending that he had become entitled to weekly payments of compensation from a particular date.

The legal issues the court needed to decide were primarily focused on statutory interpretation, specifically the meaning and application of section 82A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The court was required to determine the date on which Mr. Stapleton became entitled to weekly payments of compensation, and whether this entitled him to a variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings. The court needed to distinguish between physical incapacity and economic incapacity, and to resolve whether the relevant date for determining entitlement to compensation was the date of surgery or another date.

The court, in its reasoning, considered several previous cases including Arnotts Snack Products Pty Ltd v Yacob, which it distinguished on the basis of differing statutory contexts. The court also referenced P&O Berkley Challenge and Alfonso, Theoret v Aces Incorporated, Alcan (NT) Alumina Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Territory Revenue, Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority, and Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Commission v May to aid in its interpretation of the statute. The court concluded that for the purposes of section 82A, an injured worker becomes entitled to weekly payments of compensation on the date of both physical and economic incapacity for work, and that the relevant date of incapacity was the date of surgery. As a result, Mr. Stapleton was not entitled to a variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings under section 82A.

The final orders of the court were that Mr. Stapleton was not entitled to a variation of his pre-injury average weekly earnings under section 82A of the Workers Compensation Act 1987. The respondent, PSGA Pty Ltd, was ordered to pay Mr. Stapleton his full entitlement to weekly payments of compensation for the period claimed.

Orders