Wieczorek and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an appeal by Ms Wieczorek against a decision by Comcare regarding compensation for psychological injuries. The dispute centred on whether Ms Wieczorek's adjustment disorder, diagnosed in 2014 and 2015, was excluded from compensation under section 5A of the relevant Act, which exempts injuries arising from reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner in respect of employment. Comcare contended that both injuries fell within this exemption, while Ms Wieczorek argued they did not. The case was heard by Deputy Gary Humphries P.

The primary legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the administrative actions taken by Ms Wieczorek's employer constituted reasonable administrative action taken in a reasonable manner in respect of her employment, and crucially, whether there was a direct causal connection between these actions and her psychological conditions. The Tribunal was required to consider the scope of the reasonable administrative action exemption as clarified by recent High Court and Federal Court decisions, which added the requirement of a direct causal link.

The Tribunal reasoned that while the 2014 injury was likely caused by administrative actions related to performance issues and uncertainty about her role, these actions were taken in a reasonable manner and were reasonable in the circumstances, thus attracting the section 5A exemption. However, the Tribunal found that the 2015 injury, which was considered an aggravation of the 2014 condition, did not attract the exemption. This was because the employer's failure to adhere to its own "Managing Underperformance" document in relation to the 2015 events constituted administrative action not reasonably taken.

Consequently, the Tribunal ordered that the 2014 injury was not compensable as it was excluded by section 5A. However, the 2015 injury was found to be compensable, as the administrative actions leading to it did not meet the criteria for the exemption.