Theoret v Aces Incorporated

The appeal in *Theoret v Aces Incorporated* concerned the interpretation of amendments to the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW). The appellant's entitlement to weekly workers compensation payments arose before the 2012 amendments to the Act came into force, but her entitlement was not formally determined until after those amendments took effect. The central dispute was whether section 82A of the Act, as amended, entitled the appellant to have her pre-injury average weekly earnings indexed historically from the date she first became eligible for payments, or only from the commencement of the 2012 amendments.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the 2012 amendments to section 82A of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) had retrospective operation in relation to the indexing of pre-injury average weekly earnings for claims where the entitlement arose before the amendments but was determined afterwards. Specifically, the court had to determine the correct starting point for the historical indexing of these earnings under the amended legislation.

The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, setting aside the judgment of the court below. The court reasoned that the statutory language of section 82A, as amended, indicated an intention for the indexing to apply from the date of eligibility, not merely from the date the amendments came into force. Consequently, the matter was remitted to the Workers Compensation Commission for determination according to law, and the respondent was ordered to pay the appellant's costs.