JUDGE:	Richards J
WHERE HELD:	Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	17 May 2024
DATE OF JUDGMENT:	10 July 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	Sumner v Country Fire Authority
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VSC 403

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ADMINISTRATIVE LAW — Judicial review — Volunteer compensation scheme established by Country Fire Authority Regulations 2014 (Vic) — Plaintiff’s claim for compensation for delayed onset post-traumatic stress disorder accepted by defendant — Later decision by defendant to terminate plaintiff’s entitlement to compensation — Whether Authority required to act fairly and reasonably in considering plaintiff’s claim — Whether Authority’s decision legally unreasonable — Whether Authority failed to have regard to mandatory considerations — Whether Authority had regard to an irrelevant consideration — Decision set aside — Country Fire Authority Act 1958 (Vic) ss 2, 6, 6B, 6I, 110 — Country Fire Authority Regulations 2014 (Vic) regs 75, 83, 92.

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the Plaintiff	Ms S Gold and Ms Y Al-Azzawi	Robinson Gill Lawyers
For the Defendant	Ms R Kaye KC with Ms M Cameron	TG Legal + Technology

TABLE OF CONTENT

Compensation for CFA volunteers — relevant provisions

CFA’s reasons for decision

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Grounds of review

Did the CFA have to act fairly and reasonably in considering Mr Sumner’s claim?

Was the CFA’s decision legally unreasonable?

Did the CFA fail to have regard to matters that it had to consider?

Did the CFA consider irrelevant matters?

Disposition

HER HONOUR:

In September 1992, at the age of 19, Dale Sumner became a volunteer firefighter with the Lakes Entrance brigade of the Country Fire Authority (CFA). He remained a member of the brigade until October 2016, when he resigned and moved to Queensland. During his 24 years as a volunteer with the CFA, Mr Sumner attended many incidents, including house fires, motor vehicle accidents, and bushfires, and was exposed to a number of traumatic events. At times, he suffered from depression and anxiety, but he attributed this to other life events, including the untimely death of his mother in 2003.

Not long after relocating to Queensland, Mr Sumner began to suffer increased psychological distress, and he sought treatment from his general practitioner and a psychologist, Ms Tessa Hall. He was referred to a psychiatrist, Dr Scott Jenkins, who in August 2018 diagnosed Mr Sumner to be suffering from major depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In Ms Hall’s opinion, the PTSD was directly related to his work with the CFA and his repeated exposure to trauma through that work.

In September 2018, Mr Sumner made a claim for compensation from the CFA, under the compensation scheme for volunteer brigade members established under Pt 6, Div 1 of the Country Fire Authority Regulations 2014 (Vic) (CFA Regulations).

The CFA investigated Mr Sumner’s claim and arranged for…

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 Sumner v Country Fire Authority

Details

AGLC: Sumner v Country Fire Authority [2024] VSC 403
Case: [2024] VSC 403
Decision Date: 10 July 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the matter of Sumner v Country Fire Authority, the plaintiff sought judicial review of the defendant's decision to terminate his entitlement to compensation under the volunteer compensation scheme established by the Country Fire Authority Regulations 2014 (Vic). The plaintiff, a volunteer firefighter, had initially been granted compensation for delayed onset post-traumatic stress disorder by the defendant but later had his entitlement terminated. The plaintiff challenged the defendant's decision on the grounds that it was legally unreasonable, failed to consider mandatory considerations, and had regard to an irrelevant consideration.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Country Fire Authority (CFA) was required to act fairly and reasonably in considering the plaintiff's claim for compensation, whether the CFA's decision was legally unreasonable, whether the CFA failed to have regard to mandatory considerations, and whether the CFA had regard to an irrelevant consideration. The plaintiff argued that the CFA's decision to terminate his compensation was unreasonable as it failed to consider the totality of the evidence, including the plaintiff's ongoing medical condition and the impact of the traumatic events on his mental health.

The court found that the CFA was indeed required to act fairly and reasonably in considering the plaintiff's claim for compensation. It was held that the CFA's decision to terminate the plaintiff's compensation was legally unreasonable as it failed to consider the totality of the evidence, particularly the ongoing nature of the plaintiff's medical condition and the impact of the traumatic events on his mental health. The court also found that the CFA had failed to have regard to mandatory considerations, including the plaintiff's ongoing medical condition and the impact of the traumatic events on his mental health. Furthermore, the court found that the CFA had regard to an irrelevant consideration in making its decision, namely the plaintiff's previous employment history. The court set aside the CFA's decision and remitted the matter back to the CFA for reconsideration.

The final orders of the court were that the decision of the Country Fire Authority to terminate the plaintiff's entitlement to compensation be set aside, and the matter be remitted back to the CFA for reconsideration in accordance with the law. The court also ordered that the CFA pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding.

Orders