Whisprun Pty Ltd v Sams

Whisprun Pty Ltd and Sams were the parties involved in this matter before the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned an application for leave to commence proceedings for damages pursuant to s 151D(2) of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) after the expiration of the prescribed limitation period.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether leave to commence such proceedings could be granted *nunc pro tunc*, meaning retrospectively, after the statutory limitation period had expired. This question required the Court to consider the nature of the limitation period and the court's power to grant leave in such circumstances.

The Court determined that the limitation period prescribed by s 151D(2) of the *Workers Compensation Act 1987* (NSW) was a substantive condition precedent to the right to bring proceedings, rather than a procedural bar. Consequently, the Court held that it did not possess the power to grant leave to commence proceedings *nunc pro tunc* once that period had expired. The Court reasoned that to allow such retrospective leave would effectively extend a statutory right beyond its prescribed temporal limit, which was beyond the Court's jurisdiction.

In each case, leave to appeal was granted, but the appeals were ultimately dismissed.